Pink Floyd were an English rock band formed in London. They achieved international acclaim with their progressive and psychedelic music. Distinguished by their use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, extended compositions and elaborate live shows, they are one of the most commercially successful and musically influential groups in the history of popular music.
Pink Floyd were founded in 1965 by students Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright.
They gained popularity performing in London's underground music scene
during the late 1960s, and under Barrett's leadership released two
charting singles and a successful debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). David Gilmour joined as a fifth member in December 1967; Barrett left the band in April 1968 due to deteriorating mental health
exacerbated by drug use. Waters became the band's primary lyricist and,
by the mid-1970s, their dominant songwriter, devising the concepts behind their critically and commercially successful albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979) and The Final Cut (1983).
Wright left Pink Floyd in 1979, followed by Waters in 1985, declaring
it a "spent force". Gilmour and Mason continued as Pink Floyd; Wright
rejoined them as a session musician and, later, a band member. The three
produced two more albums, A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell
(1994), and toured until 1994. After nearly two decades of acrimony,
Pink Floyd reunited with Waters in 2005 for a performance at the global
awareness event Live 8,
but Gilmour and Waters have since stated they have no plans to reunite
as a band again. Barrett died in 2006 and Wright in 2008. The final Pink
Floyd studio album, The Endless River, recorded without Waters and based on material recorded in 1993–1994, was released in November 2014.
Pink Floyd were inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and the UK Music Hall of Fame
in 2005. By 2013, the band had sold more than 250 million records
worldwide, including 75 million certified units in the United States.
Formation
Roger Waters met drummer Nick Mason while they were both studying architecture at the London Polytechnic at Regent Street.[1] They first played music together in a group formed by Keith Noble and Clive Metcalfe with Noble's sister Sheilagh. Keyboardist Richard Wright,
a fellow architecture student, joined later that year, and the group
became a sextet named Sigma 6, the first band to include Waters, who was
at this time playing lead guitar; Wright, who at first played rhythm
guitar since there was rarely an available keyboard; and Mason on drums.[2][nb 1] The band started performing during private functions, while rehearsing in a tearoom in the basement of the Regent Street Polytechnic. They performed songs by The Searchers and material written by their manager and songwriter, fellow student Ken Chapman.[4]
In September 1963, Waters and Mason moved into a flat at 39 Stanhope Gardens, near Crouch End London, owned by Mike Leonard, a part-time tutor at the nearby Hornsey College of Art and the Regent Street Polytechnic.[5][nb 2] Mason moved out after the 1964 academic year, and guitarist Bob Klose moved in during September 1964, prompting Waters' switch to bass.[6][nb 3]
Sigma 6 went through a number of other transitory names, including the
Meggadeaths, the Abdabs and the Screaming Abdabs, Leonard's Lodgers, and
the Spectrum Five before settling on the Tea Set.[7][nb 4] In 1964, as Metcalfe and Noble left to form their own band, guitarist Syd Barrett joined Klose and Waters at Stanhope Gardens.[11] Barrett, two years younger, had moved to London in 1962 to study at the Camberwell College of Art.[12]
Waters and Barrett were childhood friends; Waters had often visited
Barrett and watched him play guitar at Barrett's mother's house.[13]
Mason said about Barrett: "In a period when everyone was being cool in a
very adolescent, self-conscious way, Syd was unfashionably outgoing; my
enduring memory of our first encounter is the fact that he bothered to
come up and introduce himself to me."[14]
Noble and Metcalfe left the Tea Set in late 1963, and Klose introduced the band to singer Chris Dennis, a technician with the Royal Air Force (RAF).[15]
In December 1964, they managed to secure their first recording time, at
a studio in West Hampstead, through one of Wright's friends, who let
them use some down time for free. Wright, who was taking a break from
his studies, did not participate in the session.[16][nb 5] When the RAF assigned Dennis a post in Bahrain in early 1965, Barrett became the band's frontman.[17][nb 6] Later that year, they became the resident band at the Countdown Club, near Kensington High Street
in London, where from late night until early morning they played three
sets of ninety minutes each. During this period, spurred by the group's
need to extend their sets in order to minimise song repetition, came the
band's "realisation that songs could be extended with lengthy solos",
wrote Mason.[18]
After pressure from his parents and advice from his college tutors,
Klose quit the band in mid-1965 and Barrett took over on lead guitar.[19]
The group first referred to themselves as the Pink Floyd Sound in late
1965. Barrett created the name on the spur of the moment when he
discovered that another band, also called the Tea Set, were to perform
at one of their gigs.[20] The name is derived from the given names of two blues musicians whose Piedmont blues records Barrett had in his collection, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.[21]
By 1966, the group's repertoire consisted mainly of rhythm and blues songs and they had begun to receive paid bookings, including one for a performance at the Marquee Club in March 1966, where Peter Jenner noticed them. A lecturer at the London School of Economics, Jenner was impressed by the sonic effects Barrett and Wright created, and with his business partner and friend Andrew King, he became their manager.[22] The pair had little experience in the music industry and used King's inherited money to set up Blackhill Enterprises,
purchasing about £1,000 worth of new instruments and equipment for the
band. It was around this time that Jenner suggested they drop the
"Sound" part of their band name, thus becoming the Pink Floyd.[23][nb 7] Under Jenner and King's guidance, the group became part of London's underground music scene, playing at venues including All Saints Hall and the Marquee.[25]
While performing at the Countdown Club, the band had experimented with
long instrumental excursions, and they began to expand upon these with
rudimentary but visually effective light shows, projected by coloured
slides and domestic lights.[26] Jenner and King's social connections helped gain the band prominent coverage in the Financial Times and an article in The Sunday Times which stated: "At the launching of the new magazine IT
the other night a pop group called the Pink Floyd played throbbing
music while a series of bizarre coloured shapes flashed on a huge screen
behind them ... apparently very psychedelic."[27]
In 1966, they strengthened their business relationship with Blackhill
Enterprises, becoming equal partners with Jenner and King and the band
members each holding a one-sixth share.[23]
By late 1966, their set included fewer R&B standards and more
Barrett originals, many of which would be included on their first album.[28]
While they had significantly increased the frequency of their
performances, the band were not widely accepted at the time. Following a
performance at a Catholic youth club, the owner refused to pay them,
claiming that their performance wasn't music.[29]
When their management filed suit in a small claims court against the
owner of the youth organisation, a local magistrate upheld the owner's
decision. However, they were much better received at the UFO Club in London, where a small fan base began to build up around the band.[30]
Barrett's performances were enthusiastic, "leaping around ...
