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Scots know how to celebrate. The invitation of the record company Sony underlines this. A group of selected journalists from across the European continent and the British Isles gather in Glasgow to get to know the latest and last studio work of the Scottish folk rock institution. In the Linn Factory, manufacturer of exclusive Hi-Fi components, there is a listing session of the complete album, followed by a whisky rehearsal and witty interviews with the band.

3 p.m.: Already in the shuttle from the hotel to the company headquarters of Linn, the manufacturer of stereo equipment for highest audiophile demands, founded in 1973, there is a lot of discussion about why Runrig put such a decided end to her career as a recording artist.

15:30 h: Arrived there - typical for the country it rains heavily - the press representatives get a small tour through the production. A friendly reception with a cold buffet follows.

After the success of "Crises", Virgin boss Richard Branson pushed for an extension of Mike Oldfield's contract. The two had closed it in 1973; it ran over ten albums, of which the artist had to deliver two more. Although his relationship with Branson was no longer the best, Oldfield let his lawyer persuade him to make a new deal: he committed himself to three more records for Virgin and in return received a significant increase in his royalties, both on future releases and on the back catalogue. At the end of the 80s, when his friendship with Branson was finally shattered, he would still regret this step bitterly and subsequently deliver either a half-baked, or - with "Amarok" - a brilliant, yet highly non-commercial album. "Discovery", it seems from today's point of view, was Oldfield's last attempt to combine art and commerce on a high level.

Since their reunion in 2001 Magnum, the pomp hardrockers from the Black Country, have been known for their consistently high quality. The fans were more than satisfied, but masterpieces like "Chase The Dragon" (1982) or even "On A Storyteller's Night" (1985) didn't come close. "Sacred Blood 'Divine' Lies", the eighth work since the reunification of the main protagonists Tony Clarkin and Bob Catley, will probably not be considered a Magnum classic one day. But that it is one of the most rewarding recordings of the second band phase is obvious. We talked to founding member Bob Catley about it.

eclipsed: Apart from your family, is there anyone close to you as your guitarist and sole songwriter, Tony Clarkin, with whom you've been working since 1972, except for the six-year silence at Magnum? In other words: Is Tony the most important person in your life?

After an extremely long run-up, a project initiated in 1999 finally became the established band Greenleaf. This became apparent at the latest when singer Arvid Jonsson joined "Trails & Passes" (2014). Almost 15 years earlier, the friendly musicians Tommi Holappa (Dozer guitarist), Daniel Lidén (Demon Cleaner drummer), Lowrider singer Peder Bergstrand and Dozer/Lowrider/Demon Cleaner producer Bengt Bäcke, who wanted to play bass, had simply wanted to let off steam elsewhere.

The light goes out, the crackling of tension, the anticipation charges the air electrically. When the almost 70-year-old enters the stage slowly in the dim light, the emotions unload. With every step by David Gilmour a piece of music history goes on stage. The audience is aware of his career, which lasted almost half a century. The man has charisma, an aura that spreads before he even plays a note or sings a word. Wherever Gilmour has played during his tour that began last year or will play in the summer of 2016, there has always been or will always be the same reception.

Granted: The British are already a strange bunch - for 24 years now and ten albums they have been sounding out all areas of cultivated, well-tempered pop music, rejecting the common commercial thinking of the music industry and changing their line-up just as often as their record companies - namely after almost every album/tour cycle. While at the beginning of this decade they had been exclusively concerned with instrumental soundtracks and commissioned works for museums, they are now presenting a new recording called "The Waiting Room", the history of which mastermind Stuart Staples comments as follows: "It was important to try out a few new things. But if we also had ideas for the band, then we also worked on it. It's like, "Let's sound this out. At the end of 2014 we had a bunch of semi-finished songs that we found interesting. So we said to ourselves: 'Maybe we should summarize them on one album'."

Collins wears a black shirt, blue jeans and a hat that he has just bought, and despite his physical handicap is in good spirits. It has just become known that he is back together with his ex-wife Orianne - but now he is starting to talk about the big re-release project of his eight solo albums. After "Face Value" (1981) and "Both Sides" (1993) now "Hello, I Must Be Going!" is released (1982) and "Dance Into The Light" (1996).

eclipsed: Phil, how's your back?

Phil Collins: It will. If I stand long, it hurts.

eclipsed: The surgery in September was pretty serious, wasn't it?

The retro-rock wave has also reached tranquil Tromsø in northern Norway: at the latest since January 2012, when Pristine released her debut album "Detoxing", followed by "No Regret" in 2013. The band around singer Heidi Solheim is completely dedicated to the early 70s sound - and especially to blues rock. The accolade "Blues Rock at its best" by the American "Blues Rock Review" proves how skilfully Pristine works.

Now we have the third album "Reboot". "It took us a step from the blues to rock. We love to give concerts and have recorded 'Reboot' live in the studio. That's how we try to capture the energy, and that's exactly where this 70s feeling comes from," explains Heidi Solheim, who grew up with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Eagles in her childhood. "I fell in love with all the wonderful harmonies and melodies. When I heard Led Zeppelin, it had happened to me. At the age of nine I formed a cover band."