Roger Waters has been announced as giving the Keynote Q&A at the 10th Annual Billboard Touring Conference in New York, set for November 13th-14th 2013 at the Roosevelt Hotel in the city.

"The Wall Live" is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed tours in history. By the time it finished this coming weekend, it will be among the Top 5 highest-grossing tours in history.

"Roger Waters is one of the most compelling subjects I've ever interviewed, and I am thrilled that he will be our Keynote Q&A at our 10th annual Touring Conference," says Ray Waddell, Billboard's executive director of content and programming, touring and live entertainment, who will conduct the interview with Waters. "His impact on music and the live experience is undeniable, but his interests and opinions transcend the music industry. This is guaranteed to be a fascinating session."

More details can be found at billboardevents.com/touring.

Today marks the very sad, fifth anniversary of the passing of Richard Wright, and along with many around the world, our thoughts are with his family and friends today, as they remember him...

A founding member of the early Pink Floyd, his distinctive keyboard work was a cornerstone of the band's music, yet his contribution was, of course, so much greater than that, as a vocalist and songwriter, responsible for many significant pieces of music throughout the band's career.

As with previous years, a steady stream of emails are arriving here from fans who are thinking of Richard today, and who will - like us - be playing his music in tribute throughout today. You can share your thoughts on Richard, his contribution to Pink Floyd, and his contribution to your own life, over at our Facebook page.

Valentino Rossi, the Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion (and one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time) has long had a tradition of using a special helmet at every GP race held in Italy. Today, he took to the track in Misano with a new helmet design dedicated to the memory of his friend Marco Simoncelli, who died in October 2011 at the Sepang circuit.

As you'll see from the picture to the right (from Rossi's own website) and the video below, the helmet features a design based on the cover of Wish You Were Here, with the classic handshake/four elements logo on the top, and the handshake in the studio backlot on the rear of the helmet. Our thanks to Roger Little, Darren Webb, and massimiliano for the information and photos of the helmet.

Roger Waters spent some time with Irish broadcaster RTÉ recently, which was aired on September 11th, the day of the Zurich concert.

There was a seven minute interview, interspersed with footage from the recent concerts, on RTÉ Ten television, which can be watched on demand through this link. Roger's interviewed by Dave Fanning and talks of things like the concerts, and the Live8 reunion - and how he could live with whatever David Gilmour decided for the show, but couldn't consider ever trying to get back together with him and Nick on a longer term basis.

On the same day, Dave Fanning's two-hour show in the evening on RTÉ 2fm was devoted to Roger and the Floyd. In an extended version of the above interview, Dave pressed Roger on the Floyd split, the possibilities of playing other albums live (Ummagumma was suggested and even Atom Heart Mother!) and the Live 8 reunion. Roger sidestepped a lot of these, instead favouring to talk about political aspects of the Wall (and the world) but he fondly remembered Rick. This can be heard on demand through this link. Our thanks to Martin Kilbride for the info on the radio show, and to John Starlock for the link to the TV interview.