Founder of the Pink Floyd group. Biography of Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd, English rock band. Formed in 1965 in London. The core of the group was Cambridge school classmates Syd Barrett (real name Roger Keith Barrett; b. January 6, 1946; guitar, vocals) and Roger Waters (b. September 6, 1944; guitar, vocals).
In 1965 the group's first performance took place under called Pink Floyd with drummer Nick Mason (b. January 27, 1945) and keyboardist Rick Wright (Rick Wright; b. July 28, 1945 - September 5, 2008). The name was borrowed from Georgia blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Counsell. Pink Floyd's performance at the opening of the London underground newspaper International Times on October 15, 1966 can be considered a real debut.
Pink Floyd's performance attracted attention not only with its bizarre melodies, but also with its unusual lyrics. The song "Arnold Lane," for example, was about a drag queen who stole women's clothes from clotheslines. Despite a BBC ban on broadcasting the song, it became one of the top twenty English singles. Became an innovator in the field of rock music debut album group “Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” (05 August 1967) - mysterious “cosmic” music with many different effects and tension-building guitar solos, which reflected state of mind person in the modern world.
The music and lyrics written by Barrett were captivating in their almost apocalyptic cosmism, and each of his performances was on the verge of the real and the otherworldly. There was a danger of a shift in his psyche, which was already broken by constant use of LSD. In order to retain Barrett as a songwriter, he was asked to give up performing during the grueling tours and focus only on creativity. To do this, in February 1968, Waters' longtime friend David Gilmour (b. March 6, 1947; guitar, vocals) was introduced into the group, but Barrett rejected this offer and left the team in April, starting his own solo career, which turned out to be very short-lived.
Despite the fact that Pink Floyd lost its leader, the musicians released the next album, “A Saucerful Of Secrets” (June 29, 1968), which included only one composition by Barrett. The other two - "A Saucerful Of Secrets" and "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" - became indispensable parts of Pink Floyd's live concerts. This album began a long period of art-rock creativity for the group (Pink Floyd's music until 1973 can be classified as psychedelic art-rock).
With the arrival of Gilmour, the group became less “strange”, but more efficient. The musicians began to release at least an album a year: “More” (July 27, 1969) and “Ummagumma” (October 25, 1969), the soundtrack to M. Antonioni’s film “Zabriskie Point” (March 1970) and “Atom Heart Mother” (October 10 1970), "Meddle" (October 30, 1971), "Obscured By Clouds" (June 03, 1972). The albums' soundtracks were filled with multi-part compositions, multi-style exercises, electronic experiments... Philosophically, the group's music tried to embrace the entire universe in all its perfection and simultaneous disharmony. The popularity grew by leaps and bounds: in 1969, the group held a concert in London, which attracted 100 thousand spectators. To others important event Pink Floyd's life was marked by a performance in a volcano crater near Pompeii (1971), which was recorded on film and released as a concert film.
In the 1970s the group reached the peak of popularity and skill. One of the most famous albums, “Dark Side Of The Moon” (March 24, 1973), truly became a bestseller in the history of rock music (more than 30 million copies were officially sold). It was during the recording of this album that the talent of lyricist Waters and the unsurpassed skill of guitarist Gilmour truly emerged. The album represents a complete narrative about a person’s life on this earth: birth (“Breathe”), entry into modern life and an introduction to her basic values ​​(“Time” and “Money”) and, finally, a gradual loss of reason and departure to the “dark side of the moon” (“Brain Damage” and “Eclipse”).
1975 was the year of the zenith of glory for the group. The song “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” (dedicated to Syd Barrett) from the new album “Wish You Were Here” (September 15, 1975) was unanimously recognized as a masterpiece, and the album itself set a record for being on the charts. Also very strong was the work of Pink Floyd - “Animals” (January 23, 1977), composed based on George Orwell’s parable story “Animal Farm”. The album uses dogs, pigs and sheep as metaphors to describe or denounce members of modern society. The music on Animals is significantly more guitar-based than previous albums, possibly due to the increasing tension between Waters and Richard Wright, who did not contribute much to the album.
