The latest release from "possibly the world's smallest vinyl-only 'new-versions-of' classic psychedelia, progressive rock, acid-folk and krautrock record label" Fruits de Mer, is a Swedish acid-folk version of the Pink Floyd classic 'Julia Dream'. Released on ivy-white 7” vinyl, the single by the aptly-named Us & Them (a Swedish boy-girl duo) includes the nursery rhyme 'All the Pretty Little Horses', that Roger Waters apparently based his melody line on.

A beautiful, dreamy version of the song, it drifts into your consciousness and makes itself comfy. You can get it on 7" ice-vinyl, with a 7½” square 8-page full-colour lyrics booklet in place of a 'normal' sleeve, direct from their webshop (www.fruitsdemerrecords.com), or through a handful of like-minded UK stores (Piccadilly Records, Norman Records, Heyday Mail Order, Rough Trade). More info, also at www.UsAndThem.se, and at MySpace.com.

Our very best wishes go to Guy Pratt today (January 3rd), who is celebrating his 48th birthday. Born in London in 1962, son of the actor Mike Pratt from Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), Guy took to a career in music, which lead to his first world tour whilst still a teenager!

Working with the likes of Bryan Ferry and Robert Palmer lead to him being noticed by David Gilmour, who invited Guy to play for Pink Floyd in 1987. This lead to work with other major artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, but Guy has stayed loyal to David, performing alongside him up to the most recent tours.

Life as a musician on the road, and in the studio, inspired Guy to write his hilarious "My Bass And Other Animals" book, an essential read for any Floyd fan.

Many happy returns, Guy, from all of us at Brain Damage!

In an exclusive interview conducted by Miguel Nogueira for US daily TV/radio news programme Democracy Now!, Roger Waters speaks about the Gaza Freedom March, which he is taking part in. "I actually would be very interested to hear what the President of the United States has to say about this nonviolent, democratic demonstration of ordinary people from forty-two countries all over the world," says Waters. "They feel solidarity with their brothers and sisters, other human beings who are living in conditions that none of us would stand for, for a single second, in any of our countries."

You can view the interview, and find links to download the interview as a video or MP3, at www.DemocracyNow.org. There's an extended version of the interview which runs for more than nine minutes, to be found on YouTube:

"Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head" by Rob Chapman is a new book about the life and times of the Pink Floyd founder, to be published by Faber and Faber on May 6th, 2010.

The publishers note that Chapman's book  [click thumbnail, right] "will be the first authoritative and exhaustively researched biography of Syd Barrett that fully celebrates his life and legacy as a musician, lyricist and artist, and which highlights the influence that he continues to have over contemporary bands and music fans alike."

With the book running to some 448 pages, it certainly sounds like there is plenty of information that Chapman has brought together to tell Syd's story. We're hoping for more information on this title in due course, but in the meantime, you can take advantage of up to 37% discount off the recommended retail price, by pre-ordering through the following links: Amazon UK, Amazon US/International, Amazon Canada, Amazon France, or Amazon Germany.