With apologies for the rather short notice(!), those in London today who have nothing already planned for this rather grey, damp day, should consider a jaunt down to the Southbank Centre for Hitchcon'09, a celebration of Douglas Adams and his iconic Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Taking place 30 years after H2G2 first appeared, and 8 years after Douglas's sad passing, it includes never-before-seen images from his personal archives, including pictures from his jamming sessions with David Gilmour, a good friend who even gave him the experience of joining Pink Floyd on stage for one song at Earls Court in 1994 as a birthday present!

The event also includes performances featuring actors from the original radio show, and much more. Events kick off at 11:30am this morning, with the first session starting at 12:30pm; more details of everything on offer at www.SouthbankCentre.co.uk and at www.6of3.com.

Further to the recent story reported far and wide (details here) concerning David collaborating with Dr Alex Patterson, head honcho of top ambient band The Orb, there has been some clarification courtesy of David's official website. They note that the collaboration comments are true, albeit "up to a point. David has done some recording with The Orb and producer Youth, inspired initially by the plight of Gary McKinnon. However, nothing is finalised, and nothing has been confirmed with regards to any structure for the recordings or firm details re: any release plans." So there you have it...

Published at the end of September, The Art of Classic Rock: Memorabilia, Tour Posters and Merchandise from the 70s and 80s is the wordily-titled new book from Goodman Books. The 256-page, large hardback book takes a look at the collection of Rob Roth, who has obtained rare examples of these items for forty years.

His spectacular collection is so vast that it has never all been put on public display but now many of the pieces have been lovingly catalogued. With over 750 colour photographs, it promises a "lavishly produced presentation of some of the most vivid and exciting artwork from the rock world featuring bands such as The Rolling Stones, Queen, Pink Floyd, The Who, Led Zeppelin and every other major rock act of the era". Each section of the book features a particular band covering different tours and different albums to show how design and graphic styles changed and to provide an overview of rock history from the period.

We're hoping to bring you more information on the exact Floyd content shortly; in the meantime, it can be ordered at a discount of up to 45% off the normal price (at time of writing) from Amazon UK, Amazon US/International, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, or Amazon France.

To help celebrate the 30th anniversary of its release, the well-respected interviewer Redbeard makes Pink Floyd The Wall the subject of a two-part, two-hour special airing the weeks of November 16th, 2009, and November 23rd, 2009 on his "In The Studio" show.

The show will feature interviews with Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Nick Mason, all looking back at the album, and so shouldn't be missed!

In its 21st year, "In The Studio" is a weekly hour-long "rockumentary" syndicated each week to over 85 US cities, and listenable online worldwide. More details, including airing times, can be found at InTheStudio.net. Click on the tab at the top of the homepage marked "On the Radio" for the station in your area; there's a link to each station's website for exact day, time, and radio frequency. If there's not a station in your area, and you are unable to tune in online, Redbeard normally posts the entire interview on his website after it has aired. Our thanks to Terrence Reardon for the information on this interview.