Pink Floyd live performances
Encyclopedia
Pink Floyd
were pioneers in the live music
experience, renowned for their lavish stage shows that combine intense visual experiences with music to create a show in which the performers themselves are almost secondary. Pink Floyd's combination of music and visuals set the standard for rock
musicians. As well as visuals, Pink Floyd set standards in sound quality with innovative use of sound effects and panning quadrophonic speaker systems.
were projected onto enormous screens behind the band while they played, and the band also incorporated large numbers of strobe lights, which were controlled manually by an engineer. This had the effect of totally obscuring the band itself, except for their shadows, which Barrett took advantage of: he would hold his arms up during parts where he was not required to play, making his shadow grow, shrink and undulate, adding to the visual spectacle. They developed many of these lighting techniques through their fortuitous early association with light artist Mike Leonard.
When psychedelia fell out of fashion from about 1970 onwards, elevated platforms of the type conventionally used for roof maintenance in high buildings were brought on tour and filled with lighting equipment to be raised and lowered during performances. Following Roger Waters
' departure in 1984, the Pink Floyd light show reached a dazzling pinnacle. Marc Brickman
, the group's lighting designer, utilized hundreds of automated intelligent lighting
fixtures and laser
s, which were state-of-the-art at the time. By the 1994 Division Bell
tour, the band was using extremely powerful, isotope-splitting copper-vapor lasers. These gold-coloured lasers were worth over $120,000 a piece and previously had only been used in nuclear research and high speed photography.
A large circular projection panel dubbed "Mr Screen" first made an appearance during performances of Dark Side of the Moon in 1974 and became a staple thereafter. Specially recorded films and animations were projected onto it, and for 1977 "In the Flesh" and 1980-1981 "The Wall Live" tours, coloured spotlights were fixed around the rim, an effect which reached its zenith with the dancing patterns of multi-coloured lights in the A Momentary Lapse of Reason
and Division Bell
tours. In the latter, the screen could be retracted behind the stage when not required, and was tilted horizontally with its peripheral lights focused onto the stage into a single spotlight during the final guitar solo
in "Comfortably Numb
".
Several generations of giant glitter balls
began with the Dark Side of the Moon tour. By the Division Bell tour, the ball had evolved into a globe 4.9 metres in diameter, which rose from the mixing station to a height of 21.3 metres before opening into an array of petal
s 7.3 metres wide during the final guitar solo of "Comfortably Numb", revealing a 12 kilowatt
Phobeus HMI
lamp inside.
, Pink Floyd's tours became a staple in the industry because of their outstanding special and scenic effects. Pyrotechnics
(such as exploding flashpots, an exploding gong
and fireworks
) and dry ice were used extensively throughout Pink Floyd's career. In 1973's tour to promote The Dark Side of the Moon
, a large scale model plane flew over the audience and crashed onto the stage with a spectacular explosion, an effect repeated at the start of The Wall
and the Division Bell
shows. During shows to promote A Momentary Lapse of Reason
, a similar effect was achieved with a flying bed.
Over-sized helium
balloon
s were first introduced during the Dark Side of the Moon tours, but in 1975, this element began to play a central part of the live show. For the US leg of the 1975 tour, a pyramid
shaped dirigible was floated above the stage. It proved unstable in windy conditions and blew into the crowd, which tore it into pieces for souvenirs. The trademark giant pig was brought in for Animals in 1977, floating over the audience, as well as a grotesque 'Nuclear Family', a refrigerator filled with snakes, a television and a Cadillac
. In some shows, an envelope of propane
gas was put inside the pig, causing it to explode. The inflatables reached their peak in 1980–1981 during The Wall
shows, in which several of the characters from the album were brought to life in the form of fully mobile, giant string puppets with menacing spotlights for eyes, taking the traditional balloons to a new level. The characters were designed by the notable satirical artist, Gerald Scarfe
.
Special effects reached a new and outrageous level during these Wall shows. For example, a 160 feet (48.8 m) long, 35 feet (10.7 m) high wall made from 340 white bricks was built between the audience and the band during the first half of the show. The final brick was placed as Roger Waters sang "goodbye" at the end of the song "Goodbye Cruel World". For the second half of the show, the band was largely invisible, except for a hole in the wall that simulated a hotel room where Roger Waters "acted out" the story of Pink, and an appearance by David Gilmour
on top of the wall to perform the climactic guitar solo in "Comfortably Numb". Other parts of the story were told by Gerald Scarfe animations projected onto the wall itself (these animations were later integrated into the film Pink Floyd: The Wall
). At the finale of the concert, the wall was demolished amidst sound effects and a spectacular light show.
Comprehensive details of all of Pink Floyd's live appearances can be found at The Pink Floyd Archives.
as a member of the band, which at the time played mainly R&B
covers. Klose left the band after 1965. The remaining four members played very small (generally no more than 50 people), mostly unadvertised shows at the Marquee Club
, London through June 1966. The set list continued to include R&B, but some original psychedelia
was also being introduced.
On 30 September 1966, Pink Floyd were invited to play All Saint's Church Hall to raise money for the nascent International Times
newspaper, and quickly became the "house band". At these shows, the band began its use of visual effects and gradually stopped covering R&B. Word of these shows quickly spread in the London underground culture and soon the band became very well-attended and developed a cult following. On 23 December 1966, the first of the "International Times
" associated gigs to be held at the legendary UFO Club
was performed. Mainstream interest about the counter-culture was increasing and a very small portion of their 20 January 1967 show at the UFO Club was broadcast as part of Granada TV's documentary entitled It's So Far Out, It's Straight Down, which constitutes the first audial or visual record of the band live.
Pink Floyd were among the 30 bands that played "The 14 Hour Technicolour Dream
" benefit gig organised for the "International Times" legal defence fund and held at the Alexandra Palace
, London between 29 April 1967 and 30 April 1967. Some of the other bands who played were The Who
, The Move
, The Pretty Things
, Soft Machine
, Tomorrow
& The Creation
. Notables in attendance included musician John Lennon
, artist John Dunbar, actor Michael Caine
, artist and musician Yoko Ono
, actress Julie Christie
, musician Mick Jagger
and artist David Hockney
. Although both the BBC
and filmmaker Peter Whitehead filmed portions of the event, there is no known footage of Pink Floyd.
On 12 May 1967, Pink Floyd performed at Queen Elizabeth Hall
, London, a concert entitled Games For May
. At this show, they debuted a multi-speaker pan pot system controlled by joystick from the stage that allowed them to move sound to anywhere a speaker had been set up. This precursor to their later "Azimuth Coordinator"
unfortunately was stolen after the show.
After their debut single, "Arnold Layne
", charted well in the UK, the band was invited to perform on the BBC2 music show The Look of the Week on 14 May 1967. The setlist for the broadcast consisted of "Pow R. Toc H.
" and "Astronomy Domine
". This was their first British television appearance.
Pink Floyd were invited to appear on the BBC2 music show Top of the Pops
in July 1967 for three weeks after their second single "See Emily Play
" reached #6 on the UK charts. By this time Syd Barrett
's behavior had become somewhat unpredictable. On one occasion, the increasingly difficult Barrett remarked that if John Lennon
didn't have to appear on Top of the Pops neither did he. Consequently, their management company, Blackhill Enterprises
, convinced the band to cancel all of their August shows and go to Spain to recuperate.
Increasingly, throughout the summer and into the fall of 1967, copious drug use (especially LSD
) and pressure by the record company to constantly write new hit songs continued to take a toll on Barrett's mental state. He became unable to make a meaningful contribution to the group on stage, playing his guitar incoherently and sometimes not playing at all. By the time of the band's first tour of the US in early November 1967, his condition was plainly showing. He stared blankly into space on their 4 November American Bandstand
performance, listlessly strummed and barely managed to mime the vocals to "Apples and Oranges". On 5 November, things got worse: they appeared on The Pat Boone
Show and Syd sat in stubborn silence, refusing to answer any question put to him. He also refused to mime to "See Emily Play": Waters was forced to mime the track instead (Waters confirmed this on the VH1's Legends
: Pink Floyd episode). After the 22 December show, the rest of band quietly put out word that they were in need of a guitarist.
Although both Jeff Beck
and Davy O'List were considered, it was David Gilmour
, then unobligated, who was brought on to augment Syd as need arose during live shows. For the first four shows of 1968, Pink Floyd was a five-man live act again. When they were on the way to their show at Southampton University on 26 January 1968, they decided not to pick up Syd.
A typical 1968 set list
would include some of the following:
Although their management company Blackhill Enterprises parted ways with them over their decision about Syd Barrett on 29 June 1968, Pink Floyd headlined the first free Hyde Park
concert organized by Blackhill. Others performing were Tyrannosaurus Rex, Roy Harper
and Jethro Tull
.
A second tour of the US during July and August 1968 (see A Saucerful of Secrets US Tour
) was launched to tie into the release of their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets
. Increasingly throughout 1968 and 1969, shows consisted of post-Barrett compositions, with notable exceptions being "Astronomy Domine
" and "Interstellar Overdrive
", both of which were performed into the 1970s. Their audiences changed during this time as well: while Barrett-era crowds consisted mainly of hippies who would dance in time with the music, they now drew more "intellectual" crowd, who would sit and remain quiet until the last note of a song was played. By early 1969, most of their excess earnings were funneled into upgrading their sound equipment rather than maintaining a permanent light show. If visuals were to be used at all, they had to be provided by the venue or the local promoter.
A typical 1969 set list
would include some of the following:
See: The Man And The Journey Tour
The shows at Mothers
, Birmingham
on 27 April 1969 and the College of Commerce, Manchester
on 2 May 1969 were recorded for the live part of the Ummagumma
album. One source also claims that the show at Bromley Technical College on 26 April 1969 was also recorded for the album.
On 14 April 1969, at Royal Festival Hall
, they debuted their new pan pot 360 degree sound system dubbed the "Azimuth Coordinator". This show, named "More Furious Madness from the Massed Gadgets of Auximenes", consisted of two experimental "suites", "The Man" and "The Journey". Most of the songs were either renamed earlier material or under a different name than they would eventually be released.
A UK tour of occurred during May and June 1969 culminating in the show dubbed "The Final Lunacy" at Royal Albert Hall
on 26 June 1969. Considered one of the most experimental concerts by Pink Floyd, it featured a crew member dressed as a gorilla, a cannon that fired, and band members sawing wood on the stage. At the finale of "The Journey" suite the band was joined on stage by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir, and at the very end a huge pink smoke bomb was let off.