In 1978, Wright and Gilmour released their solo albums, sparking rumors that the group might break up. But in 1979, Pink Floyd recorded its, one might say, cult album in the genre of rock opera “The Wall” (November 30, 1979), which was second only to the album “Dark Side Of The Moon” in sales. The rock opera "The Wall" was created almost entirely by Roger Waters and received an enthusiastic reception from the public. The song "Another Brick In The Wall" from this album, a sharp denunciation of the education system, became a number one hit. "The Wall" remained on the best-selling album list for 14 years.
In 1982, film director Alan Parker created a wonderful film of the same name based on this work (famous rock musician Bob Geldof starred as Pink). The film can be called provocative, since one of the main ideas was a protest against established ideals and the English passion for order. The film was also a definite manifesto in defense of rockers. The movie "The Wall" doesn't show any of the problems directly. The entire film is woven from allegories and symbols, for example, faceless teenagers who, one after another, fall into a meat grinder and turn into a homogeneous mass.
In 1979, due to disagreements with Waters, the wonderful keyboardist Wright left the group. Relations between the group members did not improve. When asked why the musicians were still together, Gilmore answered, not without black humor: “Because we haven’t figured it out with each other yet.” The album “The Final Cut” (March 21, 1983), dedicated to the problems of modern politics, went almost unnoticed, and only the single “Not Now John” entered the top thirty. In 1984, Waters decided to launch a solo career, followed by Mason and Gilmour, but none of these musicians managed to even come close to the achievements of their joint performances. The greatest success was achieved by the album “Amused to Death” by Roger Waters.
In 1987, Mason and Gilmour, who had sued Waters for the rights to the band's name as a result of a lengthy battle, decided to return to the Pink Floyd banner; Wright followed suit. Soon many months of tours abroad took place. The Pink Floyd reunion resulted in the release of three albums: A Momentary Lapse of Reason (September 8, 1987), Delicate Sounds Of Thunder (November 22, 1988), and Division Bell (March 30, 1994).
Pink Floyd have not released studio material since 1994. The only results of the group's work were the 1995 live album “P*U*L*S*E” (June 1995); live recording of "The Wall", compiled from the 1980 and 1981 concerts "Is There Anybody out There?" The Wall Live 1980-81" ("Is There Anyone Out There? The Wall Live, 1980-81") in March 2000; a two-disc set containing the group’s most significant hits “Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd” (November 05, 2001); dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the album, the reissue of “Dark Side of the Moon" in 2003 (remixed by James Guthrie on SACD); re-release of "The Final Cut" (March 22, 2004) with added single "When the Tigers Broke Free"; re-release of the band's debut album in mono and stereo versions, with added songs, some of which have never been released anywhere before; anniversary box set “Oh By The Way” (December 4, 2007; “By the way”), which includes reproductions of all the band's studio albums in the form of mini-vinyls.
July 02, 2005, putting past differences aside for one evening, Pink Floyd last time performed with their classic line-up (Waters, Gilmour, Mason, Wright) at the global show “Live 8”, dedicated to the fight against poverty. This performance temporarily increased sales of Pink Floyd's album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd by 1,343%. Gilmour donated all proceeds to charities, reflecting Live 8's goals.
After the Live 8 concert, Pink Floyd was offered £150 million to tour the US, but the band turned down the offer. David Gilmour later admitted that by agreeing to perform at Live 8, he did not allow the band's story to end on a "false note".
The band members are mostly involved in their own projects - for example, Mason wrote the book “Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd”. Personal story“Pink Floyd”), David Gilmour - solo work, the result is the album “On an Island” and a concert tour of the same name. The band's longtime manager, Steve O'Rourke, died on October 30, 2003; five years later, on September 15, 2008, Richard Wright died.
David Gilmour and Roger Waters performed together at a charity event on July 10, 2010 to benefit The Hoping Foundation. The organizer of the charity evening, Bella Freud, shared her impressions of the main result of this event - the reunion of David Gilmour and Roger Waters. “David appeared first, followed by Roger, and I saw Roger embrace David in his arms. It was wonderful!" - Bella said.