madness ... improvisation ... [inspired] to get past his limitations and
into areas that were ... very interesting. Which none of the others
could do", wrote biographer Nicholas Schaffner.[31]
Signing with EMI
In 1967, Pink Floyd began to attract the attention of the mainstream music industry.[32][nb 8] While in negotiations with record companies, IT co-founder and UFO club manager Joe Boyd and Pink Floyd's booking agent Bryan Morrison arranged for and funded the recording of some songs at Sound Techniques in West Hampstead. Included were the standout track "Arnold Layne" and "Candy and a Currant Bun" as its B-side, both of which they recorded on 29 January 1967.[34][nb 9]
Three days later Pink Floyd signed with EMI, receiving a £5,000
advance. EMI released the band's first single, "Arnold Layne", on 10
March 1967, on its Columbia label.[36][nb 10] The song's references to cross-dressing
led to a ban by several radio stations; however, some creative
manipulation by the retailers who supplied sales figures to the music
business meant that the single peaked in the UK at number 20.[37]
EMI-Columbia released Pink Floyd's second single, "See Emily Play", on 16 June 1967. It fared slightly better than "Arnold Layne", peaking at number 6 in the UK.[38] They performed on the BBC's Look of the Week, where Waters and Barrett, erudite and engaging, faced tough questioning from Hans Keller.[39] They appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops, an immensely popular programme that controversially required artists to mime their singing and playing.[40]
Though Pink Floyd returned for two more performances, by the third,
Barrett had begun to unravel, and it was around this time that the band
first noticed significant changes in his behaviour.[41] By early 1967, he was regularly using LSD, and Mason described him as "completely distanced from everything going on".[42]
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Main article: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Morrison and EMI producer Norman Smith negotiated Pink Floyd's first recording contract, and as part of the deal, the band agreed to record their first album at EMI Studios in London.[43][nb 11]
Mason recalled that the sessions were trouble-free. Smith disagreed,
stating that Barrett was unresponsive to his suggestions and
constructive criticism.[45] EMI-Columbia released The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in August 1967. The album peaked at number 6, spending 14 weeks on the UK charts.[46]
Pink Floyd continued to draw large crowds at the UFO Club; however,
Barrett's mental breakdown was by then causing serious concern. The
group initially hoped that his erratic behaviour would be a passing
phase, but some were less optimistic, including Jenner and his
assistant, June Child,
who commented: "I found [Barrett] in the dressing room and he was
so ... gone. Roger Waters and I got him on his feet, [and] we got him
out to the stage ... The band started to play and Syd just stood there.
He had his guitar around his neck and his arms just hanging down."[47]
Forced to cancel Pink Floyd's appearance at the prestigious National
Jazz and Blues Festival, as well as several other shows, King informed
the music press that Barrett was suffering from nervous exhaustion.[48] Waters arranged a meeting with psychiatrist R. D. Laing, and though Waters personally drove Barrett to the appointment, Barrett refused to come out of the car.[49] A stay in Formentera with Sam Hutt,
a doctor well established in the underground music scene, led to no
visible improvement. The band followed a few concert dates in Europe
during September with their first tour of the US in October.[50][nb 12] As the US tour went on, Barrett's condition grew steadily worse.[52] During appearances on the Dick Clark and Pat Boone
shows in November, Barrett confounded his hosts by not responding to
questions and staring off into space. He refused to move his lips when
it came time to mime
"See Emily Play" on Boone's show. After these embarrassing episodes,
King ended their US visit and immediately sent them home to London.[53][nb 13] Soon after their return, they supported Jimi Hendrix
during a tour of England; however, Barrett's depression worsened as the
tour continued, reaching a crisis point in December, when the band
responded by adding a new member to their lineup.[55][nb 14]
1968–77: transition and international success
Gilmour replaces Barrett
In December 1967, the group added guitarist David Gilmour as the fifth member of Pink Floyd.[58][nb 15] Gilmour already knew Barrett, having studied with him at Cambridge Tech in the early 1960s.[13] The two had performed at lunchtimes together with guitars and harmonicas, and later hitch-hiked and busked their way around the south of France.[60] In 1965, while a member of Joker's Wild, Gilmour had watched the Tea Set.[61] Morrison's assistant, Steve O'Rourke,
set Gilmour up in a room at O'Rourke's house with a salary of £30 per
week, and in January 1968, Blackhill Enterprises announced Gilmour as
the band's newest member; the second guitarist and its fifth member, the
band intending to continue with Barrett as a nonperforming songwriter.[62]
Jenner commented: "The idea was that Dave would ... cover for
[Barrett's] eccentricities and when that got to be not workable, Syd was
just going to write. Just to try to keep him involved".[63][nb 16]
In an expression of his frustration, Barrett, who was expected to write
additional hit singles to follow up "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily
Play", instead played the band's "Have You Got It Yet?", intentionally changing the structure on each performance so as to make the song impossible to follow and learn.[58]
In a January 1968 photo-shoot of the five-man Pink Floyd, the
photographs show Barrett looking detached from the others, staring into
the distance.[65]
Working with Barrett eventually proved too difficult, and matters came to a head in January while en route to a performance in Southampton
when a band member asked if they should collect Barrett. According to
Gilmour, the answer was "Nah, let's not bother", signalling the end of
Barrett's tenure with Pink Floyd.[66][nb 17] Waters later admitted, "He was our friend, but most of the time we now wanted to strangle him".[68]
In early March 1968, Pink Floyd met with business partners Jenner and
King to discuss the band's future; Barrett agreed to leave.[69]
Jenner and King believed Barrett to be the creative genius of the
band, and decided to represent him and end their relationship with Pink
Floyd.[70] Morrison then sold his business to NEMS Enterprises, and O'Rourke became the band's personal manager.[71] Blackhill announced Barrett's departure on 6 April 1968.[72][nb 18] After Barrett's departure, the burden of lyrical composition and creative direction fell mostly on Waters.[74]
Initially, Gilmour mimed to Barrett's voice on the group's European TV
appearances; however, while playing on the university circuit, they
avoided Barrett songs in favour of Waters and Wright material such as "It Would Be So Nice" and "Careful with That Axe, Eugene".[75]
A Saucerful of Secrets
Main article: A Saucerful of Secrets
In 1968, Pink Floyd returned to Abbey Road Studios to record their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets. The LP included Barrett's final contribution to their discography, "Jugband Blues". Waters began to develop his own songwriting, contributing "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", "Let There Be More Light" and "Corporal Clegg". Wright composed "See-Saw" and "Remember a Day".
Smith encouraged them to self-produce their music, and they recorded
demos of new material at their houses. With Smith's instruction at Abbey
Road, they learned how to use the recording studio to realise their
artistic vision. However, Smith remained unconvinced by their music, and
when Mason struggled to perform his drum part on "Remember a Day",
Smith stepped in as his replacement.[76]
Wright recalled Smith's attitude about the sessions, "Norman gave up on
the second album ... he was forever saying things like, 'You can't do
twenty minutes of this ridiculous noise.'"[77] As neither Waters nor Mason could read music, to illustrate the structure of the album's title track, they invented their own system of notation. Gilmour later described their method as looking "like an architectural diagram".[78]
Released in June 1968, the album featured a psychedelic cover designed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis.
The first of several Pink Floyd album covers designed by Hipgnosis, it
was the second time that EMI permitted one of their groups to contract
designers for an album jacket.[79] The release peaked at number 9, spending 11 weeks on the UK chart.[46] Record Mirror gave the album an overall favourable review, but urged listeners to "forget it as background music to a party".[78] John Peel described a live performance of the title track as "like a religious experience", while NME described the song as "long and boring ... [with] little to warrant its monotonous direction".[77][nb 19] On the day after the album's UK release, Pink Floyd performed at the first ever free concert in Hyde Park.[81] In July 1968, they returned to the US for a second visit. Accompanied by the Soft Machine and the Who, it marked Pink Floyd's first significant tour.[82] In December of that year, they released "Point Me at the Sky";
no more successful than the two singles they had released since "See
Emily Play", it would be the band's last until their 1973 release, "Money".[83]
Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, and Meddle
Ummagumma represented a departure from their previous work. Released as a double-LP on EMI's Harvest label, the first two sides contained live performances recorded at Manchester College of Commerce and Mothers, a club in Birmingham. The second LP contained a single experimental contribution from each band member.[84] Ummagumma received positive reviews upon its release, in November 1969.[85] The album peaked at number 5, spending 21 weeks on the UK chart.[46]
In October 1970, Pink Floyd released Atom Heart Mother.[86][nb 20] An early version premièred in France in January, but disagreements over the mix prompted the hiring of Ron Geesin
to work out the sound issues. Geesin worked to improve the score, but
with little creative input from the band, production was troublesome.
