All of us here at Brain Damage offer our very best wishes to Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, who celebrates the very special occasion of his birthday today (January 27th). We all trust you are having a great day, Nick!

The cornerstone of the band, he had his first drum kit at the tender age of 13. A member of Pink Floyd since the earliest iterations, he is the only one to have appeared on every one of their albums. Thanks to his late father Bill, he has been a "petrol head" from a young boy, and cars have been - and remain - one of his major passions in life. His most recent book, Passion for Speed, is worth checking out, as is the DVD of the same name focusing on his Ferrari Enzo car (with Nick heavily involved). Of course, for those who haven't read it, Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd is an absolute essential read, and available in a variety of editions: hardback, softback (paperback) and audiobook, read by Nick himself...

Nick has contributed to a number of magazines on motoring issues over the years (including a fascinating monthly column in Octane Magazine), and also became president of the Guild of Motoring Writers. He is a trustee of the Beaulieu National Motor Museum, and a life member and Guardian of the BRDC (British Racing Drivers Club). He has been involved in motor racing since the early 1970s and has entered Le Mans five times.

Musically, of course, the big news last year was the launch of his new band, Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets. The four initial, small gigs in May 2018 held in London lead to a very successful and critically acclaimed European tour in September. This year, of course, the tour continues with dates in the US, Canada, and more dates in the UK and Europe.

Many happy returns, Nick, and see you on the road!

Back in 1984, the album Identity by Zee was released. Zee was a partnership between Richard Wright and Dave Harris (who had just left the band Fashion when Richard met him at a rehearsal studio in Battersea, London). Identity was recorded at Richard's home studio in September 1982, and six months later, overdubs were done at London's Utopia Studios.

The album utilises the Fairlight computer, which could emulate the sound of any instrument. Richard noted: "We spent hours and hours just experimenting with it at first. The great thing about the Fairlight is that every time you go back to it you learn something else. We had to get control over it though because it would have been very easy just to have ended up making funny noises. We spent several weeks sequencing and scripting everything but it was all worth it in the end.

"For me it is exciting working with Dave because there were things that he was doing that I had not done before and vice versa. I think that Zee has given us musical opportunities that quite frankly neither of us were able to explore in our previous groups."

After being out of print for many years, the album has recently been remastered, and is being released this year in a variety of formats, all of which include bonus tracks. Principal of these is deluxe box set (which includes a second CD of unreleased mixes and demos, lyric book, reproduction promo photos and press release, and is signed by Dave Harris). Orders are now being accepted via these direct links to help support the running of Brain Damage:Amazon UK, Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon France, Amazon Germany, Amazon Spain and Amazon Italy. Should your chosen Amazon store be sold out, or another 'branch' of Amazon have it cheaper, bear in mind they ship records internationally, so can be worth placing your order with another Amazon in either of these circumstances, so you don't miss out! When the release was originally announced, orders were taken through PledgeMusic.com but they since ran into difficulties, and appear to be heading into administration at the time of writing this, according to various news outlets. If you ordered through them, but are yet to have a refund, please contact your credit card company/bank.

BD reader Greg Taylor, long-time fan of the band and lucky enough to have witnessed several early concerts including shows with Syd Barrett, is seeking any recollections, however small, from any of the early Hyde Park Free Concerts.

Greg wants to start with the first show in 1968 with anyone connected with the event as a fan of Pink Floyd or any other artists who performed. The early creative involvement of Blackhill Enterprises was key to the early shows so if you have any scraps of information on any of the people involved in hosting the event it would be most welcome.

Greg is interested in doing a feature on Hyde Park ’68 – the whole concert and memories of subsequent ones too with peoples individual experiences, what they did there and who they met. Vivid details, however trivial will help create a sense of place and time for those pivotal events in rock history.

Please get in touch with Greg on his UK phone number of 07751 790646 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Now confirmed as arrived is the reissue of the highly sought after hybrid multichannel SACD of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. The release, playable in stereo on any CD player, but in glorious 5.1 surround sound on compatible SACD players, was originally made available in November 2011, but has since gone out of print. This reissue will therefore be great news for many, and a perfect opportunity to add this gem to your collection.

The SACD was released by Acoustic Sounds, on the Analogue Productions label. As you'll note from the pack shot to the left (click the thumbnail to see in more detail), the packaging is in hardback book format, with some art cards included within. If you've yet to look at our review of it, or need reminding, read our indepth analysis of this release, which includes an exclusive interview with James Guthrie, here.

The SACD can now be ordered from Amazon.com, Amazon Canada or direct from Acoustic Sounds. However, due to the Acoustic Sounds shipping policy, and the possibility of customs duty and suchlike being added on, international orders are better placed with Amazon UK, , Amazon France, Amazon Germany, Amazon Spain and Amazon Italy, or with JPC.de. With the fluidity of pricing, it is worth checking around for the best deal.

To get you in the mood, here's an absorbing ten minute documentary, which includes James Guthrie talking about the new version, and in particular a piano part played by Richard Wright. It also has comments from Storm Thorgerson, who reveals the dilemma over how to do a "new but old" version of the cover artwork, and explains how they came up with the idea to return the original pictures to the elements represented. So, the picture of the burning man gets burnt itself, the splashless diver picture is itself under water, and so on.