Gonzo is proud to release the premier performance broadcast of David Bedford's critically acclaimed masterpiece for all to enjoy.

12 HOURS OF SUNSET by David Bedford (Mike Oldfield, Roy Harper, Madness), was commissioned for the 1975 Proms season when it was first performed. The piece takes it's title and text from the song of the same name by Roy Harper, recorded for his 1974 album - Valentine, the song tells of a long plane journey, in the evening, travelling due West. Since this is against the direction of the Earth's rotation, the effect is to retard the apparent speed of the sun's motion so that it almost appears to stand still. It is this strange feeling of suspension, timelessness and perpetual evening, which the piece attempts to convey.

The Composer goes on to mention three other possible influences; the last page of Ibson’s play ‘Ghosts’, particularly Osvald’s line ‘The Sun, The Sun’, and the scene in Ken Russell’s play about ‘Delius’, where the composer is taken up a mountain to catch the final glimpse of the sun before going blind. Lastly David Bedford mentions the creature ‘Morning Star’ from Roger Zelazny‘s novel ‘Jack of Shadows’. In this novel, the earth no longer rotates and the Morning Star is affixed on top of the Terminator facing East, thus for him the sun is perpetually just below the horizon and he’s waiting eternally, as far as he knows, for sunrise.