Geesin eventually completed the project with the aid of John Alldis,
who was the director of the choir hired to perform on the record. Smith
earned an executive producer credit, and the album marked his final
official contribution to the band's discography. Gilmour said it was "A
neat way of saying that he didn't ... do anything".[88] Waters was critical of Atom Heart Mother, claiming that he would prefer if it were "thrown into the dustbin and never listened to by anyone ever again."[89]
Gilmour was equally dismissive of the album and once described it as "a
load of rubbish", stating: "I think we were scraping the barrel a bit
at that period."[89] Pink Floyd's first number 1 album, Atom Heart Mother was hugely successful in Britain, spending 18 weeks on the UK chart.[46] It premièred at the Bath Festival on 27 June 1970.[90]
Pink Floyd toured extensively across America and Europe in 1970.[91][nb 21] In 1971, Pink Floyd took second place in a reader's poll, in Melody Maker,
and for the first time were making a profit. Mason and Wright became
fathers and bought homes in London while Gilmour, still single, moved to
a 19th-century farm in Essex. Waters installed a home recording studio
at his house in Islington in a converted toolshed at the back of his garden.[92]
In January 1971, upon their return from touring Atom Heart Mother, Pink Floyd began working on new material.[93]
Lacking a central theme, they attempted several unproductive
experiments; engineer John Leckie described the sessions as often
beginning in the afternoon and ending early the next morning, "during
which time nothing would get [accomplished]. There was no record company
contact whatsoever, except when their label manager would show up now
and again with a couple of bottles of wine and a couple of joints."[94]
The band spent long periods working on basic sounds, or a guitar riff.
They also spent several days at Air Studios, attempting to create music
using a variety of household objects, a project which would be revisited
between The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here.[95]
Released in October 1971, "Meddle not only confirms lead
guitarist David Gilmour's emergence as a real shaping force with the
group, it states forcefully and accurately that the group is well into
the growth track again" wrote Jean-Charles Costa of Rolling Stone.[96][nb 22][nb 23] NME called Meddle "an exceptionally good album", singling out "Echoes" as the "Zenith which the Floyd have been striving for."[100] However, Melody Maker's
Michael Watts found it underwhelming, calling the album "a soundtrack
to a non-existent movie", and shrugging off Pink Floyd as "so much sound
and fury, signifying nothing."[101] Meddle is a transitional album between the Barrett-influenced group of the late 1960s and the emerging Pink Floyd.[102] The LP peaked at number 3, spending 82 weeks on the UK chart.[46]
The Dark Side of the Moon
Main article: The Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd recorded The Dark Side of the Moon between May 1972 and January 1973, with EMI staff engineer Alan Parsons at Abbey Road. The title is an allusion to lunacy rather than astronomy.[103] The band had composed and refined the material on Dark Side while touring the UK, Japan, North America and Europe.[104] Producer Chris Thomas assisted Parsons.[105] Hipgnosis designed the album's packaging, which included George Hardie's iconic refracting prism design on the cover.[106] Thorgerson's Dark Side
album cover features a beam of white light, representing unity, passing
through a prism, which represents society. The resulting refracted beam
of coloured light symbolises unity diffracted, leaving an absence of
unity.[107] Waters is the sole author of the album's lyrics.[108]
Released in March 1973, the LP became an instant chart success in the
UK and throughout Western Europe, earning an enthusiastic response from
critics.[109] Each member of Pink Floyd except Wright boycotted the press release of The Dark Side of the Moon because a quadraphonic mix had not yet been completed, and they felt presenting the album through a poor-quality stereo PA system was insufficient.[110] Melody Maker
's Roy Hollingworth described side one as "utterly confused ... [and]
difficult to follow", but praised side two, writing: "The songs, the
sounds ... [and] the rhythms were solid ... [the] saxophone hit the air,
the band rocked and rolled".[111] Rolling Stone 's Loyd Grossman described it as "a fine album with a textural and conceptual richness that not only invites, but demands involvement."[112]
Throughout March 1973, The Dark Side of the Moon featured as part of Pink Floyd's US tour.[113] The album is one of the most commercially successful rock albums of all time; a US number 1, it remained on the Billboard chart for more than fourteen years, selling more than 40 million copies worldwide.[114] In Britain, the album peaked at number 2, spending 364 weeks on the UK chart.[46] Dark Side is the world's second best-selling album, and the twenty-first best-selling album of all time in the US.[115]
The success of the album brought enormous wealth to the members of Pink
Floyd. Waters and Wright bought large country houses while Mason became
a collector of expensive cars.[116] Disenchanted with their US record company, Capitol Records, Pink Floyd and O'Rourke negotiated a new contract with Columbia Records,
who gave them a reported advance of $1,000,000, which is worth
approximately $5,000,000 today. In Europe, they continued to be
represented by Harvest Records.[117]
Wish You Were Here
Main article: Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album)
After a tour of the UK performing Dark Side, Pink Floyd returned to the studio in January 1975 and began work on their ninth studio album, Wish You Were Here.[118] Parsons declined an offer to continue working with them, becoming successful in his own right with the Alan Parsons Project, and so the band turned to Brian Humphries.[119] Initially, they found it difficult to compose new material; the success of The Dark Side of the Moon
had left Pink Floyd physically and emotionally drained. Wright later
described these early sessions as "falling within a difficult period"
and Waters found them "torturous".[120]
Gilmour was more interested in improving the band's existing material.
