Pink Floyd's Nick Mason takes Rolls Royce on a ROCKIN' musical quest at Nurburgring

(photo above, and three below) courtesy The Times of London

This just in from Yahoo (edited, as seen at www.edmunds.com, and before that, originally from The Times of London):

-

LONDON---"It was a strange idea but a fun one. Drummer Nick Mason, known for many years as an avid collector of cars and aficionado of racing, set out to complete one lap of the storied Nurburgring racetrack in Germany in the time it takes to play half of the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by his band, Pink Floyd.

-

"Here's the equation: The track is about 14 miles long, the song--broken into two parts on the album--is 13 minutes, 33 seconds. Mason was driving a V12-engined Rolls-Royce Phantom, with the song from the Wish You Were Here CD cued up on the car stereo.

-

"The Times of London put a reporter into the passenger's seat, who said the Rolls had "a surprising amount of verve" that was noticeable well before the song began to be audible, despite the car's high-end 420-watt sound system. The reporter notes that despite the challenge of the circuit, Mason was able to beat out the rhythm in time with the music while driving part of the lap.

-

"Did he make it? Nope. "Within sight of the finish," writes the Times reporter, "all 15 speakers go silent." Mason mused that the live concert version, some four minutes longer, might have been a better choice.

-

"What this means: Here's somebody who is putting wealth and an enviable car collection to good use."

-

Amen to that.

-

You can read the full Times story (dated September 2, 2007) at: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/features/article2361222.ece

-

Note that it gives other suggestions for serious music-meets-the-track challenges, suggesting a run at LeMans might include Dylan's 1966 11 min. 23 sec. "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" or Miles Davis' 1969 27 min. "Bitches Brew." I myself might suggest the Grateful Dead's 1969 Live Dead album, yielding "St. Stephen," "Dark Star," "and "Turn on Your Lovelight." Or, perhaps more obvious, Dire Straits' "Telegraph Road."

-

Another marvelous Nick Mason piece "Me and My Motors," from September 5, 2004, can be found at the Times: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/features/article478048.ece

-