THERE have been many twists in the long-running saga of Pink Floyd, but few could have predicted the events of May 20, 2018. On stage in Camden’s Dingwalls, Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets opened a surprising new chapter in the band’s story, reviving the three-minute pop fantasias and cosmic-progressive freakouts of the Floyd’s foundational years before The Dark Side Of The Moon. In our cover story, Mason looks back on the creation of this magnificent, irregular music, while along with his co-conspirators in the Saucers, he explains how – and why – they’ve brought it back to life. “The best Pink Floyd gigs were voyages of discovery, accompanied by a sense of mystery and adventure,” Mason tells Uncut. “I was excited about playing music with a sense of freedom, music that involved improvisation. That’s what Saucerful Of Secrets is all about.”
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There’s plenty about creativity, and what fuels it, in the rest of the magazine – whether it be the open-hearted songwriting of Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker, the harmonic brilliance of The Beach Boys or the careworn poetry of Townes Van Zandt. In a typically wideranging issue, we head off in further sonic directions in the company of The Jesus And Mary Chain, Shabaka Hutchings, Jah Wobble, Betty Harris and A Certain Ratio, and also pay homage to two great instigators – Wayne Kramer and Damo Suzuki.
One of the best things about writing this column for you every month is getting to marvel at the incredible variety of music we stack inside every issue. This one is no exception; you’ll even find Lulu on the time she recorded with the Memphis Horns, Duane Allman and Dr John. Not a story you’re likely to read about every day…