Nick Mason was praised as being the "heartbeat of Pink Floyd" by Gary Kemp as their band Saucerful of Secrets performed at The Roundhouse in Camden, London, on Monday night (24.09.18).
The 74-year-old drummer and his new bandmates – Gary, long-time Pink Floyd bassist Guy Pratt, Blockheads guitarist Lee Harris and keyboard player Dom Breken – kicked off their UK tour at the iconic venue with a setlist picked from the psychedelic rock group’s early albums.
At one point during the concert, Spandau Ballet star Gary, 58, addressed the sold-out crowd to praise Pink Floyd founding member Nick for being such a huge inspiration to him and for being such an integral part of the ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ hitmakers’ success.
He said: "I went to see Pink Floyd and as an aspiring guitarist I probably should’ve been looking at David (Gilmour), but for some reason I couldn’t take my eyes off the drummer, mostly because he was the only thing moving on stage other than a few inflatables. I got to know him about 15 years ago and he became a friend. A nicer, funnier and less egotistical man you couldn’t meet in the entire music business. It’s an amazing joy for me to be standing here playing with him tonight. He truly is the heartbeat of Pink Floyd."
Highlights on the night included debut Pink Floyd single ‘Arnold Layne’ and follow-up ‘See Emily Play’ and ‘Lucifer Sam’ and ‘Bike’ from their first album ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’, all of which were written by original frontman Syd Barrett.
And after a rendition of little known track ‘Vegetable Man’, Nick took the opportunity to pay tribute to his late friend and former bandmate – who officially left Pink Floyd in 1968 – as his image was projected onto the stage.
He said: "That song was a little known song called ‘Vegetable Man’ which was supposed to be on ‘Saucerful of Secrets’, but we’d grown out of Syd before it was finished, which is why it’s quite so short. It’s only right to recognise that man who really is the spirit of Pink Floyd – Syd Barrett."
The concert came 52 years after Pink Floyd famously opened the venue on October 15 1966 performing alongside The Soft Machine at an ‘All Night Rave’ to launch the underground newspaper International Times and the show was attended by the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Marianne Faithfull and Italian film director Michelangelo Antonioni.
Nick admitted it was a massive honour to be back at The Roundhouse as the venue holds so many special memories for him.
He said with a grin: "As you now know we are not the Australian Roger Waters, or the Danish David Gilmour. I’ve finally given up waiting for that phone call and he we are. We are Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets.
"I’m so pleased to be back at The Roundhouse. It was 52 years ago in three weeks’ time that we played the opening of the International Times and it really launch our careers. It’s so good to be back, it’s amazing what a lick of paint can do."
Nick revelled in his role as band leader on the night and was delighted when he finally got the chance to take control of the Pink Floyd gong.
Before playing ‘Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun’, he said: "I’d like to talk about a wonderful man, Roger Waters. Great friend, great songwriter but flawed, because he wasn’t very good at sharing. One issue for me was that one thing he was not very good at sharing was the gong, but tonight is my night."
The band ended their set with an encore of ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’ and ‘Point Me at the Sky’ which promoted Guy to say: "That was ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’ by Saucerful of Secrets, you can’t get more meta than that! Thank you to the late Rick Wright for those chords."
Following an unprecedented demand for tickets for their 2018 shows, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets have announced a five concerts for 2019 kicking off on Monday 29 April at St David’s Hall in Cardiff, Wales.
Tickets go on sale at Thesaucerfulofsecrets.com at 10am on Friday (28.09.18).
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets Roundhouse setlist:
Interstellar Overdrive
Astronomy Domine
Lucifer Sam
Fearless
Obscured by Clouds
When You’re In
Arnold Layne
Vegetable Man
If / Atom Heart Mother (medley)
The Nile Song’
Green Is the Colour’
Let There Be More Light’
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’
See Emily Play
Bike
One of These Days
Encore:
A Saucerful of Secrets
Point Me at the Sky
Outro – Jugband Blues