An additional complete performance of "The Man/The Journey" occurred at the Concertgebouw
, Amsterdam
on 17 September and was taped and later broadcast by Dutch radio station Hilversum 3. Portions of the suites were being performed as late as early 1970.
would include some of the following:
Early in 1970, Pink Floyd performed at gigs a piece from their film soundtrack for Michelangelo Antonioni
's film Zabriskie Point
referred to as "The Violent Sequence". This was the musical basis for "Us and Them", from their The Dark Side of the Moon
album. Lacking only the lyrics, it is identical to the final song and is the earliest part of the seminal album to have been performed live. The song "Embryo
" was also a part of the live repertoire around this time, but was never to appear on a studio album, until the compilation album Works
.
On 7 February 1970, the band began performing a then untitled instrumental piece, which would eventually become the title track to their next album Atom Heart Mother
. At this point, it had no orchestra or choir accompaniment. This is the first time they performed a song live in an unfinished form as a work in progress, something they continued to do until 1975. The song officially debuted at the Bath Festival, Somerset
England on 27 June 1970 under the title "The Amazing Pudding
" (later the name of a Pink Floyd fanzine
) and for the first time with orchestra and choir accompaniment.
Announced as "The Atom Heart Mother
" by legendary British broadcaster John Peel
on his BBC Radio 1
show "Peel's Sunday Concert" on 16 July 1970, a name suggested by him to the band, it was also announced as "The Atomic Heart Mother" two days later at the Hyde Park
free concert. Partly because of the difficulties of finding and hiring local orchestras and choirs, the band often played what is referred to as the "small band" version of the song when they performed it live.
Pink Floyd also appeared at a Free festival In Canterbury on August 31 which was filmed. This was the end leg of the Medicine Ball Caravan tour organised by Warner Brothers, which was later made into a film of the same name. It appears that the Pink Floyd footage was not included in the movie but spectators report that Atom Heart Mother was part of the set that was recorded. The audience must have been one of the smallest to see Pink Floyd at this era, only 1500 were present as the festival was not widely promoted.
In contrast, over 500,000 people witnessed their show at Fête de L'Humanité, Paris on 12 September 1970, their largest crowd ever. Filmed by French TV, the show was never broadcast.
Experimental on the album Atom Heart Mother
, the song "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast
" was performed at a few gigs in December 1970. "Breakfast" being made was part of the song. The first part of this lasted around four minutes. The second part of "breakfast" preparation was around a minute followed by a 3 minute tape of British DJ Jimmy Young
, whom the band disliked. The song lasted a little over 24 minutes.
For a great recording of some of their material from this period check out the Fillmore West show in San Francisco, California on 29 April 1970 on Wolfgang's Vault
. This show includes material from Ummagumma
and Atom Heart Mother
. This was a short tour since their equipment got stolen a few weeks after this show and they canceled the rest of their tour.
would include some of the following:
January 1971 saw the band working on a track in the studio of then unconnected parts whose working title was either "Nothing - Parts 1 to 24" or "Nothing Parts 1-36". This song made its live debut under the working title "Return of the Son of Nothing" on 22 April 1971 at Norwich
, England and as "Atom Heart Mother
" before it, it was a work in progress. This was later to be released as "Echoes
" on the album Meddle
.
It contained additional lyrics and although none of the unofficial recordings of shows during this period are very clear, the lyrics are approximately:
Although announced as "Echoes" on 6 August 1971 at Hakone, Japan, the song was still performed with the additional lyrics at later August gigs. The show on 18 September 1971 at Montreux
Switzerland and subsequent shows do not have the additional lyrics. In 1972, during a German tour, Waters sardonically introduced Echoes as "Looking Through the Knotholes in Granny's Wooden Leg" (A Goon Show reference) one one occasion and "The March of The Dam Busters
" on another. On another occasion, during a live radio broadcast, Waters had instructed the DJ to announce "One Of These Days" to the home audience as "A poignant appraisal of the contemporary social situation."
After the band's Crystal Palace Garden Party performance (London, May 15, 1971), it was discovered that the sheer volume of the gig caused the nearby pond's entire fauna to die. The band was subsequently pressured to compensate for the ecological damage.
included:
First Set:
The Dark Side of the Moon
Second Set:
Encore:
Rotated one of these three songs:
Occasionally, multiple song encores were performed, adding:
Playing 98 shows (the most until 1994), 1972 was the last time Pink Floyd varied their set lists each night on a tour until their final one. Songs played in the second set and encore were swapped constantly, and the band even varied the number of songs played in the encore from the usual one, to two or three.
1972 saw Pink Floyd debut the performance of a not just a song (like on previous tours), but an entire album prior to its release. The original title was Eclipse, then Dark Side of the Moon - A Piece for Assorted Lunatics
, the name under which it made its press debut in February 1972 at London's Rainbow Theatre. The title changed for the first part of the US tour to Eclipse (A Piece for Assorted Lunatics) during April and May before reverting to Dark Side of the Moon - A Piece for Assorted Lunatics in September for the second part of the US tour and finally released in 1973 under the title of The Dark Side of the Moon.
Remarkably, at its first full live performance at Guildhall, Portsmouth
, England on 21 January 1972, most of the album was in the form it would be when released 14 months later. The significant differences include:
"On the Run
", whose working title was "Travel" or "The Travel Sequence", was a guitar and drum jam and would remain so for the rest of the year's performances.
"Time
" was played at a slower speed and the first half of the verses were sung by Gilmour and Wright together. The line "Lying supine in the sunshine" was sung instead of "Tired of lying in the sunshine". The former lyric was also sometimes used in shows after the album's release.
"The Great Gig in the Sky
", whose working title was "Religion" or "The Mortality Sequence", consisted at the debut in January of synthesized organ and various tapes of "preachers" either preaching or reading from such passages as from Chapter 5, Verse 13 of Ephesians, a book of the Bible
, or reciting The Lord's Prayer. Starting in September, the music of the song as per the album was performed, without vocals. A portion of the song contained the aforementioned "preacher" tape recording of Ephesians, at much lower volume, and it was performed this way for the rest of the year.
"Money
" began with a longer introduction on the bass, and the saxophone
solo was instead played on the electric piano.
"Us and Them," whose working title was "The Violent Sequence," contained a short audio clip of a man groaning in tortuous pain at the beginning of the song. The song also lacked the saxophone solo as found on the album.
At the debut, the song "Eclipse" was nothing more than lyricless extension of "Brain Damage
" that devolved into various odd sounds. The version with lyrics and music as found on the album debuted at Bristol
on 5 February.
Finally, none of the spoken word pieces as found on the album were done during 1972.
One of the two shows at The Dome, Brighton
, England on 28 June and 29 June was filmed by Peter Clifton for inclusion on his film Sounds of the City. Clips of these appear occasionally on television and the performance of "Careful with That Axe, Eugene
" is on the various artists video Superstars in Concert.
In November 1972, during the middle of the European leg of their 1972 world tour and again in January 1973, Pink Floyd performed with the Roland Petit
Ballet. The portion of the setlist for which the ballet was choreographed was "One of These Days", "Careful with That Axe, Eugene", "Obscured by Clouds", "When You're In
" and "Echoes".
An early 1973 set list
(until mid-March) included:
First Set:
Second Set:
The Dark Side of the Moon
Encore:
For remainder of 1973 (except 4 November), the set list included:
First Set:
Second Set:
The Dark Side of the Moon
Encore:
In 1973, the band moved Dark Side of the Moon to the second set (where it would reside through 1975), and played the album version of the piece, notably the revamped versions of "On the Run" and "The Great Gig in the Sky." 1973 saw Pink Floyd go on two relatively short tours of the US, one in March to coincide with the release of The Dark Side of the Moon and a later one in June. Sandwiched between them were two nights at London's Earl's Court
on 18 May and 19 May where they debuted the special effect of a plane crashing into the stage at the end of the song "On the Run". This was also the first year that the band took additional musicians on tour with them, unlike the earlier performances of "Atom Heart Mother" where the band would often hire local musicians.
Because of the overwhelming chart success of both The Dark Side of the Moon, which reached #1 in the US in late April, #2 in the UK, and the US-released single "Money", the nature of Pink Floyd's audiences changed in June 1973. David Gilmour
said of the change "It was "Money" that made the difference rather than The Dark Side of the Moon. It gave us a much larger following, for which we should be thankful. ... People at the front shouting, "Play Money! Gimme something I can shake my ass to!" We had to get used to it, but previously we'd been playing to 10,000 seaters where, in the quiet passages, you could hear a pin drop." They could now sell out stadiums.
On 4 November 1973, Pink Floyd played two shows at London's Rainbow Theatre to benefit musician Robert Wyatt
formerly the drummer of Soft Machine
, a band they'd played with in their UFO Club
days. Wyatt fell from a fourth floor window in June 1973, breaking his back and making him a paraplegic. The set list for these two shows were:
Main Set:
The Dark Side of the Moon
Encore:
would include all of the following:
Encore:
In 1975, the band launched a short tour that ended two months prior to the release of Wish You Were Here, which eventually sold out stadiums and arenas across America.
The last gig of the tour was as the headliner of 1975 Knebworth Festival, which also featured The Steve Miller Band
, Captain Beefheart
and Roy Harper
(who joined Pink Floyd on the stage to sing "Have a Cigar"). It was the second Knebworth Festival, which featured artists such as The Rolling Stones
, Led Zeppelin
, Genesis
and Frank Zappa
between 1974 and 1979.
Despite some technical problems, the band managed to perform a remarkable concert, which as well as the usual special effects featured a fly-past by a pair of Spitfire
s. This was supposed to synchronise with the start of 'Breathe' but the band had tuning difficulties and the planes flew over before the start of the set. Knebworth was the last time the band would perform "Echoes" and the entire Dark Side of the Moon with Roger Waters.
would include the following:
Encore:
The 1977 In the Flesh Tour was the last time Pink Floyd performed a major worldwide tour with Roger Waters. The tour featured the famous character inflatables puppets (designed by Mark Fisher
and Andrew Sanders), and also featured a pyrotechnic "waterfall" and one of the biggest and most elaborate stages to date, including umbrella-like canopies that would raise from the stage to protect the band from the elements.;
Pink Floyd's market strategy for the In the Flesh Tour was very aggressive, filling pages of The New York Times
and Billboard magazine. To promote their four-night run at Madison Square Garden
in New York City, there was a Pink Floyd parade on 6th Avenue featuring pigs and sheep.