Mason's failing marriage left him in a general malaise and with a sense
of apathy, both of which interfered with his drumming.[120]
Despite the lack of creative direction, Waters began to visualise a new concept after several weeks.[120] During 1974, Pink Floyd had sketched out three original compositions and had performed them at a series of concerts in Europe.[121]
These compositions became the starting point for a new album whose
opening four-note guitar phrase, composed purely by chance by Gilmour,
reminded Waters of Barrett.[122] The songs provided a fitting summary of the rise and fall of their former bandmate.[123]
Waters commented: "Because I wanted to get as close as possible to what
I felt ... [that] indefinable, inevitable melancholy about the
disappearance of Syd."[124]
While Pink Floyd were working on the album, Barrett made an impromptu
visit to the studio, during which Thorgerson recalled that he "sat
round and talked for a bit, but he wasn't really there."[125]
He had changed significantly in appearance, so much so that the band
did not initially recognise him. Waters was reportedly deeply upset by
the experience.[126][nb 24] Most of Wish You Were Here premiered on 5 July 1975, at an open-air music festival at Knebworth. Released in September, it reached number one in both the UK and the US.[128]
Animals
Main article: Animals (Pink Floyd album)
Battersea Power Station features in the cover image for Animals
In 1975, Pink Floyd bought a three-storey group of church halls at 35 Britannia Row in Islington, and began converting the building into a recording studio and storage space.[129] In 1976, they recorded their tenth album, Animals, in their newly finished 24-track studio.[130] The concept of Animals originated with Waters, loosely based on George Orwell's political fable, Animal Farm. The album's lyrics described different classes of society as dogs, pigs, and sheep.[131][nb 25] Hipgnosis received credit for the packaging of Animals; however, Waters designed the final concept, choosing an image of the ageing Battersea Power Station, over which they superimposed an image of a pig.[133][nb 26]
The division of royalties was a source of conflict between band
members, who earned royalties on a per-song basis. Although Gilmour was
largely responsible for "Dogs", which took up almost the entire first
side of the album, he received less than Waters, who contributed the
much shorter two-part "Pigs on the Wing".[136] Wright commented: "It was partly my fault because I didn't push my material ... but Dave did have something to offer, and only managed to get a couple of things on there."[137] Mason recalled: "Roger was in full flow with the ideas, but he was really keeping Dave down, and frustrating him deliberately."[137][nb 27]
Gilmour, distracted by the birth of his first child, contributed little
else toward the album. Similarly, neither Mason nor Wright contributed
much toward Animals; Wright had marital problems, and his relationship with Waters was also suffering.[139] Animals is the first Pink Floyd album that does not include a writing credit for Wright, who commented: "Animals... wasn't a fun record to make ... this was when Roger really
started to believe that he was the sole writer for the band ... that it
was only because of him that [we] were still going ... when he started
to develop his ego trips, the person he would have his conflicts with
would be me."[139]
Released in January 1977, the album peaked on the UK chart at number two, and the US chart at number three.[140] NME described the album as "one of the most extreme, relentless, harrowing and downright iconoclastic hunks of music", and Melody Maker
's Karl Dallas called it "[an] uncomfortable taste of reality in a
medium that has become in recent years, increasingly soporific".[141]
They performed much of the album's material during their "In the Flesh" tour, Pink Floyd's first experience playing large stadiums, the size of which caused unease in the band.[142]
Waters began arriving at each venue alone, departing immediately after
the performance. On one occasion, Wright flew back to England,
threatening to leave the band.[143] At the Montreal Olympic Stadium, a group of noisy and enthusiastic fans in the front row of the audience irritated Waters so much that he spat at one of them.[144][nb 28]
The end of the tour marked a low point for Gilmour, who felt that the
band achieved the success they had sought, with nothing left for them to
accomplish.[145]
1978–85: Waters-led era
The Wall
Main articles: The Wall and Pink Floyd – The Wall
In July 1978, amid a financial turmoil caused by negligent
investments, Waters presented the group with two original ideas for
their next album. The first was a 90-minute demo with the working title Bricks in the Wall, and the other would later become Waters' first solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. Although both Mason and Gilmour were initially cautious, they chose the former to be their next album.[146][nb 29] Bob Ezrin co-produced, and he wrote a forty-page script for the new album.[148] Ezrin based the story on the central figure of Pink—a gestalt
character inspired by Waters' childhood experiences, the most notable
of which was the death of his father in World War II. This first
metaphorical brick led to more problems; Pink would become drug-addled
and depressed by the music industry, eventually transforming into a
megalomaniac, a development inspired partly by the decline of Syd
Barrett. At the end of the album, the increasingly fascist audience
would watch as Pink tore down the wall, once again becoming a regular
and caring person.[149][nb 30]
During the recording of The Wall, Waters, Gilmour and Mason became increasingly dissatisfied with Wright's lack of contribution to the album.[152]
Gilmour said that Wright "hadn't contributed anything of any value
whatsoever to the album—he did very, very little" and that is why he
"got the boot".[153]
According to Mason, "Rick's contribution was to turn up and sit in on
the sessions without doing anything, just 'being a producer'."[154]
Waters commented: "[Wright] was not prepared to cooperate in making the
record ... [and] it was agreed by everybody ... either [he] can have a
long battle or [he] can agree to ... finish making the album, keep [his]
full share ... but at the end of it [he would] leave quietly. Rick
agreed."[155][nb 31]
Although Pink Floyd had not released a single since 1973's "Money", "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" supported the album, topping the charts in the US and the UK.[158] Released on 30 November 1979, The Wall topped the Billboard chart in the US for fifteen weeks, reaching number three in the UK.[159] The Wall ranks number three on the RIAA's list of the all-time Top 100 albums, with 23 million certified units sold in the US.[160] The cover is one of their most minimalist designs, with a stark white brick wall, and no trademark or band name. It was also their first album cover since The Piper at the Gates of Dawn not designed by Hipgnosis.[161]
Gerald Scarfe produced a series of animations for the subsequent live shows, The Wall Tour.
He also commissioned the construction of large inflatable puppets
representing characters from the storyline including the "Mother", the
"Ex-wife" and the "Schoolmaster". Pink Floyd used the puppets during
their performances of the album.[162] Relationships within the band were at an all-time low; their four Winnebagos
parked in a circle, the doors facing away from the centre. Waters used
his own vehicle to arrive at the venue and stayed in different hotels
from the rest of the band. Wright returned as a paid musician and was
the only one of the four to profit from the venture, which lost about
$600,000.[163]
The Wall concept also spawned a film, the original idea for
which was to be a combination of live concert footage and animated
scenes. However, the concert footage proved impractical to film. Alan Parker
agreed to direct and took a different approach. The animated sequences
would remain, but scenes would be acted by professional actors with no
dialogue. Waters was screen-tested, but quickly discarded and they asked
Bob Geldof to accept the role of Pink. Geldof was initially dismissive, condemning The Wall 's storyline as "bollocks".[164]
Eventually won over by the prospect of participation in a significant
film and receiving a large payment for his work, Geldof agreed.[165][nb 32] Screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1982, Pink Floyd – The Wall premièred in the UK in July 1982.[166][nb 33]
The Final Cut
Main article: The Final Cut (album)
In 1982, Waters suggested a new musical project for the band, with the working title Spare Bricks, originally conceived as the soundtrack album for Pink Floyd – The Wall; however, with the onset of the Falklands War, Waters changed artistic direction and began writing new material. Waters saw Margaret Thatcher's
response to the invasion of the Falklands as jingoistic and
unnecessary, and he dedicated the new album to his late father.
