Is This the Life We Really Want?

Last month I was fortunate enough to see Roger Waters on his Us + Them tour. I saw him both in London, and the following night at Birmingham which was undoubtedly the best night of my entire life. I was second row from the front and being so physically close to him made the experience feel incredibly intimate, it was easy to forget the other tens of thousands of people behind. I even got to touch Roger's hand as he passed by the audience during the final track. To be so close to one of my biggest living idols was a completely surreal experience, and if I didn't have photographic evidence I'd be half convinced it was all a dream!














Despite the show being to promote his most recent album, most of the set list was based around Pink Floyd's tracks which felt amazing to hear live, especially as many of my favourites were included such as One of These Days and Pigs (Three Different Ones). Most of the show was rooted in the 1977 album Animals which is my favourite after Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Despite being a fan for so many years I hadn't been able to see Roger on any of his previous tours which were mostly based around The Wall, so it felt extra special that the shows I should see borrowed so heavily from my personal favourite album.

I'm seeing Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets in September which I'm sure will be another emotional night, especially as Nick's my favourite and it's based more around Syd's era of the band. I can't believe this year I'll have gone from seeing none of Pink Floyd in the flesh, to two of them!

I also vlogged about my experience seeing Roger, which you can watch here:

Recent pick ups

Life has been a bit hectic lately and had some ups and downs, and unfortunately something had to be put aside and it ended up being blogging. But a lot of Pink Floyd things have still been going on in my life, and I'm eager to get this account up to date! I thought I'd start with a few of my recent buys.



First up, a small order I placed with the Pink Floyd online store. I saw they'd released some enamel pins, they were quite pricey but I really loved this Animals one. I also really wanted the magnet from Ther Mortal Remains - I saw the exhibition numerous times in London and also in Rome, and whilst in Italy I began collecting magnets as I like the idea of having one from everywhere I've been. Unfortunately I started the collection after I visited the exhibition, so I placed a little order. I'm disappointed in the quality for the £5 price tag - it's basically cardboard stuck onto magnet backing. But I'm glad to have it none the less.



At the beginning of August I went to a local record fair, and happened to see this first UK pressing of About Face as soon as I walked in. It felt like fate as I'd been outbid on eBay for a copy of this record just a few days before! It's the first time I've seen one of David's solo records for sale in the flesh (although I'm obviously very familiar with his music, I have everything on MP3!) and I'm pleased to have finally started this collection. I now have at least one LP of each individual band member.




This is a Japanese 1971 single release of Julia Dream, with Summer 68 on the B side. Such a beautiful duo of songs to release together! This is fairly rare and sells for quite a lot, but I managed to pick it up cheap on eBay. I've had a lot of luck on eBay recently!



And here's another eBay find! I gathered all of my various editions of Piper At The Gates of Dawn together for a photograph for the album's anniversary, and it made me want more. It's my favourite album of all time, and although I collect Pink Floyd stuff anyway I want to make more effort to collect this album specifically and all of the various releases it's had. A few days later, I saw this near mint copy of the 1997 mono re-release to mark the albums 30th anniversary up on auction and won it for a steal.




This isn't official merchandise, but something I picked up from Etsy as I couldn't resist. It has "All you create and all you destroy" from Eclipse stamped into it.



And lastly for now, a copy of Amused to Death which is another eBay find that I won for only a tenner. This is my favourite of Roger's solo work, but even this repressing often sells for quite a lot of money, so I'm glad I waited it out!

Roger, Nick, and upcoming adventures

A few days ago my ticket arrived for one of the Roger Waters shows I'm going to over summer! I'm going to London and Birmingham, and it's the two days before my birthday so it felt like the perfect way to celebrate. I'm not sure why my ticket arrived so early, they don't usually get delivered until a week before but I did get it presale for attending BST Hyde Park last year when I saw The Killers so perhaps that's why. It was actually a really miserable experience last year and led to my first and only ever panic attack, I swore I'd never go back but I have to for Roger! I upgraded my ticket so hopefully I'll have a less claustrophobic time, plus the crowd will probably be a bit older.



These two dates will be my first time seeing Roger live despite being a fan for well over a decade. The draw back of being the only person in my circle (including family!) into older music is that it leaves me with no one to attend things with. I always thought one day I'd meet someone with the same interests as me, but when David Bowie died it was a sharp reminder that these people aren't immortal and waiting around until I met someone to go with was wasting time. Last year I began going to shows alone and I've never looked back! I'm never going to allow myself to miss out on things I want to do ever again.

I am however disappointed that I'm going to have to miss out on seeing Nick Mason performing next month! It was announced today and I was so gutted seeing the dates as I could literally go any other time. Nick is (along with Syd) my favourite band member, and the early years is my favourite period so I'm sure you can imagine how disappointed I am to have to miss this! I really hope demand pushes him to add an extra date or two.

The secret is now revealed... Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets will be playing early Pink Floyd at four intimate live shows across London, next month. The tickets go on sale from 10am today at https://t.co/aP1uA85fbV - #PinkFloyd #NickMasonDrums #SaucerfulOfSecrets pic.twitter.com/5KxXl6ILN6

— Nick Mason (@nickmasondrums) April 17, 2018

I do have a good reason to be missing it though; I'm off to Italy! I'm going to see Their Mortal Remains before it closes in Rome, I'm really excited as I saw it three times in London so it will be interesting to see any changes. I know they've added some things that are specific to the bands history with Italy. I almost didn't get to make it as I had to rearrange my trip to the end of May when I'd originally planned for the middle of the month, and I forgot the exhibition would of ended by then! The very last day of the exhibition is on my first day in Italy, so I've reconfigured my trip. I've changed my flight so I now go to Rome in the early hours of the morning, then I can stash my bags at Roma Termini while I spend the day at the MACRO. Then I'll catch the train to Naples to check into my hotel that night and begin my trip as originally intended. I'm mostly going to Naples so that I can visit Pompeii. There's so much Floyd history in Italy and I'm really looking forward to exploring it all. Also my dad is Italian and he died a long time ago now so I want to get to experience and understand his culture better. Now if only I can wrap my brain around the language basics before I go!