Happy Birthday - Nick Mason (27 January)

Birth name: Nicholas Berkeley Mason
Born: 27 January 1944 (1944-01-27) (age 64)
Birmingham, England
Associated acts:
-Pink Floyd:
-Sigma 6
-The Screaming Abdabs
-Mason & Fenn
-Robert Wyatt
Nationality: British

Nicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason (born 27 January 1944 in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England) is the drummer for Pink Floyd. He has been the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1964. He also competes in auto racing events, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The son of the documentary film maker Bill Mason, he was born in Birmingham but brought up in Hampstead, London (many online biographies mistakenly cite the street address Downshire Hill - sometimes as "the Downshire Hills" - as a district of Birmingham) and attended Frensham Heights School, Surrey. He later studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster), where he teamed up with Roger Waters, Bob Klose and Richard Wright in 1964 to form Pink Floyd's predecessor
Mason is married (to his second wife, Nettie) and has four children; two daughters (Holly and Chloe) from his first marriage and two sons (Guy and Cary) from his second. They live in Hampstead, London however they often stay in the Wiltshire town of Corsham in the former home of Camilla Parker Bowles.
As Floyd's recording and touring schedule grew more sporadic, Mason was left with more time to pursue his favourite hobby: auto racing. He owns (through his company Ten Tenths) and races several classic cars, and has competed successfully at the 24 hours of Le Mans. His collection has been a subject of his 1998 book, Into the Red which he documents his experience with his cars along with some histories. He is also a qualified pilot, and flies a Aerospatiale AS 350 Squirrel helicopter in specially painted colours.
Mason was invited by Ferrari to purchase one of their 400 Enzos, which Jeremy Clarkson pleaded with him to borrow for reviewing purposes on the BBC motoring programme Top Gear. Mason agreed, on the sole condition that throughout the review, Clarkson promoted the release of the book Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd. This led to Clarkson using Pink Floyd album titles in his description of the Enzo and The Stig driving round the track with "Another Brick In The Wall" playing (despite the fact that the Enzo does not come equipped with a stereo). Mason says that his favourite car of all time is the Ferrari 250 GTO, and owns one of the 36 built. He later sold his Enzo to millionaire Mohammad Jamil for £650 000.
Nick Mason's book, Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, was published in the UK in October 2004. It is also available, abridged, as a 3CD audio book, read by Mason.
He is worth £55 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2006-2007

Nick Mason Facebook

External links
Nick Mason's Drummerworld profile
Nick Mason Interviews
"Into the Red" driving Nick's racing cars
Ten Tenths official site
Inside Out book page from Pink Floyd official site
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Mason

Richard Wright- “World is missing him”.

Richard William "Rick" Wright (28 July 1943 – 15 September 2008) was an English pianist, keyboardist, vocalist and songwriter, best known for his career with Pink Floyd.Wright's richly textured keyboard layers were a vital ingredient and a distinctive characteristic of Pink Floyd's sound. Wright frequently sang background and occasionally lead vocals onstage and in the studio with Pink Floyd (most notably on the songs "Time", "Echoes", and on the Syd Barrett composition "Astronomy Domine").
Though not as prolific a songwriter as his bandmates Roger Waters and David Gilmour, he wrote significant parts of the music for classic albums such as Meddle, The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, as well as for Pink Floyd's final s tudio album The Division Bell.

Richard Wright didn't contribute many songs to the band's catalog, but "The Great Gig in the Sky" is a classic from Dark Side of the Moon. His keyboards certainly helped define the band's delicate prog-rock sound. A founding Floyd member, Wright was fired by Roger Waters during the recording of The Wall, then rehired as a session musician for the tour. Wright sat out 1983's The Final Cut, but remained an auxiliary member until 1988. From there, Floyd became more like a happy family, with all the members reuniting for the Live 8 benefit concert in 2005. Wright also toured with David Gilmour in 2006. Notorious acid casualty Syd Barrett died that same year, which is good—it would have been embarrassing if Wright had been the first to go.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wright_(musician)

http://www.bwcitypaper.com/Articles-i-2009-01-22-226605.113121_Dead_Folks_Music_Part_2.html

Comfortably Numb ...........Pink Floyd (New Live Video)

Hello.Is there anybody in there?

Just nod if you can hear me.

Is there anyone home?

Come on, now.I hear youre feeling down.

Well I can ease your pain,

Get you on your feet again.

Relax.I need some information first.

Just the basic facts:Can you show me where it hurts?

There is no pain, you are receding.

A distant ships smoke on the horizon.

You are only coming through in waves.

Your lips move but I cant hear what youre sayin.

When I was a child I had a fever.

My hands felt just like two balloons.

Now I got that feeling once again.

I cant explain, you would not understand.

This is not how I am.

I have become comfortably numb.

Ok.Just a little pinprick. [ping]

Therell be no more --aaaaaahhhhh!

But you may feel a little sick.

Can you stand up?

I do believe its working. good.

Thatll keep you going for the show.

Come on its time to go.

There is no pain, you are receding.

A distant ships smoke on the horizon.

You are only coming through in waves.

Your lips move but I cant hear what youre sayin.

When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse,

Out of the corner of my eye.

I turned to look but it was gone.

I cannot put my finger on it now.

The child is grown, the dream is gone.

I have become comfortably numb.