Immediately there were arguments between Waters and Gilmour, who felt
that the album should include all new material, rather than recycling a
number of songs passed over for The Wall. Waters felt that Gilmour had contributed little to the band's lyrical repertoire.[167] Michael Kamen, a contributor to the orchestral arrangements of The Wall, mediated between the two, also performing the role traditionally occupied by the then absent Wright.[168][nb 34]
The tension within the band grew. Waters and Gilmour worked
independently; however, Gilmour began to feel the strain, sometimes
barely maintaining his composure. After a final confrontation, Gilmour's
name disappeared from the credit list, reflecting what Waters felt was
his lack of songwriting contributions.[170][nb 35]
Though Mason's musical contributions were minimal, he stayed busy
recording sound effects for an experimental Holophonic system to be used
on the album. With marital problems of his own, he remained a distant
figure. Pink Floyd did not use Thorgerson for the cover design, Waters
choosing to design the cover himself.[171][nb 36] Released in March 1983, The Final Cut went straight to number one in the UK and number six in the US.[172] Waters wrote all the lyrics, as well as all the music on the album.[173]
Gilmour did not have any material ready for the album and asked Waters
to delay the recording until he could write some songs, but Waters
refused.[174]
Gilmour later commented, "I'm certainly guilty at times of being
lazy ... but he wasn't right about wanting to put some duff tracks on The Final Cut."[174][nb 37] Rolling Stone magazine gave the album five stars, with Kurt Loder calling it "a superlative achievement ... art rock's crowning masterpiece".[176][nb 38] Loder viewed The Final Cut as "essentially a Roger Waters solo album".[178]
"A spent force" and Waters' departure
Gilmour had recorded his second solo album, About Face, in 1984, and he used it to express his feelings about a variety of topics; from the murder of John Lennon
to his relationship with Waters. He later stated that he used the album
to distance himself from Pink Floyd. Soon afterwards, Waters began
touring his first solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking.[179] Wright formed Zee with Dave Harris and recorded Identity, which went almost unnoticed upon its release.[180][nb 39] Mason released his second solo album, Profiles, in August 1985.[181]
Following the release of The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking,
Waters publicly insisted that Pink Floyd would not reunite. He contacted
O'Rourke to discuss settling future royalty payments. O'Rourke felt
obliged to inform Mason and Gilmour, and this angered Waters, who wanted
to dismiss him as the band's manager. Waters terminated his management
contract with O'Rourke and employed Peter Rudge to manage his affairs.[181][nb 40] Waters wrote to EMI and Columbia
announcing he had left the band, and asked them to release him from his
contractual obligations. Gilmour believed that Waters left to hasten
the demise of Pink Floyd. Waters later stated that, by not making new
albums, Pink Floyd would be in breach of contract—which would suggest
that royalty payments would be suspended—and that the other band members
had forced him from the group by threatening to sue him. Waters then
went to the High Court in an effort to dissolve the band and prevent the use of the Pink Floyd name, declaring Pink Floyd "a spent force creatively."[183]
When his lawyers discovered that the partnership had never been
formally confirmed, Waters returned to the High Court in an attempt to
obtain a veto over further use of the band's name. Gilmour responded by
issuing a carefully worded press release affirming that Pink Floyd would
continue to exist. He later told The Sunday Times: "Roger is a dog in the manger and I'm going to fight him".[184]
1986–95: Gilmour-led era
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
Main article: A Momentary Lapse of Reason
In 1987, Gilmour began recruiting musicians for what would become Pink Floyd's first album without Waters, A Momentary Lapse of Reason.[185][nb 41]
There were legal obstacles to Wright's readmittance to the band;
however, after a meeting in Hampstead Pink Floyd invited Wright to
participate in the coming sessions.[186]
Gilmour later stated that Wright's presence, "would make us stronger
legally and musically"; Pink Floyd employed him as a paid musician with
weekly earnings of $11,000.[187] Recording sessions for the album began on Gilmour's houseboat, the Astoria, moored along the River Thames.[188][nb 42] Gilmour worked with several songwriters, including Eric Stewart and Roger McGough, eventually choosing Anthony Moore to write the album's lyrics.[190] Gilmour would later admit that the project was difficult without Waters' creative direction.[191]
Mason, concerned that he was too out of practice to perform on the
album, made use of session musicians to complete many of the drum parts.
He instead busied himself with the album's sound effects.[192][nb 43]
The album was released in September 1987. Storm Thorgerson, whose creative input was absent from The Wall and The Final Cut, designed the album cover.[195]
In order to drive home the point that Waters had left the band, they
included a group photograph on the inside cover, the first since Meddle.[196][nb 44] The album went straight to number three in the UK and the US.[198]
Waters commented: "I think it's facile, but a quite clever forgery ...
The songs are poor in general ... [and] Gilmour's lyrics are
third-rate."[199]
Although Gilmour initially viewed the album as a return to the band's
top form, Wright disagreed, stating: "Roger's criticisms are fair. It's
not a band album at all."[200] Q Magazine described the album as essentially a Gilmour solo effort.[201]
Waters attempted to subvert the Momentary Lack of Reason tour
by contacting promoters in the US and threatening to sue them if they
used the Pink Floyd name. Gilmour and Mason funded the start-up costs
with Mason using his Ferrari 250 GTO as collateral.[202]
Early rehearsals for the upcoming tour were chaotic, with Mason and
Wright entirely out of practice. Realising he had taken on too much
work, Gilmour asked Bob Ezrin to assist them. As Pink Floyd toured
throughout North America, Waters' Radio K.A.O.S.
tour was on occasion, close by, though in much smaller venues than
those hosting his former band's performances. Waters issued a writ for
copyright fees for the band's use of the flying pig. Pink Floyd responded by attaching a large set of male genitalia to its underside to distinguish it from Waters' design.[203]
The parties reached a legal agreement on 23 December; Mason and Gilmour
retained the right to use the Pink Floyd name in perpetuity and Waters
received exclusive rights to, among other things, The Wall.[204]
The Division Bell
Main article: The Division Bell
For several years Pink Floyd had busied themselves with personal pursuits, such as filming and competing in the La Carrera Panamericana and recording a soundtrack for a film based on the event.[205][nb 45]
In January 1993, they began working on a new album, returning to
Britannia Row Studios, where for several days, Gilmour, Mason and Wright
worked collaboratively, ad-libbing material. After about two weeks, the
band had enough ideas to begin creating songs. Ezrin returned to
co-produce the album and production moved to the Astoria, where from
February to May 1993, they worked on about twenty-five ideas.[207]
Contractually, Wright was not a member of the band; he commented: "It
came close to a point where I wasn't going to do the album".[208] However, he earned five co-writing credits on the album, his first on a Pink Floyd album since 1975's Wish You Were Here.[208] Another songwriter credited on the album was Gilmour's future wife, Polly Samson. She helped him write several tracks, including, "High Hopes", a collaborative arrangement which, though initially tense, "pulled the whole album together" commented Ezrin.[209] They hired Michael Kamen to arrange the album's orchestral parts; Dick Parry and Chris Thomas also returned.[210] Writer Douglas Adams provided the album title and Thorgerson the cover artwork.[211][nb 46] Thorgerson drew inspiration for the album cover from the Moai monoliths of Easter Island;
two opposing faces forming an implied third face about which he
commented: "the absent face—the ghost of Pink Floyd's past, Syd and
Roger".[213] Eager to avoid competing against other album releases, as had happened with A Momentary Lapse, Pink Floyd set a deadline of April 1994, at which point they would resume touring.[214] The album reached number 1 in both the UK and the US.[115] It spent 51 weeks on the UK chart.[46]
Pink Floyd spent more than two weeks rehearsing in a hangar at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California, before opening on 29 March 1994, in Miami, with an almost identical road crew to that used for their Momentary Lapse of Reason tour.[215] They played a variety of Pink Floyd favourites, and later changed their setlist to include The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety.[216][nb 47] The tour ended on 29 October 1994, with the final performance of the last Pink Floyd tour so far.[217][nb 48]
2005–present: reunion, deaths and final album
Live 8 reunion
On 2 July 2005, Waters, Gilmour, Mason and Wright performed together
as Pink Floyd for the first time in more than 24 years, at the Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park.[219]
Organiser Bob Geldof arranged the reunion, having called Mason earlier
in the year to explore the possibility of their reuniting for the event.
Geldof asked Gilmour, who turned down the offer, and then asked Mason
to intercede on his behalf. Mason declined, but contacted Waters who was
immediately enthusiastic. Waters then called Geldof to discuss the
event, scheduled to take place in one month. About two weeks later
Waters called Gilmour, their first conversation in two years, and the
next day the latter agreed. Gilmour then contacted Wright who
immediately agreed. In their statement to the press, they stressed the
unimportance of the band's problems in the context of the Live 8 event.[110]
They planned their setlist at the Connaught Hotel in London, followed by three days of rehearsals at Black Island Studios.[110]
The sessions were problematic, with minor disagreements over the style
and pace of the songs they were practising; the running order decided on
the eve of the event.[220]
At the beginning of their performance, Waters told the audience: "[It
is] quite emotional, standing up here with these three guys after all
these years, standing to be counted with the rest of you ... we're doing
this for everyone who's not here, and particularly of course for Syd."[221]
At the end, Gilmour thanked the audience and started to walk off the
stage. Waters then called him back, and the band shared a group hug.
