Released at the tail end of last year, by ACT Music, was the album Celebrating The Dark Side Of The Moon, by Nguyên Lê with Michael Gibbs and the NDR Bigband.

The idea behind a new reading of Pink Floyd's 1973 classic album came from ACT director Siggi Loch and NDR producers Stefan Gerdes and Axel Dürr, whose radio Big Band is no secret for jazz fans. Their idea was bold and aimed at linking tradition with today, combining Michael Gibbs – composer and arranger – with Nguyên Lê, a guitarist known for jumping stylistic borders. Lê draws on influences embracing all continents, and is painted with colours drawn from jazz, rock, and a kind of world fusion permeated with light.

Celebrating The Dark Side Of The Moon demonstrates this well, with the album not just covered, but adapted, and expanded in places they felt it was needed for their own experimentation. We heard all sorts of different sounds and influences in it - and at times, it felt like some of the late, great Frank Zappa's more jazzy pieces. Certainly makes for an interesting difference and we're all for novel and unusual interpretations of Pink Floyd's music.

You can order this album now through these direct links: Amazon UK, Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon France, Amazon Germany, Amazon Espana and Amazon Italy.

Our pages marking the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd and asking for your thoughts, feelings and memories have clearly been very popular. We've had a great response via email and Facebook, and wanted to include even more here for everyone to enjoy.

We asked various questions, relating to 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 start with a detailed, and fascinating piece from one of our Norwegian friends, with plenty of cherished memories. We'll be adding other submissions to this page too. We 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 from BD contributor, JT, Oslo, Norway:

Music in general, but Pink Floyd in particular, is an extremely important part of my life. For me the music of Floyd is something that touches me in so many levels. It goes straight to my inner soul and evokes feelings I can’t control. Putting on a record and just dive into it and just get lost in all the emotions is a wonderful, but also a bit frightening thing to experience. Even more so hearing the band, or band members, perform it live and just lose contact with the real world...

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!