Roger Waters surprised visitors to his social media this week by posting a snippet of him playing the Pink Floyd song If from 1970’s Atom Heart Mother.
It is the first time Roger has played this song to an audience of some sort since The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking tour in 1985. One has to wonder if the influence of Nick Mason’s current tour has excited Roger to re-visit the vaults for his upcoming This Is Not A Drill 2020 Tour.
Last night Mick Fleetwood honored Fleetwood Mac co-founder Peter Green with a star-studded concert at London Palladium, which benefited Teenage Cancer Trust. The show included an appearance by David Gilmour who took the stge for a rendation of Albatross and Oh Well
“The concert is a celebration of those early blues days where we all began, and it’s important to recognize the profound impact Peter and the early Fleetwood Mac had on the world of music,” Fleetwood said in a statement.
“Peter was my greatest mentor and it gives me such joy to pay tribute to his incredible talent. I am honored to be sharing the stage with some of the many artists Peter has inspired over the years and who share my great respect for this remarkable musician.” – Mick Fleetwood
P
ink Floyd star Roger Waters will headline a rally in central London today protesting the extradition and demanding the release of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The 76-year-old singer-songwriter has accused “the powers that be” of trying to “kill” Assange ahead of his extradition hearing, which begins on Monday. Waters said Assange faced being “locked up until he is dead” if sent to the US to face charges over the leak of classified documents.
The rally will start with supporters gathering outside the Australian High Commission on the Strand before marching to Parliament Square. Assange, 48, is being held in Belmarsh Prison in south east London as he awaits the start of next week’s full extradition hearing.
He is expected to receive a visit from his father John Shipton and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis on Sunday before the hearing starts.
Assange is wanted in the US on 18 charges over the pPink Floyd star Roger Waters will headline a rally in central London today protesting the extradition and demanding the release of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.publication of US cables a decade ago. If found guilty he could face a 175-year prison sentence.
Speaking on Friday to promote the protest, Waters dismissed the charges against Assange as “nonsense” and claimed he faced a “kangaroo court”.
“He has committed no crime, he published something, he’s a journalist, he did what journalists are supposed to do. There was no threat to national security,” Waters said.
“It looks as if the powers that be have every intention of submitting to the demands of the United States government to have him extradited to the US so they can lock him up until he is dead.”
Assange has been held on remand in Belmarsh since last September after serving a 50-week jail sentence for breaching bail conditions while staying in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
He entered the building in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex offence allegations, which he has always denied and were subsequently dropped.
Waters suggested Assange should not be held for a “minor bail infringement”.
Asked who he believed was behind Assange’s imprisonment, he said: “The ruling class, the powers that be… the corporate world, the rich people, the people who run everything, the people who tell (prime minister) Boris Johnson and (US President) Donald Trump what to do. Those people.“
“I’m not suggesting there are men in hoods and secret societies but we all see what’s happening.”
Speaking to the press near Battersea Power Station in south London, Waters posed for photographs next to a version the inflatable pig balloon that featured on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 album Animals.
The original blow-up animal was famously flown above the power station in London in 1976, but caused disruption to flights from Heathrow Airport when it broke free and blew off into the sky.
It was later recovered from a field in Kent.
Waters previously called for the release of Assange during a rally outside the Home Office in central London in September, when he played his former band’s hit track Wish You Were Here from a makeshift stage.
Even more shows have been announced as part of Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets 2020 tour.
The dates unveiled see the band visiting Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Croatia, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria!
June 14th – October Concert Hall / BKZ Oktyabrsky, St. Petersburg, Russia
June 15th – Crocus City Hall, Moscow, Russia
June 19th – Arenele Romane, Bucharest, Romania
June 20th – NDK – National Palace of Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria
June 21st – Sava Centar, Belgrade, Serbia
June 22nd – Budapest Park, Budapest, Hungary
June 24th – InMusic Festival, Zagreb, Croatia
June 28th – Z7 Summer Nights, Pratteln, Switzerland
Tickets go on sale at 9am UK/10am CET on Friday (February 21st)
Remember to check back for our 2020 Tour Room overhaul, coming soon!
On the 17th February Eric Clapton’s tribute concert for Ginger Baker took place in London, A number of highly acclaimed musicians took to the stage to pay there respects to Ginger Baker the former Cream drummer.
Roger Waters gracefully took to the stage for a sweltering rendition of White Room which also featured Ronnie Wood providing secondary guitars, before blistering into the classic Cream song Sunshine Of Your Love
This was Roger’s first time playing on stage with Eric Clapton since 2006, and 36 years since they toured together for The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking in 1984.
First announced in November of last year, Eric Clapton’s tribute concert for Ginger Baker will be taking place this weekend in London, and one special guest just been announced: Roger Waters!
It will be Roger’s first time playing on stage with Eric Clapton since 2006, and 36 years since they toured together for ‘The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking‘ in 1984.
Tickets for the concert sold out within minutes of the announcement last year, so if any AFG readers are lucky enough to be attending then we hope you enjoy the show.
Eric Clapton & Friends: A Tribute to Ginger Baker will take place Monday, February 17, 2020 at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith in London.
The set list for the concert will look to honour Baker’s lifetime in music and will, of course, include Clapton and Baker’s work together in Cream and Blind Faith.
Polly Samson has announced a series of three evenings of “words and music” in the UK. The special events will take place in March and April in Manchester, Birmingham and London and will feature an interview with Polly Samson, as well as readings, film and live music.
The audience will be transported to the Greek island of Hydra in 1960, and a world dancing on the edge of revolution, where a circle of poets, painters, writers and musicians live tangled lives. It’s a story of utopian dreams and innocence lost, of the troubled King and Queen of Bohemia, Charmian Clift and George Johnson, of a young poet named Leonard Cohen, and his Marianne; and of Erica Hart, an 18-year-old in search of answers.
David Gilmour will appear, playing live music, including a new song written by David and Polly, titled Yes, I Have Ghosts.
Tickets for the three evenings are on sale now, just head to the links below!
Birmingham – http://bit.ly/ATFDbham
Manchester – http://bit.ly/ATFDmcr
London – http://bit.ly/ATFDlondon
A ticket will also get you a signed first edition of A Theatre for Dreamers, and a signed portrait of Polly Samson and David Gilmour.
A Theatre for Dreamers will be released in April 2020 and you can pre-order a special signed copy while stocks last. Head over to Polly Samson’s website for more details on the novel.