The Animals Tour was the first tour since their 1972 tour that Pink Floyd didn't use female backing singers. The musicians that augmented the band for the tour was sax player Dick Parry (occasionally playing keyboards too out of view of the audience) and guitarist Snowy White (who would also help out on bass guitar on some of the songs).
In the first half of the show, Pink Floyd played all of the Animals album in a slightly different sequence to the album starting with "Sheep" then "Pigs On the Wing (Part 1)", "Dogs", "Pigs On the Wing (Part 2) and "Pigs (Three Different Ones)". During "Pigs (Three Different Ones)", Waters would shout the number of the concert on the tour, such as "1-5!" for the fifteenth show. The second half of the show consisted of the Wish You Were Here album in its exact running order ("Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5)", "Welcome to the Machine", "Have a Cigar", "Wish You Were Here" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9)"). The encores would usually consist of either "Money" or "Us and Them" from Dark Side of the Moon or both. At the Oakland, California
show on 9 May they played "Careful with That Axe, Eugene
" as a third encore; it was the last time it was ever performed live. The final night of the tour on 6 July at Montreal's Olympic Stadium had a third encore of "More Blues
" which saw David Gilmour sit out the final encore as he was unhappy with the band's performance that night. Snowy White played a bluesy guitar solo with the rest of Pink Floyd in Gilmour's place.
During the tour, Waters began to exhibit increasingly aggressive behaviour, and would often yell abusively at disruptive audiences who wouldn't stop yelling and screaming during the quieter numbers. In the New York shows they had to use local workers as lighting technicians because of union problems with their own crew. They had several difficulties with the workers; for example, Waters once had to beckon one of the spotlights to move higher when it only illuminated his lower legs and feet while he was singing. He eventually became exasperated, brought the whole band to a halt to remark "I think you New York lighting guys are a fucking load of shit!", and then continued the song.
The Montreal show, 6 July 1977, the final performance of the tour, ended with Pink Floyd performing a blues jam as the roadies dismantled the instruments in front of the insatiable audience, who refused to let the band leave the stadium. A small riot at the front of the stage followed the band's eventual exit. That night, Waters spat in the face of a disruptive fan; The Wall
grew out of Waters' thoughts about this incident, particularly his growing awareness that stardom had alienated him from his audience. Three unofficial audience recordings are known to exist (one aptly named Who Was Trained Not To Spit On The Fan, a pun referencing a lyric in the song Dogs, played that night, and the spitting incident); during "Pigs on the Wing (pt. 2)
" Roger halts the performance to yell this at the rather rowdy crowd:
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
were pioneers in the live music
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
experience, renowned for their lavish stage shows that combine intense visual experiences with music to create a show in which the performers themselves are almost secondary. Pink Floyd's combination of music and visuals set the standard for rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
musicians. As well as visuals, Pink Floyd set standards in sound quality with innovative use of sound effects and panning quadrophonic speaker systems.
Special effects
Besides the music, arguably the most important and certainly the most elaborate part to any Pink Floyd live show is the special effects.The light show
Pink Floyd were among the first bands to use a dedicated travelling light show in conjunction with their performances. During the Barrett era, dynamic liquid light showsLiquid light shows
Liquid light shows or psychedelic light shows surfaced in the mid 1960s and early 1970s in America and Europe.Leading names were Glen McKay’s Headlights The Joshua Light Show/Joe's Lights/Sensefex located in NY), Tony Martin Liquid light shows or psychedelic light shows surfaced in the mid 1960s...
were projected onto enormous screens behind the band while they played, and the band also incorporated large numbers of strobe lights, which were controlled manually by an engineer. This had the effect of totally obscuring the band itself, except for their shadows, which Barrett took advantage of: he would hold his arms up during parts where he was not required to play, making his shadow grow, shrink and undulate, adding to the visual spectacle. They developed many of these lighting techniques through their fortuitous early association with light artist Mike Leonard.
When psychedelia fell out of fashion from about 1970 onwards, elevated platforms of the type conventionally used for roof maintenance in high buildings were brought on tour and filled with lighting equipment to be raised and lowered during performances. Following Roger Waters
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
' departure in 1984, the Pink Floyd light show reached a dazzling pinnacle. Marc Brickman
Marc Brickman
Marc Brickman is a world renowned lighting and production designer whose work and profile has been featured in publications and broadcasts including The New York Times , the television programme 48 Hours and others...
, the group's lighting designer, utilized hundreds of automated intelligent lighting
Intelligent lighting
Intelligent lighting refers to stage lighting that has automated or mechanical abilities beyond those of traditional, stationary illumination. Although the most advanced intelligent lights can produce extraordinarily complex effects, the intelligence lies with the programmer of the show rather...
fixtures and laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s, which were state-of-the-art at the time. By the 1994 Division Bell
The Division Bell
The Division Bell is the fourteenth and last studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the United Kingdom by EMI Records on 28 March 1994, and in the United States by Columbia Records on 4 April....
tour, the band was using extremely powerful, isotope-splitting copper-vapor lasers. These gold-coloured lasers were worth over $120,000 a piece and previously had only been used in nuclear research and high speed photography.
A large circular projection panel dubbed "Mr Screen" first made an appearance during performances of Dark Side of the Moon in 1974 and became a staple thereafter. Specially recorded films and animations were projected onto it, and for 1977 "In the Flesh" and 1980-1981 "The Wall Live" tours, coloured spotlights were fixed around the rim, an effect which reached its zenith with the dancing patterns of multi-coloured lights in the A Momentary Lapse of Reason
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
A Momentary Lapse of Reason is the thirteenth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK and US in September 1987. In 1985 guitarist David Gilmour began to assemble a group of musicians to work on his third solo album...
and Division Bell
Division Bell
Division bell my refer to:* Division bell, a bell rung in or around a parliament.* The Division Bell, a studio album by rock group Pink Floyd....
tours. In the latter, the screen could be retracted behind the stage when not required, and was tilted horizontally with its peripheral lights focused onto the stage into a single spotlight during the final guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
in "Comfortably Numb
Comfortably Numb
"Comfortably Numb" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, which first appears on the 1979 double album, The Wall. It was also released as a single in the same year with "Hey You" as the B-side. It is one of only three songs on the album for which writing credits are shared between Roger...
".
Several generations of giant glitter balls
Disco ball
A disco ball is a roughly spherical object that reflects light directed at it in many directions, producing a complex display...
began with the Dark Side of the Moon tour. By the Division Bell tour, the ball had evolved into a globe 4.9 metres in diameter, which rose from the mixing station to a height of 21.3 metres before opening into an array of petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s 7.3 metres wide during the final guitar solo of "Comfortably Numb", revealing a 12 kilowatt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
Phobeus HMI
Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide
Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide, or HMI, is a Osram brand metal-halide gas discharge medium arc-length lamp manufactured for the film and entertainment industry. Hydrargyrum is Latin for mercury...
lamp inside.
Props and pyrotechnics
Thanks to stage architect/designer Mark FisherMark Fisher (architect)
Mark Fisher OBE MVO is a British architect. He was born in Warwickshire, England.Fisher graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in 1971. He was a Unit Master at the AA School from 1973 to 1977. In 1984 he set up the Fisher Park Partnership with Jonathan Park...
, Pink Floyd's tours became a staple in the industry because of their outstanding special and scenic effects. Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
(such as exploding flashpots, an exploding gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
and fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
) and dry ice were used extensively throughout Pink Floyd's career. In 1973's tour to promote The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
, a large scale model plane flew over the audience and crashed onto the stage with a spectacular explosion, an effect repeated at the start of The Wall
The Wall
The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was subsequently performed live with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a feature film, Pink Floyd—The Wall.As with the band's previous three...
and the Division Bell
Division Bell
Division bell my refer to:* Division bell, a bell rung in or around a parliament.* The Division Bell, a studio album by rock group Pink Floyd....
shows. During shows to promote A Momentary Lapse of Reason
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
A Momentary Lapse of Reason is the thirteenth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK and US in September 1987. In 1985 guitarist David Gilmour began to assemble a group of musicians to work on his third solo album...
, a similar effect was achieved with a flying bed.
Over-sized helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
s were first introduced during the Dark Side of the Moon tours, but in 1975, this element began to play a central part of the live show. For the US leg of the 1975 tour, a pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
shaped dirigible was floated above the stage. It proved unstable in windy conditions and blew into the crowd, which tore it into pieces for souvenirs. The trademark giant pig was brought in for Animals in 1977, floating over the audience, as well as a grotesque 'Nuclear Family', a refrigerator filled with snakes, a television and a Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
. In some shows, an envelope of propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
gas was put inside the pig, causing it to explode. The inflatables reached their peak in 1980–1981 during The Wall
The Wall
The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was subsequently performed live with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a feature film, Pink Floyd—The Wall.As with the band's previous three...
shows, in which several of the characters from the album were brought to life in the form of fully mobile, giant string puppets with menacing spotlights for eyes, taking the traditional balloons to a new level. The characters were designed by the notable satirical artist, Gerald Scarfe
Gerald Scarfe
Gerald Anthony Scarfe, CBE, RDI, is an English cartoonist and illustrator. He worked as editorial cartoonist for The Sunday Times and illustrator for The New Yorker...
.
Special effects reached a new and outrageous level during these Wall shows. For example, a 160 feet (48.8 m) long, 35 feet (10.7 m) high wall made from 340 white bricks was built between the audience and the band during the first half of the show. The final brick was placed as Roger Waters sang "goodbye" at the end of the song "Goodbye Cruel World". For the second half of the show, the band was largely invisible, except for a hole in the wall that simulated a hotel room where Roger Waters "acted out" the story of Pink, and an appearance by David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
on top of the wall to perform the climactic guitar solo in "Comfortably Numb". Other parts of the story were told by Gerald Scarfe animations projected onto the wall itself (these animations were later integrated into the film Pink Floyd: The Wall
Pink Floyd The Wall (film)
Pink Floyd—The Wall is a 1982 British live-action/animated musical film directed by Alan Parker based on the 1979 Pink Floyd album The Wall. The screenplay was written by Pink Floyd vocalist and bassist Roger Waters. The film is highly metaphorical and is rich in symbolic imagery and sound...
). At the finale of the concert, the wall was demolished amidst sound effects and a spectacular light show.
