LAUNCH OF BANG ! AND QUEEN/PAUL RODGERS ... AND STUFF ...Dear Folks
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I hope you are all well. And enjoying LIFE !
I seem to have been working my way out from under a large heap of compost, this last few weeks ..... I say compost, because it's not all bad ..... in fact it's a good growing medium ! But it's been hard for me to find time to write like this ....
Today was the culmination of one of my 'threads' .... the launch of our BANG ! book, which at one time I thought was a project that would never get finished. .... that was two and a half years, that was ... but I'm well proud. I hope those of you out there who are excited by Astronomy, and the whole question of how this all happened, will enjoy it. Press conferences are always draining, but this one was pretty nice and friendly. Some good reactions, some good questions, and in spite of the computer that was playing our BANG! animation sequence breaking down (Bummer!), I think it was a success. It was great to see Sir Patrick out and about - actually I think it was the first time he has been to London since we began this project. He is such a trooper and such an amazingly modest man. And very funny too .... he made them all laugh today .... some nice moments.
This event, for me, was the reverse of what used to happen in my youth .... I used to 'play truant' and sneak off from my Astronomy and Physics studies to play music. This time I snuck off from our current studio work to do Astronomy !
Actually the chaps were very nice about it. Roger and Paul Rodgers and I have been in the studio the last few days working on NEW NEW NEW material ... quite an occasion really. Apart from our excursions with Dave Stewart for Nelson Mandela a couple of years back (most of which never got heard) this is our first QUEEN new recording session for about 15 years. It may turn into an album ... it may lead elsewhere, but right now we are HAVING FUN ! And ..... it sounds pretty amazing to my ears ... very different from anything Paul or Queen have ever done. And pretty epic !!
I've also been heavily into writing up my old PhD work ... I have been working from the original scribbled notes - and seeing them turn into nice, neat, readable WRD files is very satisfying. I am actually at the END of the text now, but there is a long road ahead getting all the references and diagrams together ... and then I plan to work on accumulating NEW data, and making a new analysis .... so I reckon it will be while ... but the trail is now HOT !
Just to whet your appetites (Ha ! who am I kidding ?!! - probably about 10 people in the world will actually read my thesis all the way through!) ... here is a picture which I will probably include in the final version. A very young Bri, seen here setting up his Coelostat on a volcanic ridge in the centre of Tenerife Island, roughly at the time of writing the riff and framework for Tie Your Mother Down !
Ah ...youth ! And blue sky ! Up there above the clouds ...it's still my favourite place on Earth ....
Cheers
Astronomically yours ...
Dr. Bri