In a new interview with Consequence Of Sound, Nick Mason revealed he kept out of the arguments over the sleeve notes for the upcoming release of the incredible 2018 remix of Pink Floyd's Animals. The remix (including surround versions) is out this Friday on LP, CD, Blu-ray and Super Audio CD (SACD), with a deluxe edition gathering together the first of those three, with a DVD containing the same material as the Blu-ray, all in a well-designed gatefold cover, following on October 7th.

Nick said: "David and Roger had a major disagreement about the liner notes, and like all great world wars no one can quite remember what it was about now and what the problem was. But there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and eventually some sort of resolution was reached. I managed to stay well out of it." Adding to the delay in the release was Covid and Brexit.

Nick also praised the new cover designs (there's two different ones, with the main, dusk image joined by a darker, night-time shot for the Blu-ray cover) with the return to Battersea: "I think its terrific, and it's a continuation of an idea we've had before, which is sort of updating something that has existed — including the 1971 Relics compilation and last year's reissue of 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason".

You can read the full article here.

For those yet to order their copy, we really would urge you to consider this release, as it sounds superb - a really great job has been done by James Guthrie! Full format details are here but we suspect many will go for the deluxe set which has everything other than the SACD. Here are the direct links available to place your orders (which help us with Brain Damage's ongoing running costs, without costing anything further to you!). Amazon purchases before release will take advantage of their pre-order price guarantee, where you will automatically pay the lowest price offered between when you bought the item, and release. With regard to the SACD, this only seems to be available from a couple of retailers.

Now in German stores is the new issue of that country's edition of Classic Rock magazine (cover date September 2022), with their cover story: "Pink Floyd - the journey to the dark side".

In the article, '50 Years: The Songs - The Tour - The Myth', they look at what lead to what is probably the band's best known album. The publishers say: "In early 1972, Pink Floyd were toying with ideas for their next record without any real direction in mind. Only one thing was certain: songs were to be written before a planned UK tour, so that they could then be tested and worked out live. A year later, they came out of Abbey Road studios with an album that would overshadow everything they had done before. CLASSIC ROCK tells the story of their journey to THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON - and why this milestone nearly a different, far less associative title.

Elsewhere in the magazine are articles on Kate Bush's Hounds Of Love, ZZ Top, The Rolling Stones and more.

The magazine is in German stores now, and can be ordered from ClassicRock.net. Our thanks to Michael Nickel for the information!

The first dates have been released for the 2023 Roger Waters This Is Not A Drill tour of Europe, with tickets tending to go on pre-sale this coming Wednesday, September 14th, with the general sale of tickets following on Friday, September 16th.

Important: please check the individual show(s) you are interested in for confirmation of the exact ticketing details for that event, as they might differ from the majority.

This European tour announcement is on the back of his current tour of the US and Canada, which is 27 shows in, with 15 still to play. The new staging sees the band playing "in the round", with Roger prowling the stage to present to all sides of the arenas. Above is a new screen, arranged in a kind of cross. We don't want to say too much for those who are trying to avoid spoilers!

You might also notice from this new graphic to support the European tour, that it refers to "his first ever farewell tour" - make of that what you will, not least as a farewell tour isn't normally referred to as that person's "first ever"! Maybe it is Roger having a little joke...

We suspect the following list will grow quickly, so please keep checking back for more details.

Each show will link off to a specific page for that event, including ticket links, directions to the venue, and - once the show has taken place - details of the set list, video from the show, and submitted reviews and pictures from kind Brain Damage readers.

Here's the dates so far, as revealed on Roger's website, along with ticketing websites in some of the countries. We're keeping an eye out for further shows as they get added to the schedule. The TICKETS link gives more information on the dates, any presales there might be, and the various VIP packages that are available for most (if not all) of the shows.

