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Arnold Layne – The Davids Did It Again
Thanks to you and other connoisseurs of fine
music, the new version of Arnold Layne
featuring Davids Gilmour and Bowie, plus Richard
Wright, charted in the UK today at No. 19, going
one better than Pink Floyd's original, which
reached Number 20 in 1967.
If you've only recently come out of a deep sleep
and want to see what the fuss is about, see
the video on the On
An Island page. If your friends don't
have the Web and only watch traditional terrestrial
TV, please tell them that the video for the
David Bowie performance of the song (filmed
live at the Albert Hall) will be shown on BBC
2 in the UK this coming Saturday, January 6th.
Congratulations Davids – playnely it takes
more than two to know...
Arnold Layne Competition – Win A Day
in the Life at Abbey Road AND Your Own Storm
Logo!
Just to remind you that MySpace.com is
meant to be a place for your creativity, not
a means to swap other peoples', EMI UK has come
up with a fun competition for musical combos
to win a day's recording in Abbey Road Studios
by creating their very own version of Arnold
Layne.
Famed Pink Floyd and ex-Hipgnosis designer Storm
Thorgerson has also agreed to design a new
logo for the winners, which is a prize worth
entering for alone.
The idea is that ANY musical entity can enter
any version they like (as long as it's their
own recording) of Arnold Layne, which
they can then upload to a special MySpace
page.
All the rules are there, but essentially: you
record it; you post it; the numbers get whittled
down; and David himself will judge the winner
from the Top 3. Winners get a free day recording
at Abbey Road, plus a free band logo by the
legend that is Storm Thorgerson.
The entrance page has links to the video, the
sheet music, the iTunes original, and a pre-order
for the digital version of the new Arnold
Layne single. The competition runs until
Monday 22nd January, so check it out.
New Arnold Layne Digital Download Offer –
Get Comfortably Numb Streaming
If you're not interested in digital downloading
(and, let's face it, many prefer good old-fashioned
vinyl or CD), look away now. Still reading?
Okay, well, if you're interested in having a
digital copy of the Arnold Layne EP tracks
from Monday 25th December onwards, you might
be keen to know that EMI (yes, them again) have
teamed up with 7 Digital with an incentive.
If you pre-order, or buy, the David Bowie version
single track, or the three-track bundle, before
12.00PM on Saturday 30th December, then you'll
get immediate access to a link showing David
and his band's fantastic performance of Comfortably
Numb from the Mermaid Theatre concert in
March.
Regular visitors to this site will hopefully
be familiar with the Mermaid show, which was
recorded for BBC Radio 2's 'Live & Exclusive'
series, and filmed by David Mallet in High Definition.
It was streamed on the BBC 2 Web site and proved
to be one of their most popular streamings.
The link to the order site via 7 Digital is
here.
Sadly, those of us in the discerning 5% of the
computer market who use Macs are at a disadvantage
– both audio download and video stream
are for PC only. However, iTunes are pledging
to carry the tracks so we should be covered.
A Christmas Gift for You
(Well, as long as you've
paid for your broadband connection, and aren't
on dial-up, we've got something for you at no
extra cost...)
It's the long-awaited video clip of David playing
Syd Barrett's Dark Globe. He premiered
it at the Clam Castle show in Austria last summer,
without even having played it at the soundcheck
or having rehearsed it! The performance was
so emotional, the entire band and crew spontaneously
applauded when he finished. We think it's a
moving memorial to David's old friend who sadly
died this year – hope you agree.
See Dark Globe via the On
An Island page or on The
Blog.
(Apologies that the video of Richard Wright's
version of Arnold Layne isn't finished
yet, so we can't show you that one yet.)
Metallurgy in the UK – On An Island
Goes Platinum!
Just in time to be added to the lists of those
stocking up on Frankincense and Myrrh for the
holiday season, On An Island is certified
Platinum for sales in the UK in excess of 300,000.
Without a big chart single and endless touring,
it's not easy to score Platinum these days,
and it's more remarkable when you consider that
probably not more than 20,000 people were able
to see David's amazing live UK shows.
So, as well as some great reviews and sustained
radio support (plus of course the efforts of
this sterling site, hem hem), it's probably
the sheer quality of On An Island that
has kept it dropping into the nation's shopping
bags.
(Still 12 shopping days to go before Christmas,
though, if you're stuck for that awkward stocking-filler
to go with the Broons annual!)
A Double Whammy of Amazon and GRAMMY
You can't keep a good record down – that's
the message of Yuletide cheer we're receiving
on the day that David received a GRAMMY nomination.
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It's
in Category 19, Best Rock Instrumental
Performance, for Castellorizon,
and is placed up against fellow nominees
Joe Satriani, Peter Frampton, The Flaming
Lips, and The Arctic Monkeys. Check out
the full list here.