Major tours and concerts
- September 30, 1966 - The All Saints Church Hall Concert - International Times Benefit Show
- April 29–30, 1967 - The 14 Hour Technicolour DreamThe 14 Hour Technicolor DreamThe 14 Hour Technicolor Dream was a concert held in the huge Great Hall of the Alexandra Palace, London, on 29 April 1967. The fund-raising concert for the International Times was organised by Barry Miles and John "Hoppy" Hopkins and David Howson...
concerts - May 12, 1967 - Games For MayGames For MayThe Games for May concert, which took place at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 12, 1967, was one of the first significant concert events held by Pink Floyd.-History:...
concert - November 4-12, 1967 - First US Tour
- June 29, 1968 - Midsummer High WeekendMidsummer High WeekendMidsummer High Weekend was the first ever rock concert in Hyde Park, London. On Saturday June 29, 1968, Pink Floyd were one of several bands to play, alongside T-Rex, Jethro Tull and Roy Harper. The concert was held to coincide with the release of Pink Floyd's second album, A Saucerful of Secrets...
concert - July - August 1968 - A Saucerful of Secrets US TourA Saucerful of Secrets US TourA Saucerful of Secrets US Tour was the North American leg of Pink Floyd's 1968 A Saucerful of Secrets Tour.-Tour dates:*08/07/1968: Chicago, IL - Kinetic Playground*12/07/1968: Detroit, MI - Grande Ballroom...
- May - September 1969 - The Man and the Journey TourThe Man and the Journey TourThe Man And The Journey tour was an informal concert tour of a few dates by Pink Floyd during which the conceptual music piece "The Man and the Journey" was played...
- June 27, 1970 - Bath FestivalBath International Music FestivalThe Bath International Music Festival, also known as the Bath Music Fest, is held each summer in Bath, South West England. Inaugurated in 1948, the festival includes many genres such as orchestral, contemporary jazz, folk and electronica...
concert - September 1970 - October 1971 - Atom Heart Mother World TourAtom Heart Mother World TourThe Atom Heart Mother World Tour was an international concert tour by Pink Floyd. It commenced during September 1970 and ended during October 1971. It was their first world tour and marked the first time the band visited countries such as Japan and Australia, making them one of the first European...
- October - November 1971 - Meddle tourMeddle TourThe 1971 Meddle tour was a short concert tour by British band Pink Floyd. Commenced on October 1971 and ended on November of that year. It was intended to promote their new album Meddle in the United States, although some of the album material had been played months before the album release, a...
- January 1972 - November 1973 - Dark Side of the Moon Tour
- June 1974 - French summer Tour
- November - December 1974 - British winter Tour
- April - July 1975 - Wish You Were Here TourPink Floyd Wish You Were Here Tour 1975The North American Tour, also referred to as the Wish You Were Here Tour, was a concert tour by the British progressive rock band Pink Floyd in 1975 in support of their forthcoming album Wish You Were Here...
- January - July 1977 - In The Flesh TourPink Floyd In The Flesh Tour 1977The In the Flesh Tour, also known as "Animals Tour", was a concert tour by the English rock band Pink Floyd in support of their album Animals. It was divided in two legs, one in Europe and another in North America. It was the last time Pink Floyd performed a major worldwide tour with Roger Waters...
promoting Animals - February 1980 - June 1981 - The Wall 1980-1981Pink Floyd The Wall Tour 1980-1981The Wall Tour was a concert tour by British progressive rock band Pink Floyd from 1980-1981 in support of their concept album The Wall. The tour was relatively small compared to previous tours for a major release, with only 31 shows in total...
(Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81Is There Anybody out There? The Wall Live 1980-81Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81 is an album released by Pink Floyd in 2000. It is a live rendition of The Wall, produced and engineered by James Guthrie, with tracks selected from the August 1980 and June 1981 performances at Earls Court in London...
) - September 1987 - July 1989 - A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour (as documented by Delicate Sound of ThunderDelicate Sound of Thunder-LP / Cassette:Side 1# "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"# "Learning to Fly# "Yet Another Movie"# "Round and Around"Side 2# "Sorrow"# "The Dogs of War"# "On the Turning Away"Side 3# "One of These Days"# "Time"...
) - June 30, 1990 - Knebworth Festival concert
- March - October 1994 - The Division Bell tourThe Division Bell tourThe Division Bell Tour was a concert tour by British rock band Pink Floyd in 1994 to support their album The Division Bell. In 1995 the band released the live album Pulse to commemorate the tour, which would turn out to be the final Pink Floyd tour, although members of the band have continued to...
(as documented by P*U*L*S*E) - July 2005 - Live 8Live 8Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concert - May 10, 2007 - Syd Barrett Tribute Concert
Comprehensive details of all of Pink Floyd's live appearances can be found at The Pink Floyd Archives.
Barrett era
The earliest shows for what is considered to be "Pink Floyd" occurred in 1965 and included Bob KloseBob Klose
Rado 'Bob' Klose is an English musician and photographer. He was one of the earliest members of the rock band Pink Floyd, playing lead guitar, but left the band before they recorded their first released single, "Arnold Layne".- Abdabs :"The Abdabs" , with Roger Waters , Richard Wright Rado 'Bob'...
as a member of the band, which at the time played mainly R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
covers. Klose left the band after 1965. The remaining four members played very small (generally no more than 50 people), mostly unadvertised shows at the Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
, London through June 1966. The set list continued to include R&B, but some original psychedelia
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
was also being introduced.
On 30 September 1966, Pink Floyd were invited to play All Saint's Church Hall to raise money for the nascent International Times
International Times
International Times was an underground newspaper founded in London in 1966. Editors included Hoppy, David Mairowitz, Pete Stansill, Barry Miles, Jim Haynes and playwright Tom McGrath...
newspaper, and quickly became the "house band". At these shows, the band began its use of visual effects and gradually stopped covering R&B. Word of these shows quickly spread in the London underground culture and soon the band became very well-attended and developed a cult following. On 23 December 1966, the first of the "International Times
International Times
International Times was an underground newspaper founded in London in 1966. Editors included Hoppy, David Mairowitz, Pete Stansill, Barry Miles, Jim Haynes and playwright Tom McGrath...
" associated gigs to be held at the legendary UFO Club
UFO Club
The UFO Club was a famous but shortlived UK underground club in London during the 1960s, venue of performances by many of the top bands of the day.-History:...
was performed. Mainstream interest about the counter-culture was increasing and a very small portion of their 20 January 1967 show at the UFO Club was broadcast as part of Granada TV's documentary entitled It's So Far Out, It's Straight Down, which constitutes the first audial or visual record of the band live.
Pink Floyd were among the 30 bands that played "The 14 Hour Technicolour Dream
The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream
The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream was a concert held in the huge Great Hall of the Alexandra Palace, London, on 29 April 1967. The fund-raising concert for the International Times was organised by Barry Miles and John "Hoppy" Hopkins and David Howson...
" benefit gig organised for the "International Times" legal defence fund and held at the Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
, London between 29 April 1967 and 30 April 1967. Some of the other bands who played were The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, The Move
The Move
The Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....
, The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things are an English rock and roll band from London, who originally formed in 1963. They took their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing" and, in their early days, were dubbed by the British press the "uglier cousins of the Rolling Stones". Their most commercially successful...
, Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, Tomorrow
Tomorrow (band)
Tomorrow were a 1960s psychedelic rock band. Despite critical acclaim and support from DJ John Peel who featured them on his "Perfumed Garden" radio show, the band was not a great success in commercial terms. They were among the first psychedelic bands in England along with Pink Floyd and Soft...
& The Creation
The Creation (band)
The Creation were an English rock band, formed in 1966. The most popular Creation song was "Painter Man", which made the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1966, and reached #8 in the German chart in April 1967. It was later covered by Boney M in 1979, and reached the #10 position in the UK...
. Notables in attendance included musician John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, artist John Dunbar, actor Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
, artist and musician Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, actress Julie Christie
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
, musician Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and artist David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
. Although both the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and filmmaker Peter Whitehead filmed portions of the event, there is no known footage of Pink Floyd.
On 12 May 1967, Pink Floyd performed at Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
, London, a concert entitled Games For May
Games For May
The Games for May concert, which took place at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 12, 1967, was one of the first significant concert events held by Pink Floyd.-History:...
. At this show, they debuted a multi-speaker pan pot system controlled by joystick from the stage that allowed them to move sound to anywhere a speaker had been set up. This precursor to their later "Azimuth Coordinator"
Azimuth co-ordinator
The Azimuth Co-ordinator was the first panning control for a quadraphonic sound system, at that time a new concept. Pink Floyd became the first band to use it in their early shows.The Azimuth Co-ordinator uses four rotary rheostats housed in a large box...
unfortunately was stolen after the show.
After their debut single, "Arnold Layne
Arnold Layne
David Gilmour, during his solo tour promoting On an Island, unexpectedly added the song to the setlist near the end of the American tour on the 17 April 2006 show at the Oakland Paramount Theatre...
", charted well in the UK, the band was invited to perform on the BBC2 music show The Look of the Week on 14 May 1967. The setlist for the broadcast consisted of "Pow R. Toc H.
Pow R. Toc H.
"Pow R. Toc H." is an instrumental song with vocal effects, from Pink Floyd's 1967 album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. In addition to the vocal effects, piano is a prominent instrument in this piece.-Information:...
" and "Astronomy Domine
Astronomy Domine
"Astronomy Domine" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, was the first track featured on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn . The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and keyboard player Richard...
". This was their first British television appearance.
Pink Floyd were invited to appear on the BBC2 music show Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
in July 1967 for three weeks after their second single "See Emily Play
See Emily Play
"See Emily Play" was the second single recorded by the English psychedelic rock group Pink Floyd. It was written by original frontman Syd Barrett and recorded on 23 May 1967. The single featured "Scarecrow" as its B-side...
" reached #6 on the UK charts. By this time Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...
's behavior had become somewhat unpredictable. On one occasion, the increasingly difficult Barrett remarked that if John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
didn't have to appear on Top of the Pops neither did he. Consequently, their management company, Blackhill Enterprises
Blackhill Enterprises
Blackhill Enterprises was a rock music management company, founded as a partnership by the four original members of Pink Floyd , with Peter Jenner and Andrew King....
, convinced the band to cancel all of their August shows and go to Spain to recuperate.
Increasingly, throughout the summer and into the fall of 1967, copious drug use (especially LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
) and pressure by the record company to constantly write new hit songs continued to take a toll on Barrett's mental state. He became unable to make a meaningful contribution to the group on stage, playing his guitar incoherently and sometimes not playing at all. By the time of the band's first tour of the US in early November 1967, his condition was plainly showing. He stared blankly into space on their 4 November American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
performance, listlessly strummed and barely managed to mime the vocals to "Apples and Oranges". On 5 November, things got worse: they appeared on The Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
Show and Syd sat in stubborn silence, refusing to answer any question put to him. He also refused to mime to "See Emily Play": Waters was forced to mime the track instead (Waters confirmed this on the VH1's Legends
VH1's Legends
Legends is a music biography television series on VH1. Originally sponsored by AT&T, this series documents those artists who have made a significant contribution to music history to be profiled on the show .The show goes in-depth...
