The new issue of the UK's Uncut Magazine (cover date April 2024) has just been announced, and goes on sale Friday, March 1st, from all good stores and available online worldwide. As you might have realised from the cover image, it has a large feature on Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets, with a number of new interviews with the band as they get ready to start touring the UK and Europe from June this year.
Trailing the 11-page article, the magazine talks about the genesis of the band: "There have been many twists in the long-running saga of Pink Floyd, but few could have predicted the events of May 20, 2018. On stage in Camden's Dingwalls Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets opened a surprising new chapter in the band's story, reviving the three-minute pop fantasias and cosmic-progressive freak-outs of the Floyd's foundational years before The Dark Side Of The Moon. In our cover story, Mason looks back on the creation of this magnificent, irregular music while, along with his co-conspirators in the Saucers, he explains how – and why – they've brought it back to life. “The best Pink Floyd gigs were voyages of discovery, accompanied by a sense of mystery and adventure,” Mason tells Uncut. “I was excited about playing music with a sense of freedom, music that involved improvisation. That’s what Saucerful Of Secrets is all about.”"
It's a fascinating, well-illustrated article, with contributions not only from each of the Saucers, but from Aubrey 'Po' Powell, and Saucers lighting technician Rachel Axton. The process of deciding on, and developing, the set list for the shows is discussed, revealing the thought processes behind the decisions. Mason's insights, in particular, are typically amusing and illuminating, covering the early days of Pink Floyd and how that relates to life in the Saucers.
As we mentioned, the magazine should be hitting the shelves in UK stores on Friday, March 1st, and online orders can be made through the publisher's own website.
Some good news for many of you in Europe - Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets have just revealed thirteen more European dates for July and August 2024.
Details of all the dates and venues are shown below and on the Saucers 2024 tour page, but in summary, they are adding numerous dates in Germany, along with shows in The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Austria and...Slovenia!
The regular sale of tickets starts on FRIDAY (February 23rd, 2024) at 10am CET - local time (9am UK time), via the links given below. UPDATE: as at Wednesday (February 21st) it seems some of the shows - the German dates, France, and maybe other locations - are starting to run presales, which don't seem to need special passwords, so we suggest you grab tickets now rather than waiting for Friday!
Just revealed is the list of exclusives that will be made available as part of the 2024 Record Store Day, which is being held on 20th April at all participating, independent stockists.
Amongst the huge array of special editions, all of which are produced in varying degrees of limited numbers, is one for the Roger Waters collectors out there. As you will be aware, last year he released his Redux of The Dark Side Of The Moon, which - on vinyl - was issued in nine different versions, from standard black to almost any colour you like.
Nine always felt an odd number (literally) for this release, and a tenth edition has just been revealed. On the Record Store Day list, they have included a limited edition 1LP picture disc of the album that will be individually numbered in a die-cut sleeve. There will be 3000 copies worldwide, so actually in greater numbers than some of the different colour variants of the album, which were all 2LP sets. We suspect they've been able to squeeze the album (without the additional track that came with the vinyl versions last year) onto a single LP, but obviously we don't know at this stage if there has been any editing to help it fit.
And, as we've mentioned previously, all the limited edition items are released just through RSD participating stores on 20th April 2024 - go to RecordStoreDay.com or RecordStoreDay.co.uk for more details of who those will be. A reminder that it will ONLY be these stores participating; the stores themselves can't sell it online - the record will become available for customers coming through the door of the store from the morning of the 20th (and not before), in limited quantities - first come, first served, and only one copy per customer. After RSD, if copies remain, the retailers may put them for sale online (and of course, there'll also be copies on eBay inevitably...).
Just announced - Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets will be playing fourteen dates on their Set The Controls tour around the UK, as their European tour expands. The last time they played the UK was April/May 2022, so it is a treat for the band to be back in June this year!
Last year, of course, the band played shows in Australia, preceded by a string of European dates including a stunning night in the excavated ruins of Pompeii, with the modern city of Pompei conferring honorary citizenship on Nick.
