A superb new book, written by Phil Taylor, David Gilmour's long-term guitar technician, studio manager, production director and much more, takes a careful and detailed look at one of rock's most iconic instruments.

"The Black Strat: A History Of David Gilmour's Black Fender Stratocaster" is a thoroughly rewarding book for ALL Pink Floyd fans - not just the musicians amongst you! And thanks to Phil, we have a signed copy of the limited edition book to give away to one lucky Brain Damage visitor!

Our friends in Sydney, Australia are in for a treat next month. Guy Pratt is playing his first stand-up show ("My Bass And Other Animals") in the country, at the Factory Theatre in Sydney, on December 12th at 8pm.

Tickets are on sale now from the box office - (02)-9550-3666 - and are bound to sell fast. Having seen the show a few times ourselves, we know how funny it is - chock full of stories about his times with Pink Floyd and David Gilmour, and a whole bunch of other top musicians over the years too... Don't miss it!

Some good news to start the week: David Gilmour's concert at the Gdansk Shipyard on August 26th, 2006, is to be released as a live CD at some point next year (2008). The concert was held before a huge crowd of 100,000, and marked the 26th anniversary of Poland's 1980 revolution, where nation-wide strikes led to the eventual fall of communism. August 26th itself was the day in which the Solidarity trade union was founded.

Whilst the concert was notable for the inclusion of "A Great Day For Freedom" as part of the encores, David's blog site also mentions, tantalizingly, that "there will be one or two assorted extras thrown in for good measure..." More news, obviously, as we get it.

Our friend Guy Pratt, bass guitarist for Pink Floyd since 1987, and most recently involved with David Gilmour's On An Island project, has just signed up with an innovative new music tutorial site. icanplayit.com offers broadcast quality video lessons as part of a full length, structured course, and world-class, highly respected musicians such as Guy are offering their services as tutors for the very first time - and judging by our inbox, there are plenty of budding musicians out there! The first five lessons are free to all site visitors in the form of a "mini-course". More details and sample video clips here.