Last night (Thursday, October 15th), David Gilmour and Polly Samson participated in a fascinating public discussion, an evening part of a wider initiative called 5x15 which has involved a wide range of personalities talking about their own spheres of experience.

David and Polly's event was held at London's ornate Porchester Hall, scene of the launch event for Pink Floyd's The Endless River. The event had the pair discussing their creative relationship, as well as music, inspiration and their artistic processes, with author Andrew O'Hagan asking the majority of questions (and facilitating a range of interesting questions from the audience).

As the introduction acknowledged, the roots of last night's chat were in June's Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas appearance, which covered similar ground and gave the lucky few a sneak preview of a couple of tracks from the Rattle That Lock album. During the London event, the discussion covered similar ground but expanded on certain areas - and early (or demo) versions of a number of David's more recent works were aired courtesy of his iPhone. He also had an acoustic guitar to his side which was called upon at various points during the evening.

Thus, we got to hear an early Smile (which originally - amongst David's children at least - was known as Donkey Poo), In Any Tongue (which Polly pointed out, had David almost scatting the words "Haagen Dazs" - the ice cream company - through the early, rough version). There was also an early version of Girl With The Yellow Dress played back, which featured a lot less instrumentation. O'Hagan concentrated on the genesis of these and other recent works, which made for a fascinating insight into the creative process, particularly related to A Boat Lies Waiting, of which Polly related the difficulty in resolving the subject matter and lyric for.

Some of the explanations were familiar to those who have been reading, watching, or listening to, the recent range of interviews, such as Polly coming up with the lyrics to Rattle That Lock while studying Milton's Paradise Lost & researching The Kindness. There were a number of other areas that were less trodden roads, including wider discussions of music (including David's opinion of why, or more accurately who was responsible for, The Beatles breaking up). However, as David noted at one point, "conflict has led to a lot of great music".

One added bonus last night for many was the unexpected signing session which followed the event, with David and Polly happily autographing various items for the audience.

At present, there are no announced plans for any further discussion sessions.

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.

Tickets can be purchased through this direct link.

Last month, we told you about the absorbing and fun hour-long interview with the highly respected guitarist Snowy White which was conducted and podcast by US concern KCRO - Keep Calm and Rock On. It's a great listen and gives good insight into Snowy, his career, and how he copes with life on the road.

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.