It has just been announced that next month, on April 30th, 2021, Pink Floyd Live At Knebworth 1990 will be released for the first time on CD, 180g heavyweight double vinyl LP, and digital platforms. The concert was part of the star-studded 1990 Silver Clef Award Winners performance at Knebworth House, in Hertfordshire, England, headlined by the Floyd.

The concert, in front of around 120,000 fans, was a fundraiser for the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Charity, and also included Paul McCartney, Genesis, Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Elton John, Status Quo, Tears For Fears, and Robert Plant & Jimmy Page.

The Floyd set was performed by the touring line-up of the late 1980s, with a slight change to the vocalists - joining Durga McBroom was Sam Brown, her mother Vicki, and Clare Torry (original vocalist for The Great Gig In The Sky, resuming her role for this show, three years after doing the same for Roger Waters at his pair of 1987 Wembley Arena gigs). Saxophonist Candy Dulfer and keyboard player Michael Kamen also joined the band for this one-off show. The audio has been remixed by David Gilmour and Andy Jackson, and following its appearance in 2019's The Later Years box set, is now available on CD or double vinyl for the first time as a standalone album.

The vinyl has been cut at 45rpm for enhanced audio quality, and the audio on the LP and CD has been remixed from the original master tapes. The vinyl comes with a large format 16-page booklet, with the CD coming with a 24-page booklet (no doubt to fit the same content, within the smaller format).

Nick Mason looked back at the concert, and remarked: "There is something special about Knebworth. We all still have fond memories of playing there in the 70's, and this show was no different. As a North London boy this was almost a home game, but with the added delight of being the re-assembly of the band after a fairly mega tour that had lasted for well over a year. It was also an opportunity to get the wonderful Candy Dulfer to play - I had been a fan of hers for quite a while, and it was just a shame we didn't have an opportunity to utilise her for more. We also had our dear friend Michael Kamen guesting. Michael had contributed so much to PF over the previous ten years, it's great to have something of his playing on the recording."

To order either physical edition, 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!):

Following on from Guy Pratt's excellent Lockdown Licks instructional videos, and Guy and Gary Kemp's essential Rockonteur's podcasts (the first episode of which featured Nick Mason, and subsequent episodes each have other notables from the world of music), their fellow Saucerful Of Secrets bandmate, guitarist Lee Harris, has recently started his own.

Lee asked for suggestions on his Facebook page for songs that he could "play and chat about from Live At The Roundhouse", and from those he had, the decision was made to start Live At Lee's with the first song in the set list, Interstellar Overdrive. The second video has just been released, and is the song which inspired the name of the band: A Saucerful Of Secrets. More videos are promised in due course and you can find them on Lee's official Facebook and Instagram pages.

Here's episode 2: A Saucerful Of Secrets:

Our very best wishes, and many happy returns, to David Gilmour who is celebrating his 75th birthday today (March 6th)!

Born and raised in Cambridge, David became involved with various bands in the area, principally Jokers Wild who were a popular draw when they played, before joining Pink Floyd in 1968. More recent years have seen David concentrating on his solo career, and helping out chums on their musical projects on an ad hoc basis.

In 2019, some 120+ of David's guitars were auctioned, raising $21.5 million (including some record-breaking amounts for individual instruments) which went to the environmental charity ClientEarth. He also appeared as a guest performer at the Richard Thompson 70th Birthday Concert, playing Dimming Of The Day and Fat Old Sun, and joining the encore. Last year, on February 25th, shortly before all activity stopped around the world due to Coronavirus, David joined the stellar bill for the Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate The Music of Peter Green and The Early Years of Fleetwood Mac concert at London's Palladium, which is being released as a 4LP, 2CD, Blu-ray and book box set on April 30th this year. The concert was in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust charity.

Finally, scheduled for the end of June (Covid restriction permitting, of course), David is joining his wife Polly Samson for three special evenings to mark the release of her new book, A Theatre For Dreamers, which will see David performing a few songs. Tickets for these three events, in Manchester, Birmingham, and London, are available now.

It just remains for us to wish David a very happy day! If you want to add your thoughts and wishes, you can do so at our Facebook page...

The new issue of the UK's Classic Rock magazine (cover date April 2021, issue number 286) is well worth tracking down. A detailed, twelve page article written by Pink Floyd biographer Mark Blake takes a close look at life for the band immediately after Syd Barrett left it.

Set The Controls For The Moon investigates how the band got back on their feet following Syd's departure, and shows how they reinvented themselves. Blake details how this came via strange, afternoon shows for school kids in the Netherlands, bizarre promo videos, unusual soundtrack albums, and shows which were rather avant-garde - as well as albums which showed the development of the band's sound. As ever, Blake's writing proves enlightening and entertaining, peppered with comments from the musicians themselves. Well worth a read!

Elsewhere in the magazine is a review of the new book, The Lyrics of Syd Barrett, a large feature on Kate Bush's (rather limited) live excursions, and an equally large interview with Vince Furnier. There's also features on Uriah Heep, Metallica, and The Pretty Things, plus plenty of other articles to keep you busy.

The magazine is now available from all good UK stores, and will be in selected outlets worldwide in due course as an import. Alternatively, you can buy individual issues (again, worldwide) from this direct link.