The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) yesterday announced that Ed O'Brien of Radiohead, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd and Sandie Shaw would be the new co-Chairs of the organisation, taking over from Dave Rowntree of Blur, who has stepped down due to work commitments.

Each chair will focus on a different key area, with Nick the FAC ambassador to the music industry. Commenting on the announcement, Nick said:

"We plan to focus on really making a difference to our members and artists in general. There are three key reasons people tell us they value being part of the FAC: to make sure they are fairly represented and heard, to network with other artists and to learn from one another - and the structure will allow us do this in a more streamlined way."

Although possibly more suited to the various tribute bands out there, fans of Pink Floyd will have a chance to own a slice of the band's legendary live performance history when the unique, hand built quadraphonic mixing consoles used on the Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell world tours are auctioned at Bonhams in London's Knightsbridge on December 15, with a percentage of the proceeds going to concert industry charity Stage Hand, the new name for the PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund.

The consoles are being sold by their owner, Britannia Row Productions (BRP), the sound company originally formed and owned by Pink Floyd, which has been independent for the last 26 years.

The picture to the left (by Mike Lethby) shows the Midas XL3 Quad Board being prepared for Pink Floyd's show at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in California in 1994 on the 'Division Bell' tour. The sound engineer is Dave Lohr, who mixed the quadraphonic effects from the special board.

To tie in with the recent publication of Gerald Scarfe's The Making of Pink Floyd - The Wall book, we've got a couple of interview updates for you.

First, Gerald will be talking about the album on the UK based satellite TV channel Sky Arts One at 7pm (GMT) this coming Thursday (November 18th) on The Book Show. Sky Arts One can be seen via Sky and Virgin Media in the UK, and in a number of countries in Europe via satellite. Our thanks to Adam James for the info.

Last Friday in the US, "The Pop Culture King Show" that aired in Atlanta on The Voice of the Arts was dedicated to The Wall Tour, which lands there on Nov. 18, and featured an interesting interview with Gerald. Excerpts from the interview ran in last Friday's edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, the city's only major daily, and can be seen here. However, you can hear the show through this direct link.

On the official Pink Floyd Store, a rather nice new item has appeared. It's described as a "limited edition vintage style Moto jacket inspired by Nick Mason and his passion for auto racing. Decorated with the Pulse Heartbeat embroidery."

The jacket is available on a pre-order basis only for a limited time (through December 4th, 2010) exclusively from the online store. All jackets will ship in mid December, which should mean it'll arrive in time for use as a Christmas present for a lucky friend or relative.

With thanks to our friends over at the store, we have one jacket to give away to a Brain Damage visitor!