In the current issue of Mojo Magazine (in UK stores now), Jeff Beck makes some very interesting comments as part of an article on the great guitarist.

First, he reveals how he was very close to being asked to join Pink Floyd as Syd Barrett was about to leave. Nick Mason talks - briefly - about this in his own book, "Inside Out", noting that "[Beck] would have been an interesting (and spectacular) experiment. I don't think any of us would have had the courage to make the phone call at the time".

Back in November 2008, and February 2009, the UK's Multiple Sclerosis Society was beneficiary of a pair of special comedy nights held at the 20th Century Theatre, in London's Notting Hill area. The evening, "Notting Good Taste", was hosted by Guy Pratt, of whom the organisers point out that his twenty-five odd years spent living in the area seem to make him think he has the right to front something like this! Guy of course has impressed audiences in the UK and Australia with his hilarious stand-up show, "My Bass and Other Animals" (book reviewed here), when he hasn't been performing bass guitar duties for the likes of Bryan Ferry and David Gilmour.

The success of these evenings has prompted a third to help raise even more money, which will be held at the same venue, on Wednesday, May 20th at 7:30pm. The success of the event is helping to draw ever bigger stars onto the bill, with Phill Jupitus headlining the show that Guy hosts. Joining Guy and Phill are Elvis McGonagall, Alan Francis, and The Stillhouse Orchestra.

Tickets (available on the door or at www.wegottickets.com) are £15 (in aid of Multiple Sclerosis Society), and includes a "free cocktail" hour sponsored by Martin Miller’s Gin between 7:30pm and 8:30pm. Should be a great evening...

Fans of David Gilmour who want to broaden their musical horizons a little, whilst helping a truly deserving charity, have a great opportunity later this month. David will be performing as a special guest of Amadou & Mariam, a well-respected duo from the Republic of Mali, a West African nation. The concert takes place in central London on Monday, May 25th, and all proceeds from the show go to Crisis, the homelessness charity.

On his website, David explained how he got to know the Malian musicians a couple of years ago: "I met Amadou and Mariam at the Mojo Awards, where we expressed mutual respect for each others' music, so it was a wonderful surprise when they called recently, inviting me to collaborate with them on this special one-off occasion for Crisis. I'm looking forward to breaking down a few musical boundaries in the cause of helping the homeless."

Quite remarkably it is almost twenty-two years since the release of Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, the band's first following the departure of Roger Waters. How time flies! Last year, the CD of the album in the US was discontinued by Sony BMG, and going by some quite recent emails from some of you, very hard to track down.

Thankfully, the album is being reissued by Capitol Records on June 2nd this year, so should be much easier to find shortly. You can pre-order it from all good outlets, including Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. Our thanks to Terrence Reardon for the release info...