rock band from Cambridge. Famous for its philosophical texts, acoustic experiments, innovations in album design and grandiose shows. It is one of the most successful groups in rock music - about 70 million albums sold in the USA (seventh place), and about 200 million were sold worldwide. It was founded in the year last album(“The Division Bell”) and tour took place in the year. Last performance- July 2005.

Story

The name "Pink Floyd" (hereinafter referred to as "Pink Floyd") arose after a series of renamings of the groups "Sigma 6", "T-Set", "Meggadeaths", "The Screaming Abdabs", "The Architectural Abdabs" and "The Abdabs". Moreover, at first the group was called “The Pink Floyd Sound”, and only then simply “The Pink Floyd” in honor of two blues musicians from Georgia - Pink Anderson and Floyd Council (Floyd Council). The definite article “The” was dropped from the title only after 1970 (see, for example, the cover of the record with the music for “Zabriskie Point”).

Period with Syd Barrett

The first Pink Floyd lineup included fellow Regent Str. Polytechnic architecture students Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals), Roger Waters (bass guitar, vocals) and Nick Mason (drums) and their Cambridge friend Syd Barrett (vocals, guitar). The band also briefly had guitarist Bob Close, who left the band due to creative differences. At the beginning of their career, Pink Floyd was reworking rhythm and blues hits such as “Louie, Louie” (“Louie, Louie”). The group formed Blackhill Enterprises, a six-party business venture involving the four musicians and their managers, Peter Jenner and Andrew King.

However, not all band members withstood the burden of success that fell on them. Drug use and constant performances broke the band's leader, Syd Barrett. His behavior became more and more unbearable, nervous breakdowns and psychoses were repeated more and more often, infuriating the rest of the group (especially Roger). It happened more than once that Sid simply “switched off”, “withdrew into himself” right at the concert. In January 1968, longtime Roger and Syd acquaintance guitarist David Gilmour joined the band to replace Barrett. However, it was planned that Sid, although not performing, would continue to write songs for the group. Unfortunately, nothing came of this venture.

In April 1968, Barrett's "retirement" was formalized, but Jenner and King decided to stay with him. The six-party company Blackhill Enterprises has ceased operations.

Although Barrett wrote most of the material on the first album, the second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, released in June 1968, featured only one song he wrote, "Jugband Blues" ( "Blues for noise orchestra"). "A Saucerful of Secrets" peaked at number nine in the UK.

Without Barrett

Wish You Were Here

Later activities of the group

The largest stage performance was for The Wall, where several session musicians played the first song while wearing rubber masks (revealing that the band members were unknown as individuals); Then, during the first part of the show, workers gradually built a huge wall of cardboard boxes, onto which Gerald Scarfe's cartoons were then projected, and at the end of the performance the wall collapsed. This show was later recreated by Waters with the help of many guest musicians, including Bryan Adams, Van Morrison's band, among the ruins of the Berlin Wall. One of the participants in the show was the GSVG brass band (Groups Soviet troops in Germany).

Album illustrations

An integral part of the band's creativity for fans is album illustrations. Album covers and record sleeves provide an emotional boost to music through vibrant, meaningful visuals. Throughout the band's career, this aspect was primarily supported by the talent of photographer and designer Storm Thorgerson and his studio Hipgnosis. Suffice it to mention the famous images of a man shaking hands with his burning double () and a prism with light passing through it (“Dark Side of the Moon”). Torgerson was involved in the design of all the albums except "The Wall" (which the band hired Gerald Scarfe to design) and "The Final Cut" (cover designed by Waters himself, using a photograph taken by his son-in-law Willie Christie).

