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Downtown Top Rankin
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Top photographer
Rankin (being showbiz royalty,
he only uses his last name) has included
a portrait of David in his new exhibition
at London's Royal Festival Hall.
Entitled Rankin's Front Row,
the exhibition opens today, February 28th,
and will be promoted with hoardings that
run the length of the Festival Hall's
river façade.
The exhibition runs until the end of April,
and features 36 figures from diverse areas
of the arts, including Salman Rushdie,
Sam Taylor-Wood, Kazuo Ishiguro, Brian
Eno, Anthony Minghella, and Sir Willard
White. |
A full quote from David (see below) will be
included on the South Bank Centre Web site,
but a portion of it will also feature on the
hoardings:
"In 1964, when I was eighteen, I managed to
buy tickets to see Bob Dylan at the Royal Festival
Hall. It was a brilliant concert; just voice,
acoustic guitar and harmonica. In 1969 it was
more electric than eclectic when I played here
with Pink Floyd and during an afternoon sound-check
got a bolt of rogue AC from my guitar, which
sent me flying backwards to the other side of
the drum kit".
For more details, please click here
to visit the South Bank Centre's Web site.
Here's David's quote, in full:
"In 1964, when I was eighteen, I managed to
buy tickets for 6s and 6d to see Bob Dylan at
the Royal Festival Hall. I got a memorably dodgy
lift hitchhiking from Cambridge but it was a
brilliant concert; just voice, acoustic guitar
and harmonica, not at all like the gigs that
were the norm at home.
"From that moment I came to see the Royal Festival
Hall as the home of a rather more eclectic sort
of music. In 1969 it was unfortunately more
electric than eclectic when I played there with
Pink Floyd and during an afternoon sound-check
got a bolt of rogue AC from my guitar which
sent me flying backwards right over the drummer's
head to land several feet away, the other side
of the drum kit.
"Thirty-two years later, at Robert Wyatt's invitation,
I found myself back again, this time for the
2001 Meltdown Festival, doing an unplugged concert
accompanied by cello, double bass and the beautiful
voices of a Gospel Choir. After years of playing
anonymously huge stadiums around the world it
was a delight to be in the more intimate surroundings
of the Royal Festival Hall. It felt like coming
home".
A Night To Remember...
If you follow The
Blog (and who doesn't?), you'll know
that we've been revealing details of David's
forthcoming live DVD, Remember That Night.
If you missed any of the updates, we'll be providing
a regular summary here.
This is what you should know so far...
Contrary to rumours, the DVD will NOT be out
on Tuesday 27th March. In fact, it won't be
out until at least May.
Two discs will be necessary to carry the whole
DVD package (both DVD-9s, fact fans). These
are dual layer discs and allow a greater playing
time.
In addition to the 'standard' DVD, there will
be higher-resolution versions in both Blu-Ray
and HD-DVD; these are the new high-resolution
formats which are exciting interest in the videophile
marketplace. Unfortunately their authoring process
takes a little longer, so the release won't
be on the same day as the 'standard', and in
fact may be up to six months afterwards. Apologies
for this, but it will be important to spend
as long as it takes to get the quality just
right.
The first disc will contain footage from the
Royal Albert Hall concerts of last May. The
second will be full of extras, including three
documentaries. The main one, Breaking Bread,
Drinking Wine, contains behind-the-scenes
tour footage from the rehearsals in Bray right
through to the final show in Gdańsk. There's
also a short film shot on the West Coast of
America, which includes footage shot by Richard
backstage in LA.
There will also be a documentary on the making
of the On An Island album, which is an
edited version of the EPK. The tracks Castellorizon,
On An Island, The Blue, Take
A Breath, and High Hopes from London's
Mermaid Theatre (March 2006) will also be included
among the extras.
We'll gradually be revealing more, so, to get
the latest updates first and to pass comment
accordingly, do keep an eye on The
Blog.
On An Island Achieves 'High Fidelity'-Style
Renown
Today's news is that the On An Island
album is to be in a film. Currently in post-production
is the picture tentatively entitled Reign
Over Me (inspired by the Who song from
Quadrophenia, Love Reign Over Me). Starring
Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle, and directed by
Mike Binder, the film concerns a man who, after
losing his family in the September 11th attack
on New York City, bumps into his old college
roommate and rekindles their friendship in pursuit
of recovery.
The producers have included the album cover
as set dressing for a scene set in a record
store, but there's no current news on whether
they are considering adding some music too.
Arnold Layne Comp – Still Anybody's
Game
Apologies are due to all artists awaiting news
of their entry into the EMI/Abbey Road/Arnold
Layne competition. There has been a certain
amount of turmoil at EMI recently, which led
to a delay in processing the applications.
Don't worry – David himself will still
be choosing the winner, but we have had to ask
for extra time in order that he give them his
fullest attention.
Please bear with us, and apologies again for
the delay – but please rest assured that
all the front runners will be properly considered.
In the meantime, feel free to nip down to your
local betting emporium to lay odds on the result.
Willow Swing Ball Benefits From Signed Taylor
Guitar
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David
has supported the work of the Willow
Foundation charity by signing a Taylor
acoustic/electric guitar to be auctioned
at the Willow Swing Ball on Saturday 3rd
March.
The Willow Foundation funds and organises
special days for seriously ill young adults
aged 16-40, who face the difficulties
and uncertainties of living with conditions
such as cancer, motor neurone disease,
muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, and
organ failure. Their gala event, the Swing
Ball, takes place at London's Grosvenor
House House Hotel, with a theme of 'Welcome
To Las Vegas', hopefully to entice high
rollers to commit large sums in a good
cause. |
The guitar is a Taylor T5 Spruce Top
in Cherry Sunburst, and is the first electric
guitar produced by Taylor, who are known for
their quality acoustic instruments. Sound Technology
plc are the UK distributor of Taylor Guitars,
and it is their association with the Willow
Foundation that led to the guitar signing, organised
by David's longtime guitar tech, Phil Taylor
(no relation), who also took the fetching portrait
above.
Tickets to the Willow Swing Ball cost £150 per
head, for a table of ten. For more details,
please click here
to visit the Willow Foundation Web site.
And the winners are...
Just to remind you that the results of the Arnold
Layne Competition will be unveiled on Wednesday
7th February, and we'll announce the
winning entry on The
Blog. The prize is a day's recording
in Abbey Road Studios, and famed Pink Floyd
and ex-Hipgnosis designer Storm Thorgerson
has also agreed to design a new logo for the
winning entrant.
As you know, David has been nominated for a
GRAMMY (Best Rock Instrumental Performance,
for Castellorizon). The music industry's
premier event takes place on Sunday 11th
February and will be broadcast live
in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television
Network at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The show also
will be supported on radio via Westwood One
worldwide and XM Satellite Radio. |
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