: Pink Floyd episode). After the 22 December show, the rest of band quietly put out word that they were in need of a guitarist.
Although both Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
and Davy O'List were considered, it was David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, then unobligated, who was brought on to augment Syd as need arose during live shows. For the first four shows of 1968, Pink Floyd was a five-man live act again. When they were on the way to their show at Southampton University on 26 January 1968, they decided not to pick up Syd.
Transition and experimentation
See: Pink Floyd European Tour 1968Pink Floyd European Tour 1968
A Saucerful of Secrets European Tour was the european legs of Pink Floyd's 1968 A Saucerful of Secrets Tour, which took place between February and December 1968 and visite The Netherlands, France and the UK.- History :...
A typical 1968 set list
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
would include some of the following:
- "Astronomy DomineAstronomy Domine"Astronomy Domine" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, was the first track featured on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn . The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and keyboard player Richard...
" - "Interstellar OverdriveInterstellar Overdrive"Interstellar Overdrive" is a psychedelic composition written by Pink Floyd in 1966, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at almost ten minutes in length. An earlier, longer recording, 16:52, can be heard on the soundtrack to the film Tonite Let's All Make Love in...
" - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the SunSet the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd and is featured on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets . It was written by Roger Waters and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets...
" - "Pow R. Toc H.Pow R. Toc H."Pow R. Toc H." is an instrumental song with vocal effects, from Pink Floyd's 1967 album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. In addition to the vocal effects, piano is a prominent instrument in this piece.-Information:...
" - "Let There Be More LightLet There Be More Light"Let There Be More Light" is the opening track on Pink Floyd's second album A Saucerful of Secrets. It was also released in edited form as the fourth US single by the group. A rare US-only single release contains edited mono versions of this song and "Remember a Day". The single did not chart...
" - "The Massed Gadgets of HerculesA Saucerful of Secrets (song)"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by the rock band Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:52 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour...
" (first performed on 23 May 1968, renamed "A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets (song)"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by the rock band Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:52 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour...
" ) - "FlamingFlaming (Pink Floyd song)"Flaming" is a song by psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, and is featured in their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The song, written by Syd Barrett, is basically a child-like game scenario between two friends, hence "Lazing in the foggy dew"...
" - "Keep Smiling PeopleCareful with That Axe, Eugene"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
" (a prototype version of "Careful with that Axe, EugeneCareful with That Axe, Eugene"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
")
Although their management company Blackhill Enterprises parted ways with them over their decision about Syd Barrett on 29 June 1968, Pink Floyd headlined the first free Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
concert organized by Blackhill. Others performing were Tyrannosaurus Rex, Roy Harper
Roy Harper
Roy Harper is an English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been a professional musician since the mid 1960s...
and Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
.
A second tour of the US during July and August 1968 (see A Saucerful of Secrets US Tour
A Saucerful of Secrets US Tour
A Saucerful of Secrets US Tour was the North American leg of Pink Floyd's 1968 A Saucerful of Secrets Tour.-Tour dates:*08/07/1968: Chicago, IL - Kinetic Playground*12/07/1968: Detroit, MI - Grande Ballroom...
) was launched to tie into the release of their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets
A Saucerful of Secrets
A Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by the English rock group Pink Floyd. It was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios on various dates from August 1967 to April 1968...
. Increasingly throughout 1968 and 1969, shows consisted of post-Barrett compositions, with notable exceptions being "Astronomy Domine
Astronomy Domine
"Astronomy Domine" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, was the first track featured on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn . The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and keyboard player Richard...
" and "Interstellar Overdrive
Interstellar Overdrive
"Interstellar Overdrive" is a psychedelic composition written by Pink Floyd in 1966, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at almost ten minutes in length. An earlier, longer recording, 16:52, can be heard on the soundtrack to the film Tonite Let's All Make Love in...
", both of which were performed into the 1970s. Their audiences changed during this time as well: while Barrett-era crowds consisted mainly of hippies who would dance in time with the music, they now drew more "intellectual" crowd, who would sit and remain quiet until the last note of a song was played. By early 1969, most of their excess earnings were funneled into upgrading their sound equipment rather than maintaining a permanent light show. If visuals were to be used at all, they had to be provided by the venue or the local promoter.
A typical 1969 set list
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
would include some of the following:
See: The Man And The Journey Tour
The Man and the Journey Tour
The Man And The Journey tour was an informal concert tour of a few dates by Pink Floyd during which the conceptual music piece "The Man and the Journey" was played...
- "The Man/The JourneyThe Man and the JourneyThe Man and The Journey are the names of two album-length suites of music performed in concert by Pink Floyd during their 1969 tour. They consist of several of their early songs coupled with material that would appear on Soundtrack from the Film More and Ummagumma, as well as unreleased songs...
" - "Astronomy DomineAstronomy Domine"Astronomy Domine" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, was the first track featured on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn . The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and keyboard player Richard...
" - "Interstellar OverdriveInterstellar Overdrive"Interstellar Overdrive" is a psychedelic composition written by Pink Floyd in 1966, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at almost ten minutes in length. An earlier, longer recording, 16:52, can be heard on the soundtrack to the film Tonite Let's All Make Love in...
" - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the SunSet the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd and is featured on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets . It was written by Roger Waters and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets...
" - "Pow R. Toc H.Pow R. Toc H."Pow R. Toc H." is an instrumental song with vocal effects, from Pink Floyd's 1967 album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. In addition to the vocal effects, piano is a prominent instrument in this piece.-Information:...
" - "Let There Be More LightLet There Be More Light"Let There Be More Light" is the opening track on Pink Floyd's second album A Saucerful of Secrets. It was also released in edited form as the fourth US single by the group. A rare US-only single release contains edited mono versions of this song and "Remember a Day". The single did not chart...
" - "A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets (song)"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by the rock band Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:52 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour...
" - "CymbalineCymbaline"Cymbaline" is a Pink Floyd song from the album, Soundtrack from the Film More. Its lyrics vividly tell the tale of a "nightmare", which was the title of the song when it was first introduced in Floyd's The Man and the Journey shows....
" - "Green is the ColourGreen Is the Colour"Green Is the Colour" is a track on Pink Floyd's 1969 Soundtrack from the Film More. It is a gentle acoustic ballad sung by David Gilmour. A tin whistle is heard in the song, played by drummer Nick Mason's then-wife Lindy....
" - "Main ThemeMain Theme"Main Theme" is an instrumental track by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd on their third album, Soundtrack from the Film More.-Overview:...
" - "Careful with that Axe, EugeneCareful with That Axe, Eugene"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
"
The shows at Mothers
Mothers
Mothers was a club in Erdington, near Birmingham, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Mothers opened above an old furniture store in Erdington High Street on August 9, 1968. The club, run by John 'Spud' Taylor and promoter Phil Myatt, closed its doors on 3 January 1971...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
on 27 April 1969 and the College of Commerce, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
on 2 May 1969 were recorded for the live part of the Ummagumma
Ummagumma
Ummagumma is a double album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in 1969 by Harvest and EMI in the United Kingdom and Harvest and Capitol in the United States...
album. One source also claims that the show at Bromley Technical College on 26 April 1969 was also recorded for the album.
On 14 April 1969, at Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, they debuted their new pan pot 360 degree sound system dubbed the "Azimuth Coordinator". This show, named "More Furious Madness from the Massed Gadgets of Auximenes", consisted of two experimental "suites", "The Man" and "The Journey". Most of the songs were either renamed earlier material or under a different name than they would eventually be released.
A UK tour of occurred during May and June 1969 culminating in the show dubbed "The Final Lunacy" at Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
on 26 June 1969. Considered one of the most experimental concerts by Pink Floyd, it featured a crew member dressed as a gorilla, a cannon that fired, and band members sawing wood on the stage. At the finale of "The Journey" suite the band was joined on stage by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir, and at the very end a huge pink smoke bomb was let off.
An additional complete performance of "The Man/The Journey" occurred at the Concertgebouw
Concertgebouw
The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
on 17 September and was taped and later broadcast by Dutch radio station Hilversum 3. Portions of the suites were being performed as late as early 1970.
The "Atom Heart Mother" era
A typical 1970 set listSet list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
would include some of the following:
- "Astronomy DomineAstronomy Domine"Astronomy Domine" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, was the first track featured on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn . The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and keyboard player Richard...
" - "Interstellar OverdriveInterstellar Overdrive"Interstellar Overdrive" is a psychedelic composition written by Pink Floyd in 1966, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at almost ten minutes in length. An earlier, longer recording, 16:52, can be heard on the soundtrack to the film Tonite Let's All Make Love in...
" - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the SunSet the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd and is featured on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets . It was written by Roger Waters and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets...
" - "A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets (song)"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by the rock band Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:52 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour...
" - "CymbalineCymbaline"Cymbaline" is a Pink Floyd song from the album, Soundtrack from the Film More. Its lyrics vividly tell the tale of a "nightmare", which was the title of the song when it was first introduced in Floyd's The Man and the Journey shows....
" - "Green is the ColourGreen Is the Colour"Green Is the Colour" is a track on Pink Floyd's 1969 Soundtrack from the Film More. It is a gentle acoustic ballad sung by David Gilmour. A tin whistle is heard in the song, played by drummer Nick Mason's then-wife Lindy....
" - "Main ThemeMain Theme"Main Theme" is an instrumental track by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd on their third album, Soundtrack from the Film More.-Overview:...
" - "Careful with that Axe, EugeneCareful with That Axe, Eugene"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
" - "SysyphusSysyphus"Sysyphus" is an avant-garde, instrumental four part suite written and performed by rock band Pink Floyd's keyboardist Richard Wright. The song is featured on his portion of the studio half of Ummagumma...
" pts. 1-4 - "Grantchester MeadowsGrantchester Meadows (song)"Grantchester Meadows" is a song from the second half of the experimental Pink Floyd album Ummagumma. It was written and performed entirely by Roger Waters. The song features Waters' lyrics accompanied by an acoustic guitar, while a tape loop of a skylark chirps in the background throughout the...