Members of the group

Original composition:

• Syd Barrett (ur. Syd Barrett ) - guitarist, vocalist (1964-1968)
• Roger Waters (ur. Roger Waters) - bass guitarist, vocalist (1964-1985, 2005)
• Richard Wright (ur. Richard Wright) - keyboardist, vocalist (1964-1981, 1987-2005)
• Nick Mason (English) Nick Mason) - drummer (1964-2005)

Joined later:

• David Gilmour (ur. David Gilmour) - vocalist, guitarist (1968-2005)

Discography

Studio albums

• The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (August 5 Barrett/Wright/Waters/Mason)
• A Saucerful of Secrets (June 29; Barrett/Gilmore/Wright/Waters/Mason)
• More (July 27; Gilmore/Wright/Waters/Mason)
• October 25, studio and live recordings; Gilmour/Wright/Waters/Mason)
• Atom Heart Mother (October 10; Gilmour/Wright/Waters/Mason)
• October 30 ; Gilmour/Wright/Waters/Mason)
• Obscured by Clouds (June 3; Gilmour/Wright/Waters/Mason)
• The Dark Side of the Moon (March 24; Gilmore/Wright/Waters/Mason)
• (September 15; Gilmour/Wright/Waters/Mason)
• Animals (January 23; Waters/Gilmour/Mason/Wright)
• The Wall (November 30, 2; Waters/Gilmour/Mason/Wright)
• The Final Cut (March 21; Waters/Mason/Gilmour)
• A Momentary Lapse of Reason (September 7; Gilmour/Mason/Wright)
• The Division Bell (; March 30; Gilmore/Wright/Mason)

Notes

Links

Pink Floyd Odyssey

• Andy Mabbett The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd
• V. Slobrzhin, S. Klimovitsky, S. Sitnikov Pink Floyd: Architects of Sound
• Evgeny Bychkov Rock legends: Pink Floyd

• Seva Novgorodtsev. "Rock crops". Pink Floyd

English-language resources

• Spare Bricks - Quarterly fanzine
• George Starostin’s Reviews - A critical review of the work of the group by George Starostin
• Brain-Damage.co.uk - Famous British site about the group
• Pink-Floyd.org - Fan club of the group. A lot of information
• Pink Floyd Archives.com - Large site from the author of the Pink Floyd encyclopedia
• The Pink Floyd Concert Database - Pink Floyd concert catalog
• The Pink Floyd RoIO Database - Catalog of bootlegs released on CD, LP and other media.

Russian-language resources

Pink Floyd British progressive/psychedelic rock band from Cambridge. Famous for her psychedelic songs and grandiose shows. It is one of the most successful in rock and pop music, and is in seventh place in the world in terms of the number of albums sold. Founded in 1965, the last album (The Division Bell) and tour took place in 1994. Last performance July 2005.

The name “Pink Floyd” (formed by a combination of the names of jazz, or rather rhythm and blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, of which Barrett was a fan; the name, according to Waters’ story, “appeared to Barrett in a prophetic dream, and he insisted on renaming the group”) arose after a series of renamings of the groups "Sigma 6", "T-Set", "Meggadeaths", "The Screaming Abdabs", "The Architectural Abdabs" and "The Abdabs". Moreover, at first the group was called “The Pink Floyd Sound”, and only then simply “The Pink Floyd” (in honor of two blues musicians from Georgia, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council). The definite article "The" was dropped from the title by the time the band's first record was released.

Which one of you is Pink?

The first lineup of Pink Floyd included London Architectural School classmates Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals), Roger Waters (bass guitar, vocals) and Nick Mason (drums) and their Cambridge friend Syd Barrett (vocals, guitar). At the beginning of their career, Pink Floyd was engaged in reworking rhythm and blues hits such as “Louie, Louie” (“Louie, Louie”). The group formed Blackhill Enterprises, a six-party business venture involving the four musicians and their managers, Peter Jenner and Andrew King.

The band's debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, released in August 1967, is considered the best example of English psychedelic music. The album's tracks showcase an eclectic mix of music, from the avant-garde "Interstellar Overdrive" to the whimsical "Scarecrow", a melancholic song inspired by the rural landscapes surrounding Cambridge. The album was successful and reached number six in the UK charts.

However, not all band members withstood the burden of success that fell on them. Drug use (as a consequence of exacerbation of congenital schizophrenia) and constant performances broke the group leader Syd Barrett. His behavior became more and more unbearable, nervous breakdowns and psychoses were repeated more and more often, infuriating the rest of the group (especially Roger). It happened more than once that Sid simply “switched off”, “withdrew into himself” (which was caused by catatonic attacks) right at the concert. In January 1968, Roger and Syd's longtime acquaintance, guitarist David Gilmour, joined the band to replace Barrett. However, it was planned that Sid, although not performing, would continue to write songs for the group. Unfortunately, nothing came of this venture.

In April 1968, Barrett's "retirement" was formalized, but Jenner and King decided to stay with him. The six-party company Blackhill Enterprises has ceased operations.

Although Barrett wrote most of the material on the first album, on his second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, released in June 1968, he wrote only one song in its entirety, "Jugband Blues." Blues for noise orchestra"). "A Saucerful of Secrets" peaked at number nine in the UK.

Without Barrett

After the band wrote the soundtrack to the film More (directed by Barbet Schroeder) in 1969, the album Ummagumma was released in 1969, partly recorded in Birmingham, partly in Manchester. It was a double album, the first disc of which was the first (and for almost twenty years the only official) recording of the band's live performance, and the second was equally divided into four parts, according to the number of band members, and each of them recorded, in fact, their own mini-album. solo album The album became the band's highest achievement at that time. It peaked at number five in the UK chart and entered the US hit list at number seventy.

In 1970, the album “Atom Heart Mother” appeared and took first place in the UK. The group grew in musically, and now a choir and a symphony orchestra were needed to implement the ideas. The complicated arrangement required the involvement of an outside specialist, who became Ron Geesin. He wrote the intro to the title track as well as the album's orchestration.

A year later, in 1971, “Meddle” was released, practically a twin of the previous one (in the form and length of the songs, but not in the music) (except that they did without an orchestra and choir). The second side of the disc was dedicated to a 23-minute "epic sound poem" (as Waters called it) called "Echoes", where the band used 16-track tape machines for the first time, replacing the four- and eight-track equipment used on "Atom". Heart Mother”, as well as the Zinoviev synthesizer VCS3. The album also included “One of These Days,” a Pink Floyd concert classic, with drummer Nick Mason promising, in a horribly distorted voice, “One of these days, Im going to cut you into little pieces.” ), light and carefree “Fearless” and “San Tropez” and the mischievous and hooligan “Seamus” (Seamus is the name of the dog), where a Russian greyhound was invited to the vocal part. "Meddle" took third place in the British charts.

The band's lesser-known album was released in 1972, entitled Obscured by Clouds, as the soundtrack to the Barbet Schroeder film La Vallee. The album is one of Nick Mason's favorites. Only 46th in the US Top 50 and sixth at home.

Peak of success

Far side of the Moon

1973 album “the Dark Side of the Moon” (“ back side moon") became the band's finest hour. It was a conceptual work, that is, not just a collection of songs on one disc, but a work imbued with a single, connecting idea of ​​​​the pressure of the modern world on the human psyche. The idea was a powerful catalyst for the group’s creativity, and together its members compiled a list of themes explored in the album: the composition “On The Run” was about paranoia; "Time" described the approach of old age and the senseless waste of life; "The Great Gig In The Sky" (originally titled "Mortality Sequence") and "Religious Theme" Religious theme") talk about death and religion; “Money” is about money that comes with fame and takes over a person; "Us And Them" talks about conflicts within society; "Brain Damage" is about madness. Thanks to the use of new 16-track recording equipment at Abbey Road Studios, almost nine months (a fantastically long time for that time!), which was spent on recording, and the efforts of engineer Alan Parsons, the album turned out to be unprecedented and entered the treasure trove of sound recordings of all time.

The single "Money" reached the top 20 in the US, the album went to No. 1 (only No. 2 in the UK) and remained in the US Top 200 for 741 weeks, including 591 consecutive weeks from 1973 to 1988, and several once in first place. The album broke many records and became one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Wish You Were Here

"Wish You Were Here" was released in 1975 and featured alienation as its main theme. In addition to the Pink Floyd classic title track, the album includes the critically acclaimed track "Shine on You Crazy Diamond", a tribute to Syd Barrett and his mental breakdown. In addition, the album includes “Welcome to the Machine” and “Have a Cigar”, dedicated to the soulless businessmen of show business. The album became number one in the UK and number two in America.

Animals

By the time Animals was released in January 1977, the band's music was increasingly criticized by the emerging punk rock movement for being too "weak" and arrogant, a departure from the simplicity of early rock 'n' roll. The album contained three long main songs and two short ones that complemented their content. The concept of the album was close to the meaning of George Orwell's book Animal Farm. The album uses dogs, pigs and sheep as metaphors to describe or denounce members of modern society. The music on Animals is significantly more guitar-based than previous albums, possibly due to the increasing tension between Waters and Richard Wright, who did not contribute much to the album.

The Wall / Wall

The rock opera "The Wall" was created almost entirely by Roger Waters and again received an enthusiastic reception from fans. Single from this album “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" (“Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2”), touching on issues of pedagogy and education, hit number one on the Christmas singles chart in the UK. In addition to reaching number three in the UK, "The Wall" spent 15 weeks on the US chart during 1980. The album became very expensive during the writing process and brought in a lot of expenses due to large-scale shows, but record sales brought the group out of the financial crisis they were in. During the work on the album, Waters expanded his influence and strengthened his leadership role in the group's activities, giving rise to constant conflicts within it. For example, Waters tried to persuade the band members to fire Richard Wright, who had virtually no participation in the work on the album. Wright eventually took part in several concerts for a fixed fee. Ironically, Richard was the only one who managed to earn any money from these concerts, since the rest of the group were forced to cover the exorbitant costs of the show "The Wall". "The Wall" was co-produced by Bob Ezrin, a friend of Roger Waters who co-wrote the lyrics for "The Trial." Waters later kicked him out of the Pink Floyd camp after Ezrin inadvertently talked to a journalist relative about the album. "The Wall" remained on the best-selling album list for 14 years.

Was filmed in 1982 feature film based on the album “Pink Floyd The Wall”. IN leading role The rock star “Pink” stars the founder of the group “Boomtown Rats” and the future organizer of the festivals “Live Aid” and “Live 8” Bob Geldof. The film's script was written by Waters, directed by Alan Parker, and animated by renowned animator Gerald Scarfe. The film can be called provocative, since one of the main ideas was a protest against established ideals and the English passion for order. The film was also a definite manifesto in defense of rockers. After all, as you know, in the 1970s a person could be arrested only for wearing torn jeans or for having a mohawk on his head. The movie "The Wall" doesn't show any of the problems directly. The entire film is woven from allegories and symbols, for example, faceless teenagers who, one after another, fall into a meat grinder and turn into a homogeneous mass.

The making of the film was accompanied by a further deterioration in the relationship between the group's two strongest personalities: Waters and Gilmour.

Latest albums and breakup of the group

In 1983, the album "The Final Cut" appeared with the subtitle "Requiem for Roger Waters' Post-War Dream, Performed by Pink Floyd." Darker than The Wall, this album revisits many of its themes, while also addressing issues that were and are still relevant today. This included Waters' dissatisfaction and anger at Britain's involvement in the Falklands conflict with the composition "The Fletcher Memorial Home", where Fletcher is Waters' father and Eric Fletcher. The theme of the track “Two Suns in the Sunset” is the fear of nuclear war. Wright's absence from recording the album resulted in some lack of keyboard effects typical of Pink Floyd's previous work, although guest musicians Michael Kamen (piano and harmonium) and Andy Bown made some contributions as keyboardists. Among the musicians who took part in the recording of “The Final Cut” was tenor saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft. Despite the album's mixed reviews, The Final Cut was a success (No. 1 in the UK and No. 6 in the US), and was certified platinum shortly after its release. The most hit compositions according to radio stations were “Gunners Dream” (“Artilleryman’s Dream”) and “Not Now John” (“Not Now, John”). The friction between Waters and Gilmour was so intense during the recording of the album that they were never in the recording studio at the same time. The band did not tour with this album. Soon Waters officially announced his departure from the group.