• 17th March 2023 - Altice Arena, Lisbon, Portugal - TICKETS
• 18th March 2023 - Altice Arena, Lisbon, Portugal - TICKETS
• 21st March 2023 - Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain - TICKETS
• 23rd March 2023 - WiZink Center, Madrid, Spain - TICKETS
• 24th March 2023 - WiZink Center, Madrid, Spain - TICKETS
• 27th March 2023 - Mediolanum Forum, Assago, Milan, Italy - TICKETS
• 28th March 2023 - Mediolanum Forum, Assago, Milan, Italy - TICKETS
• 31st March 2023 - Mediolanum Forum, Assago, Milan, Italy - TICKETS
• 1st April 2023 - Mediolanum Forum, Assago, Milan, Italy - TICKETS
• 4th April 2023 - Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, The Netherlands - TICKETS
• 6th April 2023 - Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, The Netherlands - TICKETS
• 7th April 2023 - Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, The Netherlands - TICKETS
• 11th April 2023 - Telenor Arena, Oslo, Norway - TICKETS
• 12th April 2023 - Telenor Arena, Oslo, Norway - TICKETS
• 15th April 2023 - Tele2 Arena, Stockholm, Sweden - TICKETS
• 17th April 2023 - Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark - TICKETS
• 18th April 2023 - Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark - TICKETS
• 21st April 2023 - Unipol Arena, Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna, Italy - TICKETS
• 23rd April 2023 - MVM Dome, Budapest, Hungary - TICKETS
• 25th April 2023 - Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland - TICKETS
• 28th April 2023 - Unipol Arena, Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna, Italy - TICKETS
• 29th April 2023 - Unipol Arena, Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna, Italy - TICKETS
• 3rd May 2023 - Accor Arena, Paris, France - TICKETS
• 4th May 2023 - Accor Arena, Paris, France - TICKETS
• 7th May 2023 - Barclays Arena, Hamburg, Germany - TICKETS
• 9th May 2023 - Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany - TICKETS
• 12th May 2023 - Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille, France - TICKETS
• 14th May 2023 - Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium - TICKETS
• 17th May 2023 - Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin, Germany - TICKETS
• 21st May 2023 - Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany - TICKETS
• 24th May 2023 - O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic - TICKETS
• 25th May 2023 - O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic - TICKETS
• 28th May 2023 - Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany - TICKETS
• 31st May 2023 - Utilita Arena, Birmingham, England - TICKETS
• 2nd June 2023 - OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland - TICKETS
• 3rd June 2023 - OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland - TICKETS
• 6th June 2023 - The O2, London, England - TICKETS
• 7th June 2023 - The O2, London, England - TICKETS
• 10th June 2023 - AO Arena, Manchester, England - TICKETS

Please note that the originally revealed pair of shows at the Tauron Arena, Krakow, Poland on 21st and 22nd April are reported to have now been cancelled, although Roger has taken issue with this. Having said that, both shows have now been removed from Roger's website, and the ticketing site.

As we get further dates we will update this page - and once the entries above turn into links, our dedicated page for the show will be live, with ticket dates and links!

Just given an airing at the Rodeo Screening Room in Los Angeles, California, on August 24th as part of the Telluride Film Festival, is a new documentary from celebrated photographer, creative director and filmmaker Anton Corbijn. Squaring The Circle: The Story Of Hipgnosis, which is 101 minutes long, tells the story of Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey 'Po' Powell, the creative geniuses behind the iconic album art design studio, Hipgnosis, responsible for some of the most recognisable album covers of all time. They formed Hipgnosis in Cambridge during the ferment of the sixties and became rock royalty during the boom time of the seventies. They conjured into existence sights that no one had previously thought possible, produced visuals which popularised music that had previously been considered fringe, and were at the white-hot centre of the maddest, funniest and most creative era in the history of popular music.

During this period, record companies didn’t dictate to acts like Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Paul McCartney what their LP covers should look like - Storm and Po did. They made money; they lost money. They did great things; they did silly things. They fell out bitterly; they made up. They never played a note, but they changed music. The film features brand new interviews with Roger Waters, David Gilmour & Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Jimmy Page & Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Graham Gouldman of 10cc, Noel Gallagher, and many more.

As yet we don't have details of any upcoming screenings, or streaming possibilities, although we suspect such information will be available soon. In the meantime, here's a quick look at part of the documentary, with Storm, Po, David, Roger and Nick all talking about the cover to Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother: