|
Written by Matt
|
|
Thursday, 19 May 2022 |
|
 Bonhams auction house are selling off a big chunk of legendary British disc jockey John Peel's archive, which includes music and other ephemera collected during his long and influential career.
The full catalogue for the auction - to be held on June 14th, 2022, starting at 1pm BST - has yet to be released, but one of the five items revealed will be of much interest to Pink Floyd fans, particularly those with deep pockets!
With a guide price of £8,000 - £10,000, the "Important and Rare 'Evolutions' Southampton University Concert Poster, Friday 26th January 1968" is sure to sell for more than this estimate. The poster, printed on foil paper, for a concert featuring performances by Pink Floyd, John Peel, Incredible String Band, Jimmy Cliff and the Shakedown Sound, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Chicken Shack, Nelson's Column, held at the Old Refectory, University of Southampton, England, is sized at 20in x 30in (51cm x 76cm) and hasn't been seen since January 1968!
Bonhams' footnotes for the item reveal the significance of the poster (over and above its rarity): "The title of this event is eerily apposite, the date being that on which Pink Floyd effectively sacked Syd Barrett. His increasingly drug-related erratic and difficult behaviour through 1967 and the band's evolving musical direction led them to seek another guitar player. At the end of that year they brought in one of Syd's friends, David Gilmour, and the band played a handful of gigs as a five-piece in January 1968. In his book, Echoes: The Complete History Of Pink Floyd, Glenn Povey writes: "Syd Barrett was clearly never going to come back to the real world, and his role within Pink Floyd was all but over. One solution the band thought of was to use him as an off-stage songwriter in the same way that the Beach Boys retained Brian Wilson. But almost at once they realised that this was an impossibility." Travelling to Southampton for this gig, the band simply decided not to pick Syd up en route. Those who attended this event had real value for the ticket price and were treated to an eclectic mix of music, from the psychedelia of Pink Floyd and the mystic folk of the Incredible String Band and Tyrannosaurus Rex, to the West Indian-influenced Jimmy Cliff and the blues/rock of Chicken Shack and Nelson's Column. As MC/DJ for the evening, this poster was kept as a souvenir by John Peel. It is thought this is the first example of the poster ever to appear at auction and it may possibly be a unique survivor of the small number that would have been put up around the University campus to publicise the concert."
For more details of the auction, including the other lots when they are revealed, visit Bonhams.com.
|
|
|
Written by Matt
|
|
Thursday, 19 May 2022 |
|
 Apologies for the lack of advance notice, but we've just found out this morning, that this evening - Thursday, May 19th - at 6:30pm, Hipgnosis co-founder, creative designer, photographer and filmmaker Aubrey 'Po' Powell talks about his recently published book Through the Prism, published by Thames & Hudson, in the Cafe of The Photographer's Gallery in London which is close to Oxford Circus tube station. The event is free to attend.
In the talk, Powell will share intriguing stories of creative endeavour, volatile relationships, excessive lifestyles and bizarre events from the world of rock in conversation with author and music journalist Mark Blake.
The gallery preview the event by saying: "Hipgnosis transformed album art with their designs for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Paul McCartney and Wings and so many more. Brutally honest, entertaining and insightful, Po tells the incredible stories of creative endeavour, volatile alliances, high-risk/high-altitude photoshoots and downright bizarre events from the halcyon days of rock’n’roll. From his unique insider perspective, Po sets many records straight, bringing revelatory new details to legendary tales, including the genesis of The Dark Side Of The Moon, Houses Of The Holy, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, and Peter Gabriel’s trio ‘Car’ / ‘Scratch’ / ‘Melt’, each evidenced with photographs, documents, artefacts and artworks from Po’s own archive.
"Mark Blake's work has been published in Mojo, The Times, Rolling Stone and Classic Rock. His books include the best-selling ‘Pigs Might Fly: The Inside Story Of Pink Floyd’ and ‘Bring It On Home’, a critically-acclaimed biography of Led Zeppelin’s notorious manager, Peter Grant."
For more information about the event, and getting to the gallery, please visit ThePhotographersGallery.org.uk.
If you are unable to make it along, you can order this book through the following direct links, which also help with BD's ongoing running costs, and we really appreciate it:
Amazon UK, Amazon.com, Amazon Canada,
Amazon France, Amazon Germany, Amazon Spain and Amazon Italy.
|
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 May 2022 )
|
|
|
Written by Matt
|
|
Friday, 13 May 2022 |
|
 One of the most iconic concert films of all time took a completely different tack to all the others at the time, and was shot without an audience in attendance. The spectacular Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii had an interesting background, with the issues of the location fairly well known. Our exclusive, lengthy interview with director Adrian Maben (with some questions set by none other than Storm Thorgerson!) covers a lot of the issues and background to the production and is well worth a read.
For those in London in August this year, there's a special opportunity to see the film under (hopefully) a nice, starry sky. The Barbican are showing it in their Sculpture Court on Tuesday, August 23rd at 8:30pm as part of an outdoor cinema season during the summer, and tickets are now available.
There isn't reserved seating - they will open the area an hour before the screening for people to choose where they want to sit. Headphones will be provided for the sound, as there won't be any speakers outside. More details are available about the event here.
Our thanks to Lee McLoughlin and Andy Finn for getting in touch with the info about the screening.
|
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 13 May 2022 )
|
|
|
Written by Matt
|
|
Saturday, 07 May 2022 |
|
For the latest edition of The StageLeft Podcast the man who originally came up with the idea that turned into Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets - Lee Harris - is interviewed at length.
The fascinating, hour-long chat with Lee covers his origins in music, and the unexpected paths he took which have lead to his current position in a band which continues to impress audiences with their performances.
You can listen to the interview in full below, or if you want to download it on your preferred podcast service, click here for options.
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 07 May 2022 )
|
|
|
Latest News 