After The Final Cut, the band members went their own ways, releasing solo albums until 1987, when Gilmour and Mason began reforming Pink Floyd. This gave rise to heated legal disputes with Roger Waters, who, after leaving the group in 1985, decided that the group could not exist without him anyway. However, Gilmour and Mason were able to prove that they had the right to continue musical activity like Pink Floyd. Waters, however, retained some of the band's traditional imagery, including most of the props and characters from The Wall and all rights to The Final Cut. As a result, the group, led by David Gilmour, returned to the studio with producer Bob Ezrin. While working on the band's new album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason (No. 3 in both the UK and US), Richard Wright joined the band, first as a session musician with a weekly payment for his work, then as a full member until 1994. This year saw the release of the Floyd's latest work, The Division Bell, No. 1 in the UK and US, and the subsequent tour, which became the most profitable in the history of rock music to date.

All members of the group have released their own solo albums, achieving varying levels of popularity and commercial success. "Amused to Death" by Roger Waters was most warmly received by the public, but was still met with mixed reviews from critics.

Later activities of the group

Since 1994 and the album "The Division Bell", Pink Floyd have not released studio material and there is no sign of any in the near future. The only results of the group's work were the 1995 live album "P*U*L*S*E" ("Pulse"), a live recording of "The Wall", compiled from concerts in 1980 and 1981 "Is There Anybody out There?" The Wall Live 198081" ("Is There Anyone Outside? The Wall Live, 198081") in 2000; a two-disc set containing the band's biggest hits, "Echoes" in 2001; the 2003 30th anniversary reissue of "Dark Side of the Moon" (remixed on SACD by James Guthrie); re-release of 2004's "The Final Cut" with the added single "When the Tigers Broke Free" The album "Echoes" caused a lot of controversy due to the fact that the songs flow into each other in a different order than on original albums, significant parts have been torn out of some of them, and also because of the sequence of songs itself, which, according to fans, is not subject to logic.

David Gilmour released a DVD of his solo concert"David Gilmour in Concert" It was compiled from recordings of shows from 22 June 2001 to 17 January 2002 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Richard Wright and Bob Geldof were invited on stage as guests.

Due to the fact that the band members are mostly involved in their own projects - for example, Mason wrote the book "Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd" due to the death of Steve O Rourke (Steve ORourke) October 30, 2003 band manager for many years, due to David Gilmour's solo project (On an Island album and concert tour of the same name) and due to the death of Rick Wright on September 15, 2008 future group is unclear.

Although on July 2, 2005, putting past differences aside for one evening, Pink Floyd performed with their classic line-up (Waters, Gilmour, Mason, Wright) at the worldwide show “Live 8”, dedicated to the fight against poverty.

On July 7, 2006, one of the founders of the group, Syd Barrett, died due to complications of diabetes in Cambridge. Over the summer, Barrett's few surviving paintings were auctioned off, as were his furniture and some manuscripts. On May 10, 2007, a Pink Floyd concert dedicated to his memory took place, but Roger Waters performed separately from the group.

At the end of August 2007, Waters was hit by a car, resulting in a severe spinal fracture, concussion and other injuries. He was taken to the hospital, operated on, and is now recovering. Recently, a reconciliation between Roger Waters and David Gilmour took place, and according to unverified rumors, a reunion of the group in full could take place.

On September 3, 2007, Pink Floyd's first album, A piper at the gates of dawn, was re-released in honor of its fortieth anniversary. The edition includes 3 discs: a mono version of the album, a stereo version, early tracks as well as several scanned sheets from Syd Barrett's notebooks.

On September 15, 2008, at the age of 65, keyboardist Richard Wright died of cancer.

Pink Floyd show

Pink Floyd are known, among other things, for their incredible performances, combining visuals and music to create a show in which the musicians themselves almost fade into the background. In the early period of their creativity, Pink Floyd were practically the first group to use special equipment for light show in their presentations slides and video clips projected on a large circular screen. Later lasers, pyrotechnics, balloons and figures (most notably the huge inflatable pig that first appeared on the Animals album).

The biggest stage performance was for the album "The Wall", where several session musicians played the first song wearing rubber masks (showing that the band members were unknown as individuals); Then, during the first part of the show, workers gradually built a huge wall of cardboard boxes between the audience and the band, onto which Gerald Scarfe's cartoons were then projected, and at the end of the performance the wall collapsed. This show was later recreated by Waters with the help of many guest musicians, including Bryan Adams, the Scorpions and Van Morison, in 1990 among the ruins of the Berlin Wall.

