Tweeted on Polly Samson's Twitter feed is the rather unexpected but incredibly welcome news of a new Pink Floyd album. She revealed that it is called "The Endless River" and is based on sessions recorded in 1994 - which were for The Division Bell.

She also notes that it "is Rick Wright's swansong and very beautiful". The singer Durga McBroom-Hudson also expands on this, by stating the recent picture of David Gilmour in the studio with her (Durga), along with Sarah Brown and Louise Clare Marshall was not in actual fact from the recording sessions of David's new work, but from the sessions working on completing The Endless River (although this is not confirmed).

There were a number of comments from people concerning the lack of any outtakes in The Division Bell 20th anniversary boxset (particularly as the existence of some instrumental recordings - commonly known as The Big Spliff - has been known for many years and has moved into the stuff of legend and the odd dodgy download). Clearly, it seems, plans had been afoot for a standalone release for some time, which should please those who are only after these recordings so they don't have to buy a full box set just for this CD. Needless to say, this should prove incredibly popular and we expect demand to be very high.

More details, including ordering details and more, to come as soon as we have them.

UPDATE, 6th July: In today's The Sun on Sunday UK newspaper, under the tagline of 'Pigs Fly Again', is a report on the new album. Whilst none of their information is confirmed, and seems to come from an unnamed "source close to the project", there are some interesting updates. Included in the report they note that David and Nick have been working on this in the studio over the past six months, and that the material (sitting in a vault in London's Abbey Road Studios) has "been a joy for [them] to rediscover". They also make the point that Roger Waters is not involved in the project - a question we've had from a number of you. A spokesman for the band also stresses that there will be no accompanying live tour, although these last two points won't come as a surprise to many of you.

With The Division Bell 20th anniversary box set, vinyl (and standalone DVD) grabbing headlines with its release around this weekend depending on where you are in the world, another set of releases that are due on Monday (June 30th) in the UK and Europe, are sure to be just as eagerly awaited by the vinyl junkies amongst you, and really shouldn't be overlooked - hence this reminder for you.

On that day, Rhino are releasing Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs, Barrett, and Opel albums on heavyweight 180g vinyl. With the resurgence of interest and take-up of vinyl, these high quality new editions are sure to be popular.

For the Syd novices out there, The Madcap Laughs was his first solo album, released January 1970. Featuring a band including David Gilmour on various instruments, Jerry Shirley, Willie Wilson and Robert Wyatt, there are some very highly regarded tracks throughout the record. Barrett was to follow, in November of the same year. Again, David Gilmour performs on the album, as does Richard Wright. The songs on the album generally have a lighter tone than Madcap, but this was to be his second and final conventional album. Opel was released in October 1988, and was a collection of unreleased material and alternate takes from the Madcap and Barrett sessions.

You can place your orders for these albums through these direct links:

Don't forget, using our Amazon links also helps us with things like the ongoing site running costs, and we appreciate it hugely!

The Greenwich Music Time Festival is a new outdoor concert series held in one of the most historic locations in London. Set on the banks of the River Thames at Sir Christopher Wren's twin-domed masterpiece the Old Royal Naval College, it is a four-day celebration of music in a fully seated outdoor theatre.

Held during the August Bank Holiday weekend, the event opens on Wednesday, August 20th running until Saturday, August 23rd, 2014. The first night (the 20th) has headliners The Australian Pink Floyd Show, and subsequent nights offer Jools Holland, Russell Watson, Goldfrapp and a variety of special guests

We know that the Aussie Floyd are a popular act with many Brain Damage visitors, and indeed, the Aussies first played in the UK over twenty years ago for the first International Brain Damage fan convention at Wembley, so we've got a long history with them. If you've not seen them before, this venue could prove a very interesting place to see the band and their repertoire of Floyd classics. 

Tickets are now available through Seetickets.com.

Six Hour Technicolor Dream, a legendary live recording of a show by the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band, which for many Syd Barrett fans has been seen as "the Holy Grail" as it is probably the last recorded live performance by Barrett, has this month had an official CD release on the Easy Action label.

The show took place at Cambridge Corn Exchange on January 27th, 1972, and includes as part of the show, Syd (along with Fred Frith) jamming with the band which consisted of Jack Monck, Twink, and Bruce Paine. Syd had attended their show the previous evening, and jammed with them. Clearly taken by the experience, he joined them again for this show, which was captured on tape. A couple of days after this show, the band - including Syd - transformed into the short-lived Stars, which focused on Barrett material and some blues jamming.

The release is well packaged, using a gatefold cover, featuring the rare poster for the show that reveal tickets were a mere 60p in advance, or 70p on the door. The poster is repeated inside, as the cover of the booklet which gives more information on the show, and a revealing interview with Twink, talking about those days with Syd. The CD label itself is rather droll, with the spindle hole replacing the big cat's open mouth.

Syd and Fred don't appear until track five, Drinkin' That Wine, and they also appear on the subsequent Number Nine and Gotta Be A Reason. Sound quality throughout the CD is pretty variable with the occasional tape and recording drop-out (with the tape deck on stage, cables were occasionally caught and pulled out!). Despite this, you can hear the clear difference musically on the three Syd-featuring tracks. His playing can be easily heard and for me, make for a very interesting third of this recording. Don't, however, expect too much - this is more aimed at the hardcore Syd fans amongst you.

An amount from the sale of this release has gone to the Syd Barrett Estate. If you wish to add this CD to your collection, you can order it now through these direct links: Amazon UK, Amazon France, Amazon Germany, Amazon Espana and Amazon Italy.