" - "EmbryoEmbryo (Pink Floyd song)"Embryo" is a song by Pink Floyd. It was a concert staple in 1970–71, but a full band version was never released on a Pink Floyd studio album — though a greatly shortened studio version did appear form on the compilation Works in 1983 and also on a rare multi-artist album entitled Picnic - A...
" - "The Violent Sequence"
- "Atom Heart MotherAtom Heart Mother (suite)"Atom Heart Mother" is a six-part suite by progressive rock band Pink Floyd, composed by all members of the band and Ron Geesin. It appeared on the Atom Heart Mother album in 1970, taking up the whole first side of the original vinyl record...
" - "Fat Old SunFat Old Sun"Fat Old Sun" is a Pink Floyd song written and sung by David Gilmour. It appeared on the album Atom Heart Mother, and was performed live in a greatly expanded form , both before and after the album was released...
" - "Alan's Psychedelic BreakfastAlan's Psychedelic Breakfast"Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" is a three-part instrumental track from the 1970 Pink Floyd album Atom Heart Mother.-Overview:The track features Pink Floyd playing in the background as Alan Stiles speaks about the breakfast he is preparing and eating, as well as breakfasts he has had in the past...
"
Early in 1970, Pink Floyd performed at gigs a piece from their film soundtrack for Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer.- Personal life :...
's film Zabriskie Point
Zabriskie Point (film)
Zabriskie Point is a 1970 film by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni, widely noted at the time for its setting in the late 1960s counterculture of the United States...
referred to as "The Violent Sequence". This was the musical basis for "Us and Them", from their The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
album. Lacking only the lyrics, it is identical to the final song and is the earliest part of the seminal album to have been performed live. The song "Embryo
Embryo (Pink Floyd song)
"Embryo" is a song by Pink Floyd. It was a concert staple in 1970–71, but a full band version was never released on a Pink Floyd studio album — though a greatly shortened studio version did appear form on the compilation Works in 1983 and also on a rare multi-artist album entitled Picnic - A...
" was also a part of the live repertoire around this time, but was never to appear on a studio album, until the compilation album Works
Works (Pink Floyd album)
Works is a Pink Floyd compilation album released in 1983 by their former American label, Capitol Records, to compete with their then-current album The Final Cut...
.
On 7 February 1970, the band began performing a then untitled instrumental piece, which would eventually become the title track to their next album Atom Heart Mother
Atom Heart Mother
Atom Heart Mother is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in 1970 by Harvest and EMI Records in the United Kingdom and Harvest and Capitol in the United States. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, and reached number one in the United...
. At this point, it had no orchestra or choir accompaniment. This is the first time they performed a song live in an unfinished form as a work in progress, something they continued to do until 1975. The song officially debuted at the Bath Festival, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
England on 27 June 1970 under the title "The Amazing Pudding
Atom Heart Mother (suite)
"Atom Heart Mother" is a six-part suite by progressive rock band Pink Floyd, composed by all members of the band and Ron Geesin. It appeared on the Atom Heart Mother album in 1970, taking up the whole first side of the original vinyl record...
" (later the name of a Pink Floyd fanzine
The Amazing Pudding
The Amazing Pudding was a Pink Floyd and Roger Waters fan magazine , founded by Ivor Trueman and edited and published, variously, by him , Andy Mabbett , Bruno MacDonald and Dave Walker , for ten years .Mabbett...
) and for the first time with orchestra and choir accompaniment.
Announced as "The Atom Heart Mother
Atom Heart Mother (suite)
"Atom Heart Mother" is a six-part suite by progressive rock band Pink Floyd, composed by all members of the band and Ron Geesin. It appeared on the Atom Heart Mother album in 1970, taking up the whole first side of the original vinyl record...
" by legendary British broadcaster John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
on his BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show "Peel's Sunday Concert" on 16 July 1970, a name suggested by him to the band, it was also announced as "The Atomic Heart Mother" two days later at the Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
free concert. Partly because of the difficulties of finding and hiring local orchestras and choirs, the band often played what is referred to as the "small band" version of the song when they performed it live.
Pink Floyd also appeared at a Free festival In Canterbury on August 31 which was filmed. This was the end leg of the Medicine Ball Caravan tour organised by Warner Brothers, which was later made into a film of the same name. It appears that the Pink Floyd footage was not included in the movie but spectators report that Atom Heart Mother was part of the set that was recorded. The audience must have been one of the smallest to see Pink Floyd at this era, only 1500 were present as the festival was not widely promoted.
In contrast, over 500,000 people witnessed their show at Fête de L'Humanité, Paris on 12 September 1970, their largest crowd ever. Filmed by French TV, the show was never broadcast.
Experimental on the album Atom Heart Mother
Atom Heart Mother
Atom Heart Mother is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in 1970 by Harvest and EMI Records in the United Kingdom and Harvest and Capitol in the United States. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, and reached number one in the United...
, the song "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast
Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast
"Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" is a three-part instrumental track from the 1970 Pink Floyd album Atom Heart Mother.-Overview:The track features Pink Floyd playing in the background as Alan Stiles speaks about the breakfast he is preparing and eating, as well as breakfasts he has had in the past...
" was performed at a few gigs in December 1970. "Breakfast" being made was part of the song. The first part of this lasted around four minutes. The second part of "breakfast" preparation was around a minute followed by a 3 minute tape of British DJ Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young (disc jockey)
Sir Jimmy Young CBE was a British singer, disc jockey and radio interviewer.-Early life:...
, whom the band disliked. The song lasted a little over 24 minutes.
For a great recording of some of their material from this period check out the Fillmore West show in San Francisco, California on 29 April 1970 on Wolfgang's Vault
Bill Graham (promoter)
Bill Graham was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death.-Early life:...
. This show includes material from Ummagumma
Ummagumma
Ummagumma is a double album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in 1969 by Harvest and EMI in the United Kingdom and Harvest and Capitol in the United States...
and Atom Heart Mother
Atom Heart Mother
Atom Heart Mother is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in 1970 by Harvest and EMI Records in the United Kingdom and Harvest and Capitol in the United States. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, and reached number one in the United...
. This was a short tour since their equipment got stolen a few weeks after this show and they canceled the rest of their tour.
Early performances of "Echoes"
A typical 1971 set listSet list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
would include some of the following:
- "Astronomy DomineAstronomy Domine"Astronomy Domine" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, was the first track featured on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn . The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and keyboard player Richard...
" - "Interstellar OverdriveInterstellar Overdrive"Interstellar Overdrive" is a psychedelic composition written by Pink Floyd in 1966, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at almost ten minutes in length. An earlier, longer recording, 16:52, can be heard on the soundtrack to the film Tonite Let's All Make Love in...
" - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the SunSet the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd and is featured on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets . It was written by Roger Waters and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets...
" - "A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets (song)"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by the rock band Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:52 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour...
" - "CymbalineCymbaline"Cymbaline" is a Pink Floyd song from the album, Soundtrack from the Film More. Its lyrics vividly tell the tale of a "nightmare", which was the title of the song when it was first introduced in Floyd's The Man and the Journey shows....
" - "Green is the ColourGreen Is the Colour"Green Is the Colour" is a track on Pink Floyd's 1969 Soundtrack from the Film More. It is a gentle acoustic ballad sung by David Gilmour. A tin whistle is heard in the song, played by drummer Nick Mason's then-wife Lindy....
" - "Careful with that Axe, EugeneCareful with That Axe, Eugene"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
" - "EmbryoEmbryo (Pink Floyd song)"Embryo" is a song by Pink Floyd. It was a concert staple in 1970–71, but a full band version was never released on a Pink Floyd studio album — though a greatly shortened studio version did appear form on the compilation Works in 1983 and also on a rare multi-artist album entitled Picnic - A...
" - "The Violent Sequence"
- "Atom Heart MotherAtom Heart Mother (suite)"Atom Heart Mother" is a six-part suite by progressive rock band Pink Floyd, composed by all members of the band and Ron Geesin. It appeared on the Atom Heart Mother album in 1970, taking up the whole first side of the original vinyl record...
" - "Fat Old SunFat Old Sun"Fat Old Sun" is a Pink Floyd song written and sung by David Gilmour. It appeared on the album Atom Heart Mother, and was performed live in a greatly expanded form , both before and after the album was released...
" - "EchoesEchoes (Pink Floyd song)"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...
" - "One of These Days"
January 1971 saw the band working on a track in the studio of then unconnected parts whose working title was either "Nothing - Parts 1 to 24" or "Nothing Parts 1-36". This song made its live debut under the working title "Return of the Son of Nothing" on 22 April 1971 at Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, England and as "Atom Heart Mother
Atom Heart Mother (suite)
"Atom Heart Mother" is a six-part suite by progressive rock band Pink Floyd, composed by all members of the band and Ron Geesin. It appeared on the Atom Heart Mother album in 1970, taking up the whole first side of the original vinyl record...
" before it, it was a work in progress. This was later to be released as "Echoes
Echoes (Pink Floyd song)
"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...
" on the album Meddle
Meddle
Meddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971.The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios...
.
It contained additional lyrics and although none of the unofficial recordings of shows during this period are very clear, the lyrics are approximately:
- Two planets meeting face to face
- One to the other cried, how sweet
- If endlessly we might embrace
- The perfect union, deep in space
- If Heaven might this once relent
- And give us leave to shine as one
- Our two lights here forever
- One night's splendor
- And in that longing to be one
- The parting sermons sound is wrong
- I'll see you've got to travel on
- And on and on, around the sun
Although announced as "Echoes" on 6 August 1971 at Hakone, Japan, the song was still performed with the additional lyrics at later August gigs. The show on 18 September 1971 at Montreux
Montreux
Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population, , of and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.- History :...
Switzerland and subsequent shows do not have the additional lyrics. In 1972, during a German tour, Waters sardonically introduced Echoes as "Looking Through the Knotholes in Granny's Wooden Leg" (A Goon Show reference) one one occasion and "The March of The Dam Busters
Dambusters March
The Dambusters March is Eric Coates' theme for the 1955 film The Dam Busters.-Origination:The composer's son Austin Coates recounted in a radio interview for the BBC that the march was not actually written for the film and had in fact been completed a few days before he was contacted by the producers...
" on another. On another occasion, during a live radio broadcast, Waters had instructed the DJ to announce "One Of These Days" to the home audience as "A poignant appraisal of the contemporary social situation."
After the band's Crystal Palace Garden Party performance (London, May 15, 1971), it was discovered that the sheer volume of the gig caused the nearby pond's entire fauna to die. The band was subsequently pressured to compensate for the ecological damage.