Images of that hug were a favourite among Sunday newspapers after Live
8.[222][nb 49]
Waters commented on their almost twenty years of animosity: "I don't
think any of us came out of the years from 1985 with any credit ... It
was a bad, negative time, and I regret my part in that negativity."[224]
Though Pink Floyd turned down a contract worth £136 million for a
final tour, Waters did not rule out more performances, suggesting it
ought to be for a charity event only.[222] However, Gilmour told the Associated Press
that a reunion would not happen, stating: "The [Live 8] rehearsals
convinced me [that] it wasn't something I wanted to be doing a lot
of ... There have been all sorts of farewell moments in people's lives
and careers which they have then rescinded, but I think I can fairly
categorically say that there won't be a tour or an album again that I
take part in. It isn't to do with animosity or anything like that. It's
just ... I've been there, I've done it."[225] In February 2006, Gilmour was interviewed by Gino Castaldo from the Italian newspaper La Repubblica;
the resulting article declared: "Patience for fans in mourning. The
news is official. Pink Floyd the brand is dissolved, finished,
definitely deceased."[226]
When asked about the future of Pink Floyd, Gilmour responded: "The
band? It's over ... I've had enough. I'm 60 years old ... [and] it is
much more comfortable to work on my own."[226]
Since then, both Gilmour and Waters have repeatedly insisted that they
have no plans to reunite with the surviving former members.[227][nb 50]
Deaths of Barrett and Wright
Barrett died on 7 July 2006, at his home in Cambridge, aged 60.[229]
His family interred him at Cambridge Crematorium on 18 July 2006; no
Pink Floyd members attended. After Barrett's death, Wright commented:
"The band are very naturally upset and sad to hear of Syd Barrett's
death. Syd was the guiding light of the early band line-up and leaves a
legacy which continues to inspire."[229]
Although Barrett had faded into obscurity over the previous 35 years,
the national press praised him for his contributions to music.[230][nb 51] On 10 May 2007, Waters, Gilmour, Wright and Mason performed during a Barrett tribute concert at the Barbican Centre in London. Gilmour, Wright and Mason performed the Barrett compositions, "Bike" and "Arnold Layne", and Waters performed a solo version of his song "Flickering Flame".[232]
Wright died of an undisclosed form of cancer on 15 September 2008, aged 65.[233] His surviving former bandmates praised him for his influence on the sound of Pink Floyd.[234]
Further performances and re-releases
On 10 July 2010, Waters and Gilmour performed together at a charity
event for the Hoping Foundation. The event, which raised money for
Palestinian children, took place at Kiddington Hall in Oxfordshire,
England, where they played to an audience of approximately 200.[235] In return for Waters' appearance at the event, Gilmour agreed to perform "Comfortably Numb" at one of Waters' upcoming performances of The Wall.[236][nb 52] On 12 May 2011, at The O2 Arena
in London, Gilmour honoured his commitment to Waters. Gilmour sang the
first and second chorus and played the two guitar solos. Near the end of
the show, after the wall had fallen down, Waters said to the crowd: "So
now we know tonight was the night when David did me the enormous honour
of coming to play 'Comfortably Numb'. So, please welcome David
Gilmour! ... By a strange and extraordinary, happy coincidence, there is
another remnant of our old band here tonight. Please welcome Mr. Nick
Mason to the stage!"[238] Gilmour and Mason, with respectively a mandolin and a tambourine, joined Waters and the rest of his band for "Outside the Wall".[238][nb 53]
On 26 September 2011, Pink Floyd and EMI launched an exhaustive re-release campaign under the title Why Pink Floyd...?, reissuing the band's back catalogue in newly remastered versions, including "Experience" and "Immersion" multi-disc multi-format editions. James Guthrie, co-producer of The Wall, remastered the albums.[240]
The Endless River
Main article: The Endless River
In 2012, Gilmour and Mason decided to revisit recordings made with Wright, mainly during the Division Bell
sessions, to create a new Pink Floyd album. They recruited session
musicians to help record new parts and "generally harness studio
technology".[241]
Mason described the album as a tribute to Wright: "I think this record
is a good way of recognising a lot of what he does and how his playing
was at the heart of the Pink Floyd sound. Listening back to the
sessions, it really brought home to me what a special player he was."[242] Waters was not involved.[243]
Samson announced The Endless River in July 2014 on Twitter.[244] Details were announced on Pink Floyd's website on 7 July, describing it as "mainly ambient" and instrumental music.[245] It was released 7 November 2014; it is the second Pink Floyd album distributed by Parlophone following the release of the 20th anniversary editions of The Division Bell earlier in 2014.[246] It became the most pre-ordered album of all time on Amazon UK,[247] and debuted at number one in several countries.[248][248][249] The vinyl edition was the fastest-selling UK vinyl release of 2014 and the fastest-selling since 1997.[250] The album received mixed reviews.[251]
Gilmour stated that The Endless River is Pink Floyd's last
album, saying: "I think we have successfully commandeered the best of
what there is ... It's a shame, but this is the end."[252] There was no tour to support the album, as Gilmour said it was "kind of impossible" without Wright.[253][254]
Musicianship
Genres
Considered one of the UK's first psychedelic music
groups, Pink Floyd began their career at the vanguard of London's
underground music scene. Some categorise their work from that era as a space rock.[255][nb 54] According to Rolling Stone: "By 1967, they had developed an unmistakably psychedelic sound, performing long, loud suitelike compositions that touched on hard rock, blues, country, folk, and electronic music."[258] Released in 1968, the song "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" helped galvanise their reputation as an art rock group.[75] Critics also describe them as an acid rock band.[259] By the late 1960s, the press had begun to label their music progressive rock.[260] O'Neill Surber comments on the music of Pink Floyd:
Rarely will you find Floyd dishing up catchy hooks, tunes short enough for air-play, or predictable three-chord blues progressions; and never will you find them spending much time on the usual pop pablum of romance, partying, or self-hype. Their sonic universe is expansive, intense, and challenging ... Where most other bands neatly fit the songs to the music, the two forming a sort of autonomous and seamless whole complete with memorable hooks, Pink Floyd tends to set lyrics within a broader soundscape that often seems to have a life of its own ... Pink Floyd employs extended, stand-alone instrumentals which are never mere vehicles for showing off virtuoso but are planned and integral parts of the performance.[261]
In 1968, Wright commented on Pink Floyd's sonic reputation: "It's
hard to see why we were cast as the first British psychedelic group. We
never saw ourselves that way ... we realised that we were, after all,
only playing for fun ... tied to no particular form of music, we could
do whatever we wanted ... the emphasis ... [is] firmly on spontaneity
and improvisation."[262]
Waters gave a less enthusiastic assessment of the band's early sound:
"There wasn't anything 'grand' about it. We were laughable. We were
useless. We couldn't play at all so we had to do something stupid and
'experimental'... Syd was a genius, but I wouldn't want to go back to
playing "Interstellar Overdrive" for hours and hours."[263] Unconstrained by conventional pop formats, Pink Floyd were innovators of progressive rock during the 1970s and ambient music during the 1980s.[264]
Gilmour's guitar work
Main article: David Gilmour
"While Waters was Floyd's lyricist and conceptualist, Gilmour was the band's voice and its main instrumental focus."[265]
—Alan di Perna, in Guitar World, May 2006
Critic Alan di Perna praised Gilmour's guitar work as an integral element of Pink Floyd's sound.[265] Rolling Stone
ranked Gilmour number 14 in their "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"
list and di Perna described him as the most important guitarist of the
1970s, calling him "the missing link between Hendrix and Van Halen."[266]
In 2006, Gilmour commented on his playing technique: "[My] fingers make
a distinctive sound ... [they] aren't very fast, but I think I am
instantly recognisable ... The way I play melodies is connected to
things like Hank Marvin and the Shadows".[267]
Gilmour's ability to use fewer notes than most to express himself
