Fingal's Cave - A Podcast for all dedicated Pink Floyd Fans

It's episode number 8, and we return to the 1977 Animals Tour with our guest David Fidler. David was a good friend of Chris Cockram, whom we had the privilege of interviewing for episode 5. It's David's first-ever interview about his sound engineering work with Pink Floyd. David was primarily responsible for Pink Floyd's quad system, and his memories provide invaluable insights into the challenges Pink Floyd's crew faced as they supported 56 dates in Europe and North America.

Unedited Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYcb-0L_KrI

“An amazingly attractive, energetic, sparkly boy goes the wrong way in life and is lost.” 
Rosemary Breen, Syd Barrett’s sister, knew him better than anyone and has given a detailed interview to Ian Priston for the Fingal’s Cave podcast. Go to https://fingalscavepodcast.com/ to subscribe and never miss an episode.

In this episode, we are very pleased to be joined by composer and author Ron Geesin. Known to Pink Floyd fans for his collaboration on Atom Heart Mother and Music from the Body, Ron has an extensive discography, a massive collection of adjustable spanners, and nearly eight decades' worth of stories, aphorisms, insights, and witticisms. In a wide-ranging conversation with Phil Salathé and Nils Zehnpfennig, Ron discusses the past and future of Atom Heart Mother, his work for film and television, and the role of the subconscious and humor in art. Along the way Ron speaks of his love for Coleman Hawkins and Edgard Varèse, and recounts how "unintentional brinksmanship" had him facing the wrath of two thousand Scots.

Please find the unedited video here: https://youtu.be/AqGtp7rcT_g

Today we talk to Ian Priston and Phil Salathé about their work on the bestselling book "Pink Floyd BBC Radio 1967-1971". Phil explains how this collaboration came about and Ian talks about surprising finds in the BBC archives and the immense help from the fan community.
Book: https://www.floydstuff.com/product/7245714/pink-floyd-bbc-radio-1967-1971-hardcover-edition

The 1977 Animals “Veterans Tour” – life on the road with Pink Floyd
 
We are delighted to introduce Chris Cockram in this episode of Fingals Cave.
Chris worked as a tour technician and tour manager for super bands such as U2, Queen, Rolling Stones, Elton John, and Pink Floyd in 1977.
 
Chris tells some great new stories about working closely with David Gilmour and Nick Mason and gives a vivid sense of what became infamously known amongst the roadies as the “Veterans Tour”.

We discuss increasing tension in the band, Roger and David’s audio recordings, technical problems that almost led to catastrophic consequences, and the famous Montreal 1977 spitting incident. Chris is additionally the author of the fascinating book, ‘We Skipped the Lite Fandango’.
 
Info: we had technical difficulties with our guest’s audio channel and have tried our best to remove most artifacts.

Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B0747M5VYG/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=1VW8CL52TOYJ1&keywords=we+skipped+the+lite+fandango&qid=1691669979&sprefix=we+skipped+the+lite+fandango%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-1
Please find the unedited video here: https://youtu.be/15J5LneNja0

In this episode, Nils Zehnpfennig meets the highly respected documentary filmmaker and producer John Edginton, who has an excellent reputation among Pink Floyd fans for his two documentaries "The Pink Floyd & Syd Barrett Story" and "The Story of Wish you Were Here". We talk about the motivation to produce a documentary about Syd Barrett and discuss John's band member interviews in detail.

John explains how he encountered Syd Barrett’s former landlord who had a surprise waiting for him. 

Finally, we talk about John's enormously successful YouTube channel and the treasures in his archive that will be released in the near future.

A full length version of this interview can also be found  on John's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JOHNEDGINTONDOCUMENTARIES 

Please find the unedited video version here: https://youtu.be/nZAAF6u6zXg

In this episode, we talk to Pink Floyd recording pioneer Derek T.

Derek, whose love of the band began when he listened to the live sides of Ummagumma in 1969, was present at many significant Pink Floyd gigs in their heyday.  He shares his concert memories with our host, Ian Priston, and explains the 1970s vinyl bootleg industry and attempts to stamp it out. Derek took over a tiny record shop in Marlborough Court, just off Carnaby Street, London, in 1973, where he would encounter various classic titles such as The Best of Tour ’72.  At one point you’ll hear Derek talking about an Elvis impersonator at the Crystal Palace concert on 15 May 1971, and this did indeed happen. Derek also acknowledges the loss of his good friend, Syd Barrett specialist Bernard White, in tragic circumstances.  
Later he talks about his experience of Knebworth ’75 and going to the 1977 Wembley concerts. The enigmatic Jesus Jellett is mentioned and Derek explains racing driver James Hunt’s connection to The Wall shows.  Derek then moves on to his key Pink Floyd archival achievement, filming excerpts of multiple The Wall concerts in England and Germany in 1980 and 1981 from different vantage points on a Super 8 camera. Derek subsequently edited his footage highlights together to form a complete concert production. We would like to thank  Vincenzo Gatti for his work on mastering the sound.

In this first episode Nils Zehnpfennig and Ian Priston talk in general about researching live Pink Floyd recordings and how breakthroughs can be made. They also discuss how tensions in the band in the 1970s not only caused damage, but were also important for the creative process, helping Pink Floyd produce some of their best work.

Nils: "We decided not to rehearse the episode to keep it as authentic as possible and recorded it in a single take in a hotel room. It is unedited and we didn’t have any notes to refer to, so it is a bit rough around the edges and there are some minor errors. Ian Priston wishes, for example, that he referred to Phil Salathé and not just Phil, and notes that he has been researching Pink Floyd for 35 years in total and 25 years in earnest, with the commencement of research for his first book, which he co-wrote with Nick Hodges.
We originally planned to release a video of the Podcast. For various reasons, however, we have decided to only provide audio. Please excuse the few references to the video."