The Dark Side of the Moon (1972)
A typical 1972 set listSet list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
included:
First Set:
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
- "Speak to MeSpeak to Me"Speak to Me" is the first track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, on which it forms an overture...
" - "BreatheBreathe (Pink Floyd song)"Breathe" is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd and appears on their album The Dark Side of the Moon.-Authorship and composition:...
" - "The Travel SequenceOn the Run (Pink Floyd song)"On the Run" is the third track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It is an instrumental piece that deals with the pressures of travel , and is an EMS synthesizer based piece...
" - "TimeTime (Pink Floyd song)"Time" is the fourth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, and the only song on the album credited to all four members of the band...
" - "Breathe RepriseBreathe (Pink Floyd song)"Breathe" is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd and appears on their album The Dark Side of the Moon.-Authorship and composition:...
" - "The Mortality SequenceThe Great Gig in the Sky"The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. It features voice instrumental music by Clare Torry.-Composition:...
" - "MoneyMoney (Pink Floyd song)"Money" is the sixth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. Written by bassist Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original vinyl LP, and is the only song on the album to enter the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" - "The Violent Sequence"
- "ScatAny Colour You Like"Any Colour You Like" is the eighth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It is instrumental and was written by David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason, making it one of two songs on the album that Roger Waters did not contribute to, and...
" - "LunaticBrain Damage (song)"Brain Damage" is the ninth track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters. David Gilmour took over as lead vocalist when the band performed it live on the band's 1994 tour...
" - "EclipseEclipse (song)"Eclipse" is the tenth and final track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters, with harmonies by David Gilmour...
"
Second Set:
- "One of These Days"
- "Set the Controls for the Heart of the SunSet the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd and is featured on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets . It was written by Roger Waters and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets...
" (or as an encore) - "Careful with that Axe, EugeneCareful with That Axe, Eugene"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
" (or as an encore) - "EchoesEchoes (Pink Floyd song)"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...
" (or as an encore) - "Atom Heart MotherAtom Heart Mother (suite)"Atom Heart Mother" is a six-part suite by progressive rock band Pink Floyd, composed by all members of the band and Ron Geesin. It appeared on the Atom Heart Mother album in 1970, taking up the whole first side of the original vinyl record...
" (rarely, last performance on 22 May 1972) - "A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets (song)"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by the rock band Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:52 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour...
" (rarely in second set, usually as an encore) - "Childhood's EndChildhood's End (Pink Floyd song)"Childhood's End" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds. It was the last Pink Floyd song to feature lyrics by David Gilmour or to be composed entirely solo by him, until the album A Momentary Lapse of Reason....
" (rarely, introduced in November 1972)
Encore:
Rotated one of these three songs:
- "A Saucerful of SecretsA Saucerful of Secrets (song)"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by the rock band Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:52 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour...
" (last performance on 23 September 1972) - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the SunSet the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd and is featured on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets . It was written by Roger Waters and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets...
" (or in second set) - "EchoesEchoes (Pink Floyd song)"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...
" (or in second set)
Occasionally, multiple song encores were performed, adding:
- "Blues"
Playing 98 shows (the most until 1994), 1972 was the last time Pink Floyd varied their set lists each night on a tour until their final one. Songs played in the second set and encore were swapped constantly, and the band even varied the number of songs played in the encore from the usual one, to two or three.
1972 saw Pink Floyd debut the performance of a not just a song (like on previous tours), but an entire album prior to its release. The original title was Eclipse, then Dark Side of the Moon - A Piece for Assorted Lunatics
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
, the name under which it made its press debut in February 1972 at London's Rainbow Theatre. The title changed for the first part of the US tour to Eclipse (A Piece for Assorted Lunatics) during April and May before reverting to Dark Side of the Moon - A Piece for Assorted Lunatics in September for the second part of the US tour and finally released in 1973 under the title of The Dark Side of the Moon.
Remarkably, at its first full live performance at Guildhall, Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England on 21 January 1972, most of the album was in the form it would be when released 14 months later. The significant differences include:
"On the Run
On the Run (Pink Floyd song)
"On the Run" is the third track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It is an instrumental piece that deals with the pressures of travel , and is an EMS synthesizer based piece...
", whose working title was "Travel" or "The Travel Sequence", was a guitar and drum jam and would remain so for the rest of the year's performances.
"Time
Time (Pink Floyd song)
"Time" is the fourth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, and the only song on the album credited to all four members of the band...
" was played at a slower speed and the first half of the verses were sung by Gilmour and Wright together. The line "Lying supine in the sunshine" was sung instead of "Tired of lying in the sunshine". The former lyric was also sometimes used in shows after the album's release.
"The Great Gig in the Sky
The Great Gig in the Sky
"The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. It features voice instrumental music by Clare Torry.-Composition:...
", whose working title was "Religion" or "The Mortality Sequence", consisted at the debut in January of synthesized organ and various tapes of "preachers" either preaching or reading from such passages as from Chapter 5, Verse 13 of Ephesians, a book of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, or reciting The Lord's Prayer. Starting in September, the music of the song as per the album was performed, without vocals. A portion of the song contained the aforementioned "preacher" tape recording of Ephesians, at much lower volume, and it was performed this way for the rest of the year.
"Money
Money (Pink Floyd song)
"Money" is the sixth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. Written by bassist Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original vinyl LP, and is the only song on the album to enter the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" began with a longer introduction on the bass, and the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
solo was instead played on the electric piano.
"Us and Them," whose working title was "The Violent Sequence," contained a short audio clip of a man groaning in tortuous pain at the beginning of the song. The song also lacked the saxophone solo as found on the album.
At the debut, the song "Eclipse" was nothing more than lyricless extension of "Brain Damage
Brain Damage (song)
"Brain Damage" is the ninth track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters. David Gilmour took over as lead vocalist when the band performed it live on the band's 1994 tour...
" that devolved into various odd sounds. The version with lyrics and music as found on the album debuted at Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
on 5 February.
Finally, none of the spoken word pieces as found on the album were done during 1972.
One of the two shows at The Dome, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England on 28 June and 29 June was filmed by Peter Clifton for inclusion on his film Sounds of the City. Clips of these appear occasionally on television and the performance of "Careful with That Axe, Eugene
Careful with That Axe, Eugene
"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
" is on the various artists video Superstars in Concert.
In November 1972, during the middle of the European leg of their 1972 world tour and again in January 1973, Pink Floyd performed with the Roland Petit
Roland Petit
Roland Petit was a French choreographer and dancer born in Villemomble, near Paris, France. He trained at the Paris Opéra Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets.-Biography:...
Ballet. The portion of the setlist for which the ballet was choreographed was "One of These Days", "Careful with That Axe, Eugene", "Obscured by Clouds", "When You're In
When You're In
"When You're In" is a track from Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds. It is entirely instrumental, with a repetitive guitar riff repeating until the piece fades out....
" and "Echoes".
The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
(until mid-March) included:
First Set:
- "EchoesEchoes (Pink Floyd song)"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...
" - "Obscured by Clouds"/"When You're InWhen You're In"When You're In" is a track from Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds. It is entirely instrumental, with a repetitive guitar riff repeating until the piece fades out....
" (The two songs incorporated into a longer piece with a jamming guitar & keyboard section in the middle) - "Childhood's EndChildhood's End (Pink Floyd song)"Childhood's End" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds. It was the last Pink Floyd song to feature lyrics by David Gilmour or to be composed entirely solo by him, until the album A Momentary Lapse of Reason....
" (rarely) - "Careful with That Axe, EugeneCareful with That Axe, Eugene"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
"
Second Set:
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
- "Speak to MeSpeak to Me"Speak to Me" is the first track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, on which it forms an overture...
" - "BreatheBreathe (Pink Floyd song)"Breathe" is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd and appears on their album The Dark Side of the Moon.-Authorship and composition:...
" - "On the RunOn the Run (Pink Floyd song)"On the Run" is the third track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It is an instrumental piece that deals with the pressures of travel , and is an EMS synthesizer based piece...
" - "TimeTime (Pink Floyd song)"Time" is the fourth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, and the only song on the album credited to all four members of the band...
" - "Breathe RepriseBreathe (Pink Floyd song)"Breathe" is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd and appears on their album The Dark Side of the Moon.-Authorship and composition:...
" - "The Great Gig in the SkyThe Great Gig in the Sky"The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. It features voice instrumental music by Clare Torry.-Composition:...
- "MoneyMoney (Pink Floyd song)"Money" is the sixth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. Written by bassist Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original vinyl LP, and is the only song on the album to enter the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" - "Us and Them"
- "Any Colour You LikeAny Colour You Like"Any Colour You Like" is the eighth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It is instrumental and was written by David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason, making it one of two songs on the album that Roger Waters did not contribute to, and...
" - "Brain DamageBrain Damage (song)"Brain Damage" is the ninth track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters. David Gilmour took over as lead vocalist when the band performed it live on the band's 1994 tour...
" - "EclipseEclipse (song)"Eclipse" is the tenth and final track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters, with harmonies by David Gilmour...
"
Encore:
- "One of These Days"
For remainder of 1973 (except 4 November), the set list included:
First Set:
- "Obscured by Clouds"
- "When You're InWhen You're In"When You're In" is a track from Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds. It is entirely instrumental, with a repetitive guitar riff repeating until the piece fades out....
" - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the SunSet the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd and is featured on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets . It was written by Roger Waters and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets...
" - "Careful with That Axe, EugeneCareful with That Axe, Eugene"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
" - "EchoesEchoes (Pink Floyd song)"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...
"
Second Set:
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
- "Speak to MeSpeak to Me"Speak to Me" is the first track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, on which it forms an overture...
" - "BreatheBreathe (Pink Floyd song)"Breathe" is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd and appears on their album The Dark Side of the Moon.-Authorship and composition:...
" - "On the RunOn the Run (Pink Floyd song)"On the Run" is the third track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It is an instrumental piece that deals with the pressures of travel , and is an EMS synthesizer based piece...
" - "TimeTime (Pink Floyd song)"Time" is the fourth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, and the only song on the album credited to all four members of the band...
" - "Breathe RepriseBreathe (Pink Floyd song)"Breathe" is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd and appears on their album The Dark Side of the Moon.-Authorship and composition:...
" - "The Great Gig in the SkyThe Great Gig in the Sky"The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. It features voice instrumental music by Clare Torry.-Composition:...