without sacrificing strength or beauty drew a favourable comparison to jazz trumpeter Miles Davis.[268]
In 2006, Guitar World writer Jimmy Brown described Gilmour's
guitar style as "characterised by simple, huge-sounding riffs; gutsy,
well-paced solos; and rich, ambient chordal textures."[268] According to Brown, Gilmour's solos on "Money", "Time" and "Comfortably Numb" "cut through the mix like a laser beam through fog."[268]
Brown described the "Time" solo as "a masterpiece of phrasing and
motivic development ... Gilmour paces himself throughout and builds upon
his initial idea by leaping into the upper register with gut-wrenching
one-and-one-half-step 'over bends', soulful triplet arpeggios and a
typically impeccable bar vibrato."[269]
Brown described Gilmour's sense of phrasing as intuitive, singling it
out as perhaps his best asset as a lead guitarist. Gilmour explained how
he achieved his signature tone: "I usually use a fuzz box, a delay and a
bright EQ setting ... [to get] singing sustain ... you need to play
loud — at or near the feedback threshold. It's just so much more fun to
play ... when bent notes slice right through you like a razor blade."[268]
Sonic experimentation
Throughout their career, Pink Floyd experimented with their sound. Their second single, "See Emily Play" premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, on 12 May 1967. During the performance, the group first used an early quadraphonic device called an Azimuth Co-ordinator.[270]
The device enabled the controller, usually Wright, to manipulate the
band's amplified sound, combined with recorded tapes, projecting the
sounds 270 degrees around a venue, achieving a sonic swirling effect.[271] In 1972, they purchased a custom-built PA which featured an upgraded four-channel, 360-degree system.[272]
Waters experimented with the EMS Synthi A and VCS 3 synthesisers on Pink Floyd pieces such as "On the Run", "Welcome to the Machine", and "In the Flesh?".[273] He used a Binson Echorec 2 echo effect on his bass-guitar track for "One of These Days".[274]
Pink Floyd used innovative sound effects and state of the art audio recording technology during the recording of The Final Cut. Mason's contributions to the album were almost entirely limited to work with the experimental Holophonic
system, an audio processing technique used to simulate a
three-dimensional effect. The system used a conventional stereo tape to
produce an effect that seemed to move the sound around the listener's
head when they were wearing headphones. The process enabled an engineer
to simulate moving the sound to behind, above or beside the listener's
ears.[275]
Film scores
Pink Floyd also composed several film scores, starting in 1968, with The Committee.[276] In 1969, they recorded the score for Barbet Schroeder's film More. The soundtrack proved beneficial; not only did it pay well but, along with A Saucerful of Secrets, the material they created became part of their live shows for some time thereafter.[277] While composing the soundtrack for director Michelangelo Antonioni's film Zabriskie Point,
the band stayed at a luxury hotel in Rome for almost a month. Waters
claimed that, without Antonioni's constant changes to the music, they
would have completed the work in less than a week. Eventually he used
only three of their recordings. One of the pieces turned down by
Antonioni, called "The Violent Sequence", later became "Us and Them",
included on 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon.[278] In 1971, the band again worked with Schroeder on the film La Vallée, for which they released a soundtrack album called Obscured by Clouds. They composed the material in about a week at the Château d'Hérouville near Paris, and upon its release, it became Pink Floyd's first album to break into the top 50 on the US Billboard chart.[279]
Live performances
Main article: Pink Floyd live performances
Regarded as pioneers of live music
performance and renowned for their lavish stage shows, Pink Floyd also
set high standards in sound quality, making use of innovative sound
effects and quadraphonic speaker systems.[280]
From their earliest days, they employed visual effects to accompany
their psychedelic rock music while performing at venues such as the UFO
Club in London.[30] Their slide-and-light show was one of the first in British rock, and it helped them became popular among London's underground.[258]
To celebrate the launch of the London Free School's magazine International Times in 1966, they performed in front of 2,000 people at the opening of the Roundhouse, attended by celebrities including Paul McCartney and Marianne Faithfull.[281]
In mid-1966, road manager Peter Wynne-Willson joined their road crew,
and updated the band's lighting rig with some innovative ideas including
the use of polarisers, mirrors and stretched condoms.[282] After their record deal with EMI, Pink Floyd purchased a Ford Transit van, then considered extravagant band transportation.[283] On 29 April 1967, they headlined an all-night event called The 14 Hour Technicolour Dream at the Alexandra Palace,
London. Pink Floyd arrived at the festival at around three o'clock in
the morning after a long journey by van and ferry from the Netherlands,
taking the stage just as the sun was beginning to rise.[284][nb 55] In July 1969, precipitated by their space-related music and lyrics, they took part in the live BBC television coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing, performing an instrumental piece which they called "Moonhead".[286]
In November 1974, they employed for the first time the large circular screen that would become a staple of their live shows.[287]
In 1977, they employed the use of a large inflatable floating pig named
"Algie". Filled with helium and propane, Algie, while floating above
the audience, would explode with a loud noise during the In the Flesh
Tour.[288]
The behaviour of the audience during the tour, as well as the large
size of the venues, proved a strong influence on their concept album The Wall. The subsequent The Wall Tour
featured a 40 feet (12 m) high wall, built from cardboard bricks,
constructed between the band and the audience. They projected animations
onto the wall, while gaps allowed the audience to view various scenes
from the story. They commissioned the creation of several giant
inflatables to represent characters from the story.[289]
One striking feature of the tour was the performance of "Comfortably
Numb". While Waters sang his opening verse, in darkness, Gilmour waited
for his cue on top of the wall. When it came, bright blue and white
lights would suddenly reveal him. Gilmour stood on a flightcase
on castors, an insecure setup supported from behind by a technician. A
large hydraulic platform supported both Gilmour and the tech.[290]
During the Division Bell Tour, an unknown person using the name Publius
posted a message on an internet newsgroup inviting fans to solve a
riddle supposedly concealed in the new album. White lights in front of
the stage at the Pink Floyd concert in East Rutherford
spelled out the words Enigma Publius. During a televised concert at
Earls Court on 20 October 1994, someone projected the word "enigma" in
large letters on to the backdrop of the stage. Mason later acknowledged
that their record company had instigated the Publius Enigma mystery,
rather than the band.[216]
Lyrical themes
Marked by Waters' philosophical lyrics, Rolling Stone described Pink Floyd as "purveyors of a distinctively dark vision".[259]
Author Jere O'Neill Surber wrote: "their interests are truth and
illusion, life and death, time and space, causality and chance,
compassion and indifference."[291] Waters identified empathy as a central theme in the lyrics of Pink Floyd.[292] Author George Reisch described Meddle 's psychedelic opus, "Echoes", as "built around the core idea of genuine communication, sympathy, and collaboration with others."[293] Despite having been labeled "the gloomiest man in rock", author Deena Weinstein described Waters as an existentialist, dismissing the unfavourable moniker as the result of misinterpretation by music critics.[294]
Disillusionment, absence, and non-being
Waters' lyrics to Wish You Were Here 's "Have a Cigar" deal with a perceived lack of sincerity on the part of music industry representatives.[295]
The song illustrates a dysfunctional dynamic between the band and a
record label executive who congratulates the group on their current
sales success, implying that they are on the same team while revealing
that he erroneously believes "Pink" is the name of one of the band
members.[296]
According to author David Detmer, the album's lyrics deal with the
"dehumanizing aspects of the world of commerce", a situation the artist
must endure in order to reach their audience.[297]
Absence as a lyrical theme is common in the music of Pink Floyd.