Tickets for the new dates - detailed below - go on sale on Friday (February 16th) at 11am UK time, from MyTicket.co.uk.
Nick Mason said: "Six years ago when I got behind the drums again and we started playing the early Pink Floyd material, it was a real pleasure on so many levels. Many of the tracks had never actually been played live, so to have performed them all over the world has been something we've all enjoyed immensely. To get the opportunity to come back to the UK for another tour is something the band and I had been hoping we would be able to do, so to say "we're back" feels good!"
A new, very special recording of Mark Knopfler's anthemic 'Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)' has been recorded at west London's British Grove Studios to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.
Performed by Mark Knopfler's Guitar Heroes and produced by Knopfler's longtime collaborator Guy Fletcher, the track features an unprecedented line-up of some of the greatest guitarists and musicians in history. Amongst the sixty-odd contributors (listed in full below) are David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, Ronnie Wood, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Alex Lifeson, Brian May, and many more. Roger Daltrey (honorary patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust) plays harmonica, with drums by Ringo Starr and his son, Zak Starkey, with Sting playing bass guitar.
The instrumental begins with the final recording of Jeff Beck, who died last year.
Released March 15th, the single will be released on CD, 12” with etched b-side, deluxe CD+BluRay (exclusive to the official store), download and streaming (including a Dolby Atmos mix). It features artwork which has been designed by Sir Peter Blake (The Beatles, The Who, Band Aid).
Full list of contributors: Joan Armatrading, Jeff Beck, Richard Bennett, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Brown, James Burton, Jonathan Cain, Paul Carrack, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Jim Cox, Steve Cropper, Sheryl Crow, Danny Cummings, Roger Daltrey, Duane Eddy, Sam Fender, Guy Fletcher, Peter Frampton, Audley Freed, Vince Gill, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, Keiji Haino, Tony Iommi, Joan Jett, John Jorgenson, Mark Knopfler, Sonny Landreth, Albert Lee, Greg Leisz, Alex Lifeson, Steve Lukather, Phil Manzanera, Dave Mason, Hank Marvin, Brian May, Robbie McIntosh, John McLaughlin, Tom Morello, Rick Nielsen, Orianthi, Brad Paisley, Nile Rodgers, Mike Rutherford, Joe Satriani, John Sebastian, Connor Selby, Slash, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and Zak Starkey, Sting, Andy Taylor, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Ian Thomas, Pete Townshend, Keith Urban, Steve Vai, Waddy Wachtel, Joe Louis Walker, Joe Walsh, Ronnie Wood, Glenn Worf, Zucchero.
Cancer is different when you are younger: it can be harder to get a diagnosis, cancer treatments can be less effective for young people, and accessing clinical trials can be harder. This project is raising funds for two charities that are dedicated to supporting this specific age group. Teenage Cancer Trust funds specialist nurses and youth workers to be there for a young person when cancer has turned their world upside down and to help make sure cancer doesn’t rob young people of the best years of their life. Teen Cancer America partners with hospitals throughout the United States to develop specialized facilities and services for teens and young adults with cancer.
You can place your orders for this single now, with proceeds going to these most worthy of charities, through the official store via this link (they have a store exclusive of a deluxe CD+Blu-ray), or you can get the 12" single through HMV online and other stores should have this too, including Amazon. The CD is also available through HMV online and other stores including Amazon should start listing it soon.
Older News Archive 
Some good news for many of you in Europe - Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets have just revealed thirteen more European dates for July and August 2024.
Just revealed is the list of exclusives that will be made available as part of the 2024 Record Store Day, which is being held on 20th April at all participating, independent stockists.
Just announced - Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets will be playing fourteen dates on their Set The Controls tour around the UK, as their European tour expands. The last time they played the UK was April/May 2022, so it is a treat for the band to be back in June this year!
A new, very special recording of Mark Knopfler's anthemic 'Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)' has been recorded at west London's British Grove Studios to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.
