Many of you will recall that previously, Jon Carin has provided special opportunities to help raise money for his daughter's school in New York, to try to compensate for budget cuts from the city of New York. Spurred by the success and popularity of those, Jon has arranged for another unique experience, though CharityBuzz.com.

Perfect for aspiring musicians, the lucky winning bidder of this auction lot will be able to record their own song with Jon, a renowned producer and musician for the likes of Pink Floyd, Roger, and David Gilmour. You'll join Jon in a Manhattan recording studio: let Carin turn your diamond in the rough into a fully faceted diamond!

Bidding starts today, March 16th, 2010, at 12:00pm EDT, and finishes on April 1st, 2010, at 12:20pm EDT. The winning bidder will have just about a year to head into the studio with Jon - plenty of time to hone your budding masterpiece before meeting up with him (and the real work begins!). Click here to bid and for more details. A good cause, and a great opportunity!

Pink Floyd recorded a session at the BBC's Paris Theatre on September 30th, 1971, for broadcast on October 12th that year as part of John Peel's radio show. It was a wonderful, evocative session, consisting of some of their in-concert favourites at the time. Embryo, Blues, Fat Old Sun,  One of These Days and Echoes were committed to tape, and the last of these tracks, in a 28 minute version, can be listened to (within the UK only, we're sorry to say) for the next three days on demand.

Aired on the Chris Hawkins radio show on BBC Radio 6 Music, you can catch it via the BBC iPlayer service. You'll need to wait (or skip forward) to around the three-and-a-half hour point to hear Echoes. Our thanks to James McGreevy for the info.

UPDATE: It seems certain European countries also have the ability to hear this, in particular Switzerland, so if you are outside the UK, it's worth a try!

Many of you will recall the previous release from Fruits de Mer Records - Us and Them's version of Pink Floyd's Julia Dream. Following the success of that venture, the company, an independent record label, are releasing another limited edition single called "What Colour is Pink?"

The record, a 7" pink vinyl EP of covers of three tracks from 'Saucerful of Secrets', by the German psych/spacerock band Vibravoid, should prove very popular. Recapture the spirit of 1968 with their versions of Set The Controls, Let There Be More Light, and the album's title track. We've had a sneak preview of Set The Controls and enjoyed their tribute to the track.

It will be on sale in mid-April; limited to just 500 copies, with about 300 already spoken for, you'll need to be quick to secure yours. 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.

Singer-songwriter Lesley Duncan sadly passed away on Friday, March 12th, after a long illness; she was 66. One of England's top session vocalists, and a songwriter in her own right, Lesley Duncan sang on recordings by Elton John, the Dave Clark 5, the Alan Parsons Project, Michael Chapman, Joyce Everson and the soundtrack of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Pink Floyd fans will know her best for Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" on which she performed backing vocals.

Her own songs have been covered by many artists, including Elton, Olivia-Newton John and Long John Baldry. Her debut single was in 1963, but she had to wait six years before she found success when Elton John included her tune, "Love Song", on his album, Tumbleweed Connection. The popularity of that track secured her a recording contract with CBS Columbia, which lasted some years. She continued to perform and work on new material until fairly recently with her husband (and keyboard player) Jimmy Horowitz.