Examples include the absence of Barrett after 1968, and that of Waters'
father, who died during the Second World War. Waters' lyrics also explored unrealized political goals and unsuccessful endeavors. Their film score, Obscured by Clouds, dealt with the loss of youthful exuberance that sometimes comes with aging.[298] Longtime Pink Floyd album cover designer, Storm Thorgerson, described the lyrics of Wish You Were Here:
"The idea of presence withheld, of the ways that people pretend to be
present while their minds are really elsewhere, and the devices and
motivations employed psychologically by people to suppress the full
force of their presence, eventually boiled down to a single theme,
absence: The absence of a person, the absence of a feeling."[299][nb 56] Waters commented: "it's about none of us really being there ... [it] should have been called Wish We Were Here".[300]
O'Neill Surber explored the lyrics of Pink Floyd and declared the issue of non-being a common theme in their music.[291][nb 57] Waters invoked non-being or non-existence in The Wall,
with the lyrics to "Comfortably Numb": "I caught a fleeting glimpse,
out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, but it was gone, I cannot
put my finger on it now, the child is grown, the dream is gone."[298]
Barrett referred to non-being in his final contribution to the band's
catalogue, "Jugband Blues": "I'm most obliged to you for making it clear
that I'm not here."[298]
Exploitation and oppression
Author Patrick Croskery described Animals as a unique blend of the "powerful sounds and suggestive themes" of Dark Side with The Wall 's portrayal of artistic alienation.[302] He drew a parallel between the album's political themes and that of Orwell's Animal Farm.[302] Animals
begins with a thought experiment, which asks: "If you didn't care what
happened to me. And I didn't care for you", then develops a beast fable
based on anthropomorphized characters using music to reflect the
individual states of mind of each. The lyrics ultimately paint a picture
of dystopia, the inevitable result of a world devoid of empathy and compassion, answering the question posed in the opening lines.[303]
The album's characters include the "Dogs", representing fervent
capitalists, the "Pigs", symbolizing political corruption, and the
"Sheep", who represent the exploited.[304] Croskery described the "Sheep" as being in a "state of delusion created by a misleading cultural identity", a false consciousness.[305]
The "Dog", in his tireless pursuit of self-interest and success, ends
up depressed and alone with no one to trust, utterly lacking emotional
satisfaction after a life of exploitation.[306] Waters used Mary Whitehouse
as an example of a "Pig"; being someone who in his estimation, used the
power of the government to impose her values on society.[307]
At the album's conclusion, Waters returns to empathy with the lyrical
statement: "You know that I care what happens to you. And I know that
you care for me too."[308]
However, he also acknowledges that the "Pigs" are a continuing threat
and reveals that he is a "Dog" who requires shelter, suggesting the need
for a balance between state, commerce and community, versus an ongoing
battle between them.[309]
Alienation, war, and insanity
"When I say, 'I'll see you on the dark side of the moon'... what I
mean [is] ... If you feel that you're the only one ... that you seem
crazy [because] you think everything is crazy, you're not alone."[310]
—Waters, quoted in Harris, 2005
O'Neill Surber compared the lyrics of Dark Side 's "Brain Damage" with Karl Marx 's theory of self-alienation; "there's someone in my head, but it's not me."[311][nb 58] The lyrics to Wish You Were Here 's "Welcome to the Machine" suggest what Marx called the alienation of the thing; the song's protagonist preoccupied with material possessions to the point that he becomes estranged from himself and others.[311] Allusions to the alienation of man's species being can be found in Animals; the "Dog" reduced to living instinctively as a non-human.[312]
The "Dogs" become alienated from themselves to the extent that they
justify their lack of integrity as a "necessary and defensible" position
in "a cutthroat world with no room for empathy or moral principle"
wrote Detmer.[313] Alienation from others is a consistent theme in the lyrics of Pink Floyd, and it is a core element of The Wall.[311]
War, viewed as the most severe consequence of the manifestation of alienation from others, is also a core element of The Wall, and a recurring theme in the band's music.[314]
Waters' father died in combat during the Second World War, and his
lyrics often alluded to the cost of war, including those from "Corporal
Clegg" (1968), "Free Four" (1972), "Us and Them" (1973), "When the Tigers Broke Free" and "The Fletcher Memorial Home" from The Final Cut (1983), an album dedicated to his late father and subtitled A Requiem for the Postwar Dream.[315] The themes and composition of The Wall
express Waters' upbringing in an English society depleted of men after
the Second World War, a condition that negatively affected his personal
relationships with women.[316]
Waters' lyrics to The Dark Side of the Moon dealt with the pressures of modern life and how those pressures can sometimes cause insanity.[317] He viewed the album's explication of mental illness as illuminating a universal condition.[318]
However, Waters also wanted the album to communicate positivity,
calling it "an exhortation ... to embrace the positive and reject the
negative."[319] Reisch described The Wall as "less about the experience of madness than the habits, institutions, and social structures that create or cause madness."[320] The Wall
's protagonist, Pink, is unable to deal with the circumstances of his
life, and overcome by feelings of guilt, slowly closes himself off from
the outside world inside a barrier of his own making. After he
completes his estrangement from the world, Pink realises that he is
"crazy, over the rainbow".[321] He then considers the possibility that his condition may be his own fault: "have I been guilty all this time?"[321]
Realizing his greatest fear, Pink believes that he has let everyone
down, his overbearing mother wisely choosing to smother him, the
teachers rightly criticising his poetic aspirations, and his wife
justified in leaving him. He then stands trial for "showing feelings of
an almost human nature", further exacerbating his alienation of species
being.[322] As with the writings of philosopher Michel Foucault,
Waters' lyrics suggest Pink's insanity is a product of modern life, the
elements of which, "custom, codependancies, and psychopathologies",
contribute to his angst, according to Reisch.[323
Recognition and influence
Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially successful and influential rock bands of all time.[324]
They have sold more than 250 million records worldwide, including 75
million certified units in the United States, and 37.9 million albums
sold in the US since 1993.[325] The Sunday Times Rich List,
Music Millionaires 2013 (UK), ranked Waters at number 12 with an
estimated fortune of £150 million, Gilmour at number 27 with £85 million
and Mason at number 37 with £50 million.[326]
In 2004, MSNBC ranked Pink Floyd number 8 on their list of "The 10 Best Rock Bands Ever".[327] Rolling Stone ranked them number 51 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[328] Q named Pink Floyd as the biggest band of all time.[329] VH1 ranked them number 18 in the list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[330] Colin Larkin
ranked Pink Floyd number 3 in his list of the 'Top 50 Artists of All
Time', a ranking based on the cumulative votes for each artist's albums
included in his All Time Top 1000 Albums.[331]
Pink Floyd have won several awards, including a "Best Engineered Non-Classical Album" Grammy in 1980 for The Wall, and a BAFTA award for "Best Original Song" in 1982 for "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" from The Wall film.[332] In 1995, they won a Grammy for best "Rock Instrumental Performance" for "Marooned".[333] In 2008, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden presented Pink Floyd with the Polar Music Prize for their contribution to modern music; Waters and Mason attended the ceremony and accepted the award.[334] They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2010.[335]
The music of Pink Floyd influenced numerous artists; David Bowie called Barrett a significant inspiration, and The Edge of U2 bought his first delay pedal after hearing the opening guitar chords to "Dogs" from Animals.[336] Other bands who cite Pink Floyd as an influence include Queen, Tool, Radiohead, Kraftwerk, Marillion, Queensrÿche, Nine Inch Nails, the Orb and the Smashing Pumpkins.[337]
Pink Floyd were also admirers of the Monty Python comedy group, and helped finance their 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.[338]
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