Roddy Bogawa's Taken by Storm: The Art of Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis has been making the film festival rounds since 2011 to great critical acclaim. Its theatrical release, which coincides with a DVD release, brings the project to a production conclusion, giving fans and arts enthusiasts a chance to celebrate one of the most important accounts of Pink Floyd-related history on the big screen.
The UK premiere takes place on Friday (October 16th) at 6:30pm at the Barbican, London, and includes an introduction and discussion with Roddy, Orian, and from StormStudios, Peter Curzon. Tickets for this very special occasion are still available - having seen an early screening of the film, that aspect alone is heartily recommended, but with the Q&A with Roddy, Orian and Peter, it really makes for an event not to be missed.
It's a documentary film about one man’s artistic journey amidst technological change and its affect on image-making and our collective memory and culture. For over forty years using 12” x 12” album covers as his canvas before his untimely passing in 2013, Storm Thorgerson created some of the most iconic images in the history of rock and roll. Eschewing computer manipulation in favour of building massive sets and tableaus, staging performances and actions and “doing it for real” in what he called “mind movies” and “photo paintings”, Thorgerson deliriously and relentlessly confounded expectations of the relation of images and music, hyperrealism and the everyday, and the role of the record sleeve at the intersection of art and commerce.
Director Roddy Bogawa’s documentary features intimate interviews with Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell as musicians he’s long collaborated with including David Gilmour and Nick Mason, Robert Plant, Peter Gabriel, Graham Gouldman and Alan Parsons and never before seen footage and photographs of the production of past record covers. It was shot over a three year period and executive produced by theatre director and avid music memorabilia collector Rob Roth and acclaimed producer Orian Williams.
Anyway, KCRO have just published their latest podcast, and this time, there's another musician that should be of interest, particularly to the Roger Waters fans out there in BDland. The interview is with GE Smith, guitarist on Roger's 2010-2013 tour. This is all quite timely with the recent cinema screenings of Roger Waters The Wall, which is released soon on various audio and video formats (see our news items elsewhere), with Friday night's Waters concert in Washington DC, and with GE's upcoming, intimate concert in Sag Harbor, New York, at the end of the month which has Roger as a guest in a very special, one off show.
The interview goes through GE's story, from earliest experimentation with a guitar found at home, through his work with people like Bob Dylan, to his work (including the upcoming events) with Roger. It gives some good insights into the man, and can be heard or downloaded through this direct link at KCRO.
Nick Mason has teamed up with Technics Tracks to create a number of videos in their Spotlights series. In the videos, he talks about 'Inspiring Moments', 'My Listening Space', and 'My Life in Tracks'. The following playlist of videos includes Nick's contributions. For those who have German as their first language, the Technics Youtube channel includes versions adapted accordingly.
Summers Place Auctions are
this week running a sale of items in their Garden and Natural History category, and slightly bizarrely, a recent Pink Floyd rarity is included!
The item in question is a set of the PULSE eyes. Commissioned by EMI Records for the release of Pink Floyd's Pulse DVD in 2006 and manufactured by Hothouse Props, this is one of only 10 ever made. Another example autographed by David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason, along with designer Storm Thorgerson was auctioned in aid of the homeless charity Crisis in 2006 for £16,500.
The eyes, with a guide price of £6,000 - £10,000, are 183cm, or 72 inches, high, and described as 'perspex and printed paper on [a] steel stand'. In the flesh, they really are impressive and would make a real talking point in anyone's home.
For a sense of scale here's a picture we took at the PULSE DVD launch, showing Richard Wright, David Gilmour and Nick Mason standing beside one of the 10 examples made. Bids are currently being taken; these must be received by 5.00pm tomorrow (Wednesday 14th October) - full details here.
Out now is the 2016 Pink Floyd Calendar. A perennial Floyd fan favourite - particularly as a gift at Christmas time - is this annual official wall calendar. An item which has been produced for many years now, the standardised format is roughly the same size as a vinyl album - 12" (or 30cm) square, with the calendar opening up to have a double page spread per month.
The calendar - designed as ever by the good people at StormStudios, and published by the appropriately named Pyramid - celebrates the band over the course of the year, and is often then squirrelled away as a collectable for the years to come! This year's calendar concentrates on Wish You Were Here, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. The images within are composed of classic pictures from the 1975 release, as well as alternate ideas and concepts.
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