- "MoneyMoney (Pink Floyd song)"Money" is the sixth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. Written by bassist Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original vinyl LP, and is the only song on the album to enter the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" - "Us and Them"
- "Any Colour You LikeAny Colour You Like"Any Colour You Like" is the eighth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It is instrumental and was written by David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason, making it one of two songs on the album that Roger Waters did not contribute to, and...
" - "Brain DamageBrain Damage (song)"Brain Damage" is the ninth track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters. David Gilmour took over as lead vocalist when the band performed it live on the band's 1994 tour...
" - "EclipseEclipse (song)"Eclipse" is the tenth and final track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters, with harmonies by David Gilmour...
"
Encore:
- "One of These Days"
In 1973, the band moved Dark Side of the Moon to the second set (where it would reside through 1975), and played the album version of the piece, notably the revamped versions of "On the Run" and "The Great Gig in the Sky." 1973 saw Pink Floyd go on two relatively short tours of the US, one in March to coincide with the release of The Dark Side of the Moon and a later one in June. Sandwiched between them were two nights at London's Earl's Court
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
The Earls Court Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre, conference and event venue located in west London, United Kingdom in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . It is the largest exhibition venue in central London. It is served by two underground stations, Earl's Court and West...
on 18 May and 19 May where they debuted the special effect of a plane crashing into the stage at the end of the song "On the Run". This was also the first year that the band took additional musicians on tour with them, unlike the earlier performances of "Atom Heart Mother" where the band would often hire local musicians.
Because of the overwhelming chart success of both The Dark Side of the Moon, which reached #1 in the US in late April, #2 in the UK, and the US-released single "Money", the nature of Pink Floyd's audiences changed in June 1973. David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
said of the change "It was "Money" that made the difference rather than The Dark Side of the Moon. It gave us a much larger following, for which we should be thankful. ... People at the front shouting, "Play Money! Gimme something I can shake my ass to!" We had to get used to it, but previously we'd been playing to 10,000 seaters where, in the quiet passages, you could hear a pin drop." They could now sell out stadiums.
On 4 November 1973, Pink Floyd played two shows at London's Rainbow Theatre to benefit musician Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
formerly the drummer of Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, a band they'd played with in their UFO Club
UFO Club
The UFO Club was a famous but shortlived UK underground club in London during the 1960s, venue of performances by many of the top bands of the day.-History:...
days. Wyatt fell from a fourth floor window in June 1973, breaking his back and making him a paraplegic. The set list for these two shows were:
Main Set:
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
- "Speak to MeSpeak to Me"Speak to Me" is the first track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, on which it forms an overture...
" - "BreatheBreathe (Pink Floyd song)"Breathe" is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd and appears on their album The Dark Side of the Moon.-Authorship and composition:...
" - "On the RunOn the Run (Pink Floyd song)"On the Run" is the third track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It is an instrumental piece that deals with the pressures of travel , and is an EMS synthesizer based piece...
" - "TimeTime (Pink Floyd song)"Time" is the fourth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, and the only song on the album credited to all four members of the band...
" - "Breathe RepriseBreathe (Pink Floyd song)"Breathe" is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd and appears on their album The Dark Side of the Moon.-Authorship and composition:...
" - "The Great Gig in the SkyThe Great Gig in the Sky"The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. It features voice instrumental music by Clare Torry.-Composition:...
- "MoneyMoney (Pink Floyd song)"Money" is the sixth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. Written by bassist Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original vinyl LP, and is the only song on the album to enter the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" - "Us and Them"
- "Any Colour You LikeAny Colour You Like"Any Colour You Like" is the eighth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It is instrumental and was written by David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason, making it one of two songs on the album that Roger Waters did not contribute to, and...
" - "Brain DamageBrain Damage (song)"Brain Damage" is the ninth track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters. David Gilmour took over as lead vocalist when the band performed it live on the band's 1994 tour...
" - "EclipseEclipse (song)"Eclipse" is the tenth and final track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters, with harmonies by David Gilmour...
"
Encore:
- "Obscured by Clouds"
- "When You're InWhen You're In"When You're In" is a track from Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds. It is entirely instrumental, with a repetitive guitar riff repeating until the piece fades out....
"
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
A typical 1974/1975 set listSet list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
would include all of the following:
- "You Gotta be Crazy"
- "Raving and DroolingSheep (song)"Sheep" is a song by the English band Pink Floyd. It was released on the album Animals in 1977. In 1974, it was originally titled "Raving and Drooling".-History:...
" - "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)Shine On You Crazy Diamond"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part Pink Floyd composition written by Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and David Gilmour. The song is a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett, although it was not originally explicitly written with him in mind. It was first performed on their 1974 French...
" - "Have a CigarHave a Cigar"Have a Cigar" is the third track on Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. It follows "Welcome to the Machine" and on the original LP opened side two...
" - "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)Shine On You Crazy Diamond"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part Pink Floyd composition written by Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and David Gilmour. The song is a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett, although it was not originally explicitly written with him in mind. It was first performed on their 1974 French...
" - The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
(Entire album)
Encore:
- "EchoesEchoes (Pink Floyd song)"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...
"
In 1975, the band launched a short tour that ended two months prior to the release of Wish You Were Here, which eventually sold out stadiums and arenas across America.
The last gig of the tour was as the headliner of 1975 Knebworth Festival, which also featured The Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller Band
The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.-History:In 1965, Steve Miller and...
, Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
and Roy Harper
Roy Harper
Roy Harper is an English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been a professional musician since the mid 1960s...
(who joined Pink Floyd on the stage to sing "Have a Cigar"). It was the second Knebworth Festival, which featured artists such as The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
and Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
between 1974 and 1979.
Despite some technical problems, the band managed to perform a remarkable concert, which as well as the usual special effects featured a fly-past by a pair of Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s. This was supposed to synchronise with the start of 'Breathe' but the band had tuning difficulties and the planes flew over before the start of the set. Knebworth was the last time the band would perform "Echoes" and the entire Dark Side of the Moon with Roger Waters.
In the Flesh
A typical 1977 set listSet list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
would include the following:
- Animals (entire album)
- Wish You Were Here (entire album)
Encore:
- "MoneyMoney (Pink Floyd song)"Money" is the sixth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. Written by bassist Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original vinyl LP, and is the only song on the album to enter the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" - "Us and Them"
- "Careful with that Axe, EugeneCareful with That Axe, Eugene"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
" (performed once in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, CaliforniaOakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
) - "More BluesMore Blues"More Blues" is the tenth track on Pink Floyd's 1969 album, Soundtrack from the Film More. It is an instrumental blues track that runs two minutes and twelve seconds long...
" (performed once in Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
The 1977 In the Flesh Tour was the last time Pink Floyd performed a major worldwide tour with Roger Waters. The tour featured the famous character inflatables puppets (designed by Mark Fisher
Mark Fisher (architect)
Mark Fisher OBE MVO is a British architect. He was born in Warwickshire, England.Fisher graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in 1971. He was a Unit Master at the AA School from 1973 to 1977. In 1984 he set up the Fisher Park Partnership with Jonathan Park...
and Andrew Sanders), and also featured a pyrotechnic "waterfall" and one of the biggest and most elaborate stages to date, including umbrella-like canopies that would raise from the stage to protect the band from the elements.;
Pink Floyd's market strategy for the In the Flesh Tour was very aggressive, filling pages of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and Billboard magazine. To promote their four-night run at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City, there was a Pink Floyd parade on 6th Avenue featuring pigs and sheep.
The Animals Tour was the first tour since their 1972 tour that Pink Floyd didn't use female backing singers. The musicians that augmented the band for the tour was sax player Dick Parry (occasionally playing keyboards too out of view of the audience) and guitarist Snowy White (who would also help out on bass guitar on some of the songs).
In the first half of the show, Pink Floyd played all of the Animals album in a slightly different sequence to the album starting with "Sheep" then "Pigs On the Wing (Part 1)", "Dogs", "Pigs On the Wing (Part 2) and "Pigs (Three Different Ones)". During "Pigs (Three Different Ones)", Waters would shout the number of the concert on the tour, such as "1-5!" for the fifteenth show. The second half of the show consisted of the Wish You Were Here album in its exact running order ("Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5)", "Welcome to the Machine", "Have a Cigar", "Wish You Were Here" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9)"). The encores would usually consist of either "Money" or "Us and Them" from Dark Side of the Moon or both. At the Oakland, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
show on 9 May they played "Careful with That Axe, Eugene
Careful with That Axe, Eugene
"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental song by the British band Pink Floyd. The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film...
" as a third encore; it was the last time it was ever performed live. The final night of the tour on 6 July at Montreal's Olympic Stadium had a third encore of "More Blues
More Blues
"More Blues" is the tenth track on Pink Floyd's 1969 album, Soundtrack from the Film More. It is an instrumental blues track that runs two minutes and twelve seconds long...
" which saw David Gilmour sit out the final encore as he was unhappy with the band's performance that night. Snowy White played a bluesy guitar solo with the rest of Pink Floyd in Gilmour's place.
During the tour, Waters began to exhibit increasingly aggressive behaviour, and would often yell abusively at disruptive audiences who wouldn't stop yelling and screaming during the quieter numbers. In the New York shows they had to use local workers as lighting technicians because of union problems with their own crew. They had several difficulties with the workers; for example, Waters once had to beckon one of the spotlights to move higher when it only illuminated his lower legs and feet while he was singing. He eventually became exasperated, brought the whole band to a halt to remark "I think you New York lighting guys are a fucking load of shit!", and then continued the song.
The Montreal show, 6 July 1977, the final performance of the tour, ended with Pink Floyd performing a blues jam as the roadies dismantled the instruments in front of the insatiable audience, who refused to let the band leave the stadium. A small riot at the front of the stage followed the band's eventual exit. That night, Waters spat in the face of a disruptive fan; The Wall
The Wall
The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was subsequently performed live with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a feature film, Pink Floyd—The Wall.As with the band's previous three...
grew out of Waters' thoughts about this incident, particularly his growing awareness that stardom had alienated him from his audience. Three unofficial audience recordings are known to exist (one aptly named Who Was Trained Not To Spit On The Fan, a pun referencing a lyric in the song Dogs, played that night, and the spitting incident); during "Pigs on the Wing (pt. 2)
Pigs on the Wing
"Pigs on the Wing" is a two-part song by the progressive rock band Pink Floyd from their 1977 concept album, Animals, starting and wrapping up the album. According to various interviews, it was written by Roger Waters as a declaration of love to his then-love, Carolyne...
" Roger halts the performance to yell this at the rather rowdy crowd: