Today we have some more new music from respected guitarist Chester Kamen. We know that a good number of you have been enjoying these songs. Amongst many other artists, Chester has toured with Roger Waters, joining his band in 2002 and playing on subsequent tours, and with David Gilmour on his 2016 Rattle That Lock tour. He first played with David back in 1985 during the Live Aid show - David and Chester were both part of Bryan Ferry's band for that show (as was Jon Carin).

Chester has, like many musicians, kept himself busy whilst lockdowns and restrictions due to Covid-19 have called a halt to many things - in particular, live performance. Last October, he shared his new piece of music called Take This, that runs for over 23 minutes. Chester told us that Take This is the first side of an album he is currently working on - following, or inspired by, the old Floyd blueprint of one long piece and several songs on the flip side. Since then we've seen the first songs on the second side of the album: Brand New Day, Swimming, I'd Love To Turn You, Lover's Lane, Come The Revolution, Child Of The Damned, Stories, and The Wife Of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.

The new song from Chester is called Coat Of Many Colours, and takes a departure in style from some of the other recent songs. Chester told us that he's "been busy rehearsing and gigging with my rock and roll band The Loves. This [new] song relates to the fall from grace, or maybe demise, of a hero or love once held in the highest esteem. It's a little darker than some of the others… I couldn’t find a nun to sing the nun’s part so had to [use my wife Sarah] who did a great job. I played all the instruments though to be fair, there aren’t that many."

We'll update you as he progresses with the rest of the album, as we know from feedback we've had that the songs are proving very popular.

On November 19th, 2021, a new album from Jools Holland is released, featuring a song with David Gilmour.

The album, Pianola. Piano & Friends is described as a "loving tribute to the black and white keys, celebrating the community and conviviality that the piano inspires and the spark of Jools' deep love for music. The album showcases the vibrant versatility and virtuosity of Jools Holland and his lifelong friend, along with a truly unique line-up of some of the world's greatest artists: Rick Wakeman; David Gilmour; Ruby Turner; Herbie Hancock; Booker T.; Tom Jones; Gregory Porter; Mousse T.; YolanDa Brown; Dr. John; Joe Bonamassa; Trombone Shorty and more..."

Recorded through the lockdown period and from many corners of the world, the album has been produced by multi-instrumentalist Nitin Sawhney and Jools' longtime producer Laurie Latham. Jools said: "I'm humbled to have made this record with the greatest instrumental and vocal artists of our day. And so grateful to my lifelong friend the piano for making it possible."

David features on track 5, Blues For The End Of TIme, which features "sonic space design" By Dhani Harrison (no, we're not totally sure what this is, either!).

To order the album, you can do so from the following Amazon stores thus helping Brain Damage with a much needed contribution towards site running costs, at no extra cost to you! You will also have the advantage of the Amazon Price Promise where you automatically pay the lowest price they charge between the time you order something, and release.

The album isn't currently being listed on Amazon's US and Canadian stores, but other stores will ship worldwide, so worth considering them if you wish to add this to your collection.

Some potentially good news for those of you in the New York area - Roger Waters has added another date to his This Is Not A Drill tour, taking place in North America in 2022 (running from July 6th to October 15th). He will be playing at the UBS Arena in Elmont, NY on August 13th.

This $1.5billion multi-purpose arena, holding 18,853 for concerts, and situated next to the Belmont Park racetrack, opens November 20th, 2021; the picture here is an artist's impression of the exterior, from the venue's website.

Whilst the show now appears on Roger's website, as well as the venue's website, tickets aren't yet on sale but they should be soon. Tickets for Roger's upcoming tour can be purchased through this direct link at Ticketmaster. Use of our link also gives us much needed help toward ongoing site fees without costing you any extra, and we really appreciate it!

Should any further shows be added to Roger's tour, we will let everyone know. You can see the current schedule for This Is Not A Drill (which was originally due to take place in 2020, but delayed, of course, due to the Coronavirus pandemic) through this link.

On November 19th, 2021, a new, paperback edition of the book we called "a fantastic read . . . witty and incredibly detailed" is published. Ron Geesin's 'The Flaming Cow: The Making of Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother' is an in-depth look at the creation of the title track of the album, reviewed here when published in 2013 as a hardback, that offers a rare insight into the brilliant but often fraught collaboration between Pink Floyd and composer Geesin, the resultof which became known as Atom Heart Mother - the Floyd's first UK number one album.

From the time drummer Nick Mason visited Geesin's damp basement flat in Notting Hill, to the most recent performances of the piece in France, this book is an unflinching account about how one of Pink Floyd's most celebrated compositions came to life. Alongside unpublished photographs from the Abbey Road recording sessions (the only ones taken) and the subsequent performances in London and Paris, Geesin goes on to describe how the title was chosen, why he was not credited on the record, how he left Hyde Park in tears, and why the group did not much like the work. The Flaming Cow also explores its recent performances, and its new-found cult status that has led to it being studied for the French Baccalaureat.

UPDATE: Ron has been in touch, and tells us that "several corrections have been made (thanks to David Gilmour), some photographs have been restored to colour and [Ron has] written a new Chapter Ten 'Onward, Dear Mother' covering lavish Italian performances, Nick Mason's 'Saucers' inclusion of The Work in their set, and a skeletal Japanese Cow." He also notes that you can get a signed copy from his store - headscope.co.uk.

The book - with a foreword by Nick Mason - really is a fantastic read, coupled with the wonderful, evocative black and white shots of the band, and hired players and choir, in the midst of work at Abbey Road. Most of these have not been seen before, and these along could be argued as worth the price of admission. With the additional material and colour pictures, it sounds even better. And, setting the tone perfectly is the foreword by Nick Mason. Typically self-effacing, it acknowledges the book for what it is: "a fascinating in-depth study of one particular work", an epic piece which Nick states "we remain fond of, proud of, and in my case slightly bemused by". It also has one of the funniest excuses I've ever heard a member of the Floyd use!

You can place your order for the new paperback edition - complete with an updated cover image - right now through these direct links: Amazon UK, Amazon France, Amazon Germany, Amazon Espana and Amazon Italy. Using our links helps support the costs of running this website, won't cost you a penny/cent more, and we really appreciate it. At present it isn't being listed on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca but they DO list the previous, hardback edition.