You'll be pleased to see that within the
108 categories (hey, just how long is
this ceremony?) they have retained the
time-honoured 'Best Polka Album' slot
for another year. David has yet to win
in that category – but maybe next
year. |
Meanwhile, the customers of US eTailer Amazon.com
have been voting for their favourite album of
the year and there, in 18th place out
of 100, firmly sits On An Island. Check
out the full list here
and don't forget – there are still a few
copies of On An Island left for someone
you love – or someone who loves music.
Where We Started (But Still Far To Go)...
Feel free to send us your congratulatory telegrams
by land, sea, air or Internet, because DavidGilmour.com
celebrates its first birthday today.
Designed in Dallas, powered by EMI in London,
and written in haste, we started a year ago
today with nothing much more than the wire man
logo and a natty colour scheme created by Web
team Bluish. We soon added The
Blog, starring the Features Editor (visit
it today if you're not already a devotee), started
the Gallery, announced David's 2006 Tour Dates,
set up the Advance Ticket scheme, then switched
to JABEYE, who are based in Dallas, Texas, and
responsible for the work of art you see today.
Integral to the enjoyment of the six-figure
sum of visitors we get has been The
Blog, which celebrates its own birthday
(22nd December 2005) with a series of Awards
to celebrate the sometimes turbulent times of
the best-moderated audience participation programme
on the Web.
We hope you've enjoyed the trip, and can be
persuaded to stick with us next year. There
is much more to come in David Gilmour world,
including the Arnold Layne single, which
you can see on the On
An Island page, and many more things
surrounding the forthcoming live DVD, filmed
at London's Royal Albert Hall.
So as the embers of our past triumphs still
glow, we ask you to stay with us for the rest
of the excursion. So much behind us – still
far to go...
We're Very Humble (But Vote for The Blog
Anyway)
A mystery person, to whom we're indebted, has
nominated The
Blog for the Weblog Awards. We
don't seek approbation, but when the blog pickers
elevate us to the shortlist of the Top 10
sites out of 4,500 entrants, then
it would be invidious to refuse the call.
Check out the Weblog
Awards Forum, which also has handy Frequently
Asked Questions to explain all.
Voting begins tomorrow, so, if you feel
compelled to vote for us*, you'll be able to
click a button and cast your vote then. It's
a quick contest, because the results are announced
on Monday 18th December – shortly before
The
Blog celebrates its first anniversary
on the 22nd.
So if you've laughed, cried, or won a prize
courtesy of The
Blog in this last year, cast your vote
to the winds and vote DGBlog – the People's
(24-hour) Party.
*Do It! Do it!
Arnold Layne Video Unveiled
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Once
again the TV licence-payers' money went
to good use, as Radio
2 launched its first worldwide
Web video exclusive – the just-completed
Arnold Layne clip from the Royal
Albert Hall.
Featuring David Bowie as guest singer
on the Syd Barrett 1967 classic, it's
now available via the On
An Island page. |
New readers might not know that Arnold Layne,
as well as the version of Take A Breath
on the new special edition of On An Island,
represents the first look at some of David's
forthcoming DVD, filmed in High Definition at
London's Royal Albert Hall in May. As previously
noted, the Arnold Layne EP will be available
for download on Monday 25th December, and in
stores on the 26th as a 3-track single (7" vinyl
and CD in UK & Europe, 10" vinyl in North America).
Tracks are Arnold Layne performed by
David Gilmour with David Bowie, Arnold Layne
performed by David Gilmour with Richard Wright,
and an acoustic rendition of Syd Barrett's Dark
Globe by David Gilmour alone.
You can find 60-second audio clips of all the
songs via the On
An Island page.
It Takes Two To Know
You can hear the very first play of the Arnold
Layne single this morning on the Ken
Bruce show (BBC Radio 2) between 9.30AM
and 12 noon (UK time).
You can listen live online or later via the
BBC's 'Listen Again' feature. Look out for the
great big purple buttons on the Radio 2 site.
Do let us know what you think of it and, if
you liked it, let your radio stations know that
you want them to play it.
The single has been added to Radio 2's B list.
This means that you can expect to hear it about
ten times during the course of the week. The
more requests it receives, however, the more
chance the single has of making it on to the
A list, which means it will be played more often.
Tracks on the A list receive the most plays
(about 20 a week) compared to the B list's ten
and the C list's five.
We can also report that the tracks will be available
to download from iTunes, and other digital media.
There will be a limited press of 7" Arnold
Layne singles in Europe and 10" singles
in North America. There will also be a CD single
available in Europe only. These will be available
from Tuesday 26th December.
The three tracks, all recorded live, are: Arnold
Layne with David Bowie on vocals, Arnold
Layne with Richard Wright on vocals, and
a beautiful acoustic rendition of Syd Barrett's
haunting Dark Globe.
You can download the single tracks from Christmas
Day onwards. |
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