Many of you will recall previous Pink Floyd related releases from Fruits de Mer Records: Us and Them's version of Pink Floyd's Julia Dream, and "What Colour is Pink?" a 7" pink vinyl EP of covers of three tracks from A Saucerful of Secrets, by the German psych/spacerock band Vibravoid. Both of these proved rather popular.

In a month's time - November 11th, 2013 - a new, limited 7" single is released by Fruits de Mer. On coloured vinyl, with a proud boast of "no downloads and no CDs", Vespero (a Russian progressive/psychedelic rock band) offer their versions of Careful With That Axe, Eugene and One Of These Days. Both songs, of course, have a fairly violent theme to them, which may or may not have influenced their choice of track to cover, and as you'll hear from the excerpt here, they've done a good job at approaching Eugene and keeping things authentic sounding.

It will be on sale in November, and you can get the single direct from www.fruitsdemerrecords.com and from like-minded shops (virtual or brick-built) such as Heyday, Norman and Rough Trade.

The well-respected UK radio station Planet Rock are broadcasting a new series of one-hour specials dedicated to classic albums - "Planet Rock Plays It In Full" - starting at 11pm UK time on Monday, October 14th.

Planet Rock Plays It In Full will air legendary albums in full, played uninterrupted by jingles, commercials or DJs and introduced in each case by one of the key people behind it. The first show (this coming Monday) will feature Roger Waters discussing Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon, while the coming weeks will include Jimmy Page discussing Led Zeppelin IV and Meat Loaf talking about Bat Out Of Hell.

Those in the UK can tune in on DAB radio, via Sky satellite TV (channel 0110), Virgin Media digital cable (channel 924), or Freesat (channel 730). Alternatively, fans worldwide can listen in via their website: PlanetRock.com. They also have a "Listen Again" facility online but we cannot guarantee that this new show will be available through that route.

UPDATE: You can now hear the show on demand through this link.

The UK media, including The Times and Sky News, was awash yesterday with the news that - at long last - the truth of how Eric Fletcher Waters, father of Roger, died in the Second World War.

To this point, all that was known for sure was that Waters senior died at the Battle of Anzio in February 1944 when Roger was just five months old. Now, a representative of the Italy Star association of British Veterans, Harry Shindler, has tracked down documentation which reveals in some detail the final hours of Waters' life, and the exact location of his passing.

Shindler wasn't aware of Roger's quest until recently. "I didn't know who Pink Floyd were. I'm 93. I was very moved by this chaps who keeps looking for his father. I thought I would see if I could find out what happened to him." Roger told The Times "I think it is extraordinary. I learned that there is the possibility that I may be able to visit the spot where my father died. I am moved to tears by that fact. A large part of my history is being connected to a man who was prepared to die for his ideals".

The UK's ITN news service also put together a video report, which can be seen through this link.

Upcoming are two Storm Thorgerson exhibitions, celebrating the man himself, who so sadly passed away this year, and the forthcoming book, The Gathering Storm, which is published on October 22nd. Both start on the same day - October 23rd - and are taking place in London, England, and Venice, Italy.

The London exhibition is being held at the newly opened Proud Archivist, a combined gallery, bar, restaurant, cafe and events space, and runs from October 23rd to December 1st, 2013. The exhibition will feature a plethora of images from the beginnings of Storm’s career as co-founder of Hipgnosis to his more recent work with StormStudios, from those created for bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Biffy Clyro and Muse through to obscure and rarely seen gems. All these images are usually only seen in LP or CD format, and sometimes printed in less than desirable quality, but The Gathering Storm will provide a chance to see them as large high quality silkscreen/ giclee prints, pulsing with detail and colour. The exhibition will also offer unique behind-the-scenes insights with previously unseen sketchbooks, photographs and anecdotes from the shoots, revealing the process and extraordinary effort that went into making the final images.

The Proud Archivist is in Hertford Road, London N1, and more information can be found at their website. Admission is free. StormStudios themselves said of the show: "We've been working on some exciting new ways to display our images alongside our limited edition fine art prints. It promises to be a sumptuous show and we hope also something approaching a fitting memorial to a dear friend and colleague."

Turning to the Venice exhibition, this takes place during the 55th International Biennial of Art inside the Hall of Bangladesh, and runs from October 23rd (the same as the London show) to November 24th, 2013, every day apart from Mondays. Admission is free. The Venice exhibition is organized by Fratelli Pedrazzi's Arteutopia (www.arteutopia.it) and that the Cultural Association Floydseum will be present inside with some gems from its collection. Should be an unmissable event for those who can make it along to Venice during the month the exhibition is open.

Our thanks to Alberto Durgante from the Heyou Floyd fanzine for his help with the Venice information.