The highly-respected, Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera, whom many of you would also have enjoyed as part of David Gilmour's touring band on his 2006 tour (and subsequent CD/DVD releases), enjoys a thriving solo career. Some of you may have heard his wonderful 2004 album, 6PM, partly on the strength of David guesting on it, or the follow-up, Firebird V11 which was released in 2008 to deserved acclaim.

Of course, more recently he worked extensively on The Endless River, helping to get that ready for release. But, not one to take it too easy, he's also been working on more of his own material - next Monday (March 23rd), a date worth noting in your diaries, is when Phil releases his new album, The Sound Of Blue in the UK and Europe. For those in the US, it is one week later (March 31st) and Canada follows (7th April).

Phil is releasing the album on his own label Expression Records, licensed to Universal Music Catalogue. The Sound of Blue is described as an instrumental memoir with one song, a cover of the track, 'No Church in the Wild' by Jay Z and Kanye West, who sampled Manzanera's guitar riff for the opening track of their 2012 smash album, 'Watch the Throne'. The Sound of Blue's 10 tracks are a musical memoir of this singular musician's life. Each track is illustrated by a short film created by Manzanera using personal iPhone and Super 8 footage. The album is produced by Manzanera and mastered by Pink Floyd soundman, Andy Jackson.

Phil: "When I write instrumental music I think about a possible narrative for each track. During the writing of The Sound of Blue it started evoking memories and emotions that I hadn't revisited in years: my 60's childhood in Latin America, Magdalena, my Colombian mother, the heady days in the 70s of early Roxy Music, music adventures in Spain and Sweden, days spent exploring Cornwall... and the unlikely musical coming together with two global rap stars. The Sound of Blue and its short films is in effect a sort of musical memoir."

To place your order now, for despatch to you on release, you can do so through these direct links: Amazon UK, Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon France, Amazon Germany, Amazon Espana and Amazon Italy.

This afternoon, the 2015 Record Store Day releases have been announced, and amongst the limited run pressings, available for one day only (April 18th, 2015) through independent record stores, is a single featuring Syd Barrett.

Pressed up on a 7" gold, white, red and black mixed vinyl single as a Rhino Records RSD exclusive is Dark Globe - on one side performed by Syd, on the other, REM's excellent cover version. It is part of Rhino's Side By Side 7" series, with two artists performing the same song.

There are two different tranches of releases - those in the US, and those in the UK. This Syd/REM single is being released as part of the US releases, AND also in the UK.

As with all Record Store Day releases, it will not be available online (other than inevitably on eBay from the morning of April 18th) but while stocks last in participating independent record stores. Be prepared to get to your local store prior to opening, and be ready to queue!

There are a lot of independent stores that participate in Record Store Day. Not all of them will choose to participate in all promotions, or carry all releases. Just because a store is listed on the RSD website does NOT mean it will have the goodie or record you're looking for. That said, find a store near you and check with them directly. They won't hold an item aside for you, but at least you'll know if it will be worth the trip!

Our page marking the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd and asking for your thoughts, feelings and memories has resulted in a very healthy (and welcomed) response! Last month marked the 50th anniversary of the proper beginning of The Pink Floyd, with the band using that name for the first time in 1965. Of course, they weren't quite settled on it at the time, and at various points during the year they reverted to The Tea Set, before finally deciding on the name the world came to know the band under. Unusually for a band that has been around for such a long time, the line-up barely changed over the years. In 1965, around the time Syd conjured up the name, they had Rado "Bob" Klose, guitarist, amongst their ranks, but Rado left them before they signed to EMI and turned professional.

We'd still love to hear what you think on the band's golden anniversary. What have been your Pink Floyd highlights - either the moments in their career you consider most significant, or the moments you remember best on a personal level? Did you see them live? Any special memories of that, or of hearing any of the albums for the first time? Any amusing stories? And, have you ever met any of the band? If so, please share the experience for those who haven't!

Below we've collated some more of the responses, but look forward to hearing from you if you've yet to join in with your memories. You can either email us at the normal address ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), or join the conversation over at the Brain Damage Facebook page or our Twitter page. We're looking forward to seeing your responses!

Thoughts (and picture) from BD contributor, Syd Bacon:

While I was only 10 when the American The Wall shows happened, I was fortunate enough to see them during the 88 and 94 tours. Both shows were in Foxboro Massachusetts (USA) and both shows were incredible experiences. But my Floyd story isn't about show attendance, but how they were inextricably tied to my life from an extremely early age...

Just announced is the first public appearance together by David Gilmour and his wife, Polly Samson, at the 2015 Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas. The three-day event, which takes place in June, is held in Co. Carlow, Ireland. Polly's new book, A Kindness, is published this week.

David is set to join Polly in a discussion about their songwriting partnership. Polly wrote lyrics for The Division Bell, and for Louder Than Words on The Endless River. She also contributed towards On An Island and is doing the same for David's forthcoming album, due in September to coincide with the concerts announced this week.

Polly told the Irish Times: "A friend of ours curates the festival and asked if I could get David to come along. She works so hard on it that even without consulting David, I said I'm sure we could get him to do it. And when I asked, he readily agreed."

Polly continued: "I was always reluctant to be open about it, because it felt like the domain of men with guitars. But David talked a lot about it in the interviews he did for The Endless River, and it was almost like being outed. Then there was suddenly a few articles about writers who were lyricists, especially after Michael Chabon wrote lyrics for Mark Ronson. It turned out Kazuo Ishiguro wrote lyrics and then I was included too, so then it felt okay to talk about - it felt like there were other writers who were lyricists, and we're allowed to do more than one type of writing."

The festival runs from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th June, and is said to be a weekend of "stimulating dialogue and discussion, gathering together intriguing international minds – historians, novelists, journalists, film-makers, poets, theatre directors, war correspondents, biographers, artists and political commentators. The Festival of Writing and Ideas has become known for its casual, friendly atmosphere, and for its extraordinary line up of speakers – and the beautiful setting of Borris House (and the spectacular village) in the Barrow Valley." As yet, the exact programme with dates and timings of each speaker, has not been announced, but is due shortly.

Borris House is said to be one of the most spectacular houses in Ireland. It sits at the foot of the Blackstairs Mountains, on the banks of the River Barrow, in the small village of Borris in the hinterland of South County Carlow.

Tickets for the event are now on sale, through VisualCarlow.ie. At present, only three-day passes to this festival have been made available. Subject to availability, tickets will be made available to individual days, and indeed individual talks.