Album illustrations

An integral part of the band's creativity for fans is album illustrations. Album covers and record sleeves provide an emotional boost to music through vibrant, meaningful visuals. Throughout the band's career, this aspect was primarily supported by the talent of photographer and designer Storm Thorgerson and his studio Hipgnosis. Suffice it to mention the famous images of a man shaking hands with his burning double (“Wish You Were Here”) and a prism with light passing through it (“Dark Side of the Moon”). Torgeson was involved in the design of all albums except The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (which had a cover photo by Vic Singh and a back cover art by Syd Barrett), and The Wall (which featured art by Syd Barrett). the band hired Gerald Scarfe) and "The Final Cut" (the cover was designed by Waters himself, using a photograph taken by his son-in-law Willie Christie).

Pink Floyd(Pink Floyd) are a British progressive/psychedelic rock band from Cambridge. Famous for its philosophical texts, acoustic experiments, innovations in album design and grandiose shows. It is one of the most successful in rock music, ranking seventh in the world in terms of the number of albums sold. Was founded in 1966, the last album (" The Division Bell") and tour took place in 1994. Last performance - July 2005.

The name "Pink Floyd" arose after a number of renamings of the groups "Sigma 6", "T-Set", "Meggadeaths", "The Screaming Abdabs", "The Architectural Abdabs" and "The Abdabs". Moreover, at first the group was called “The Pink Floyd Sound”, and only then simply “The Pink Floyd” (in honor of two blues musicians from Georgia - Pink Anderson and Floyd Council). The definite article "The" was dropped from the title by the time the band's first record was released.

The first line-up of Pink Floyd included London Architectural Institute classmates Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals), Roger Waters (bass guitar, vocals) and Nick Mason (drums) and their Cambridge friend Syd Barrett(vocals, guitar). At the beginning of their career, Pink Floyd was engaged in reworking rhythm and blues hits such as “Louie, Louie” (“Louie, Louie”). The group formed Blackhill Enterprises, a six-party business venture involving the four musicians and their managers, Peter Jenner and Andrew King.

The band's debut album, released in August 1967, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn"(The Piper at the Gates of Dawn) is considered the finest example of English psychedelic music. The tracks on this record showcase an eclectic musical mix, from the avant-garde "Interstellar Overdrive" to the whimsical "Scarecrow." , a melancholic song inspired by the rural landscapes surrounding Cambridge, the album was a success, peaking at number six in the UK charts.

However, not all members of Pink Floyd ( Pink Floyd) withstood the burden of success that fell on them. Drug use and constant performances broke the band's leader, Syd Barrett. His behavior became more and more unbearable, nervous breakdowns and psychoses were repeated more and more often, infuriating the rest of the group (especially Roger). It happened more than once that Sid simply “switched off”, “withdrew into himself” right at the concert. In January 1968, Roger and Syd's longtime acquaintance, guitarist David Gilmour, joined the band to replace Barrett. However, it was planned that Sid, although not performing, would continue to write songs for the group. Unfortunately, nothing came of this venture.

In April 1968, Barrett's "retirement" was formalized, but Jenner and King decided to stay with him. The six-party company Blackhill Enterprises has ceased operations.

Although Barrett wrote most of the material on the first album, the second album " A Saucerful of Secrets" ("A Saucer Full of Secrets"), released in June 1968, he composed only one entire song, "Jugband Blues." "A Saucerful of Secrets" took ninth place in the UK.

After the band wrote the soundtrack to the film in 1969, More" ("More"), directed by Barbet Schroeder, in the same year, 1969, the album "Ummagumma" was released, partly recorded in Birmingham, partly in Manchester. It was a double album, the first disc of which was the first (and for almost twenty years the only official ) a recording of the band's live performance, and the second was equally divided into four parts, according to the number of band members, and each of them recorded, in fact, their own mini-solo album. The album became the band's highest achievement at that time. It took fifth position in the British chart and entered the US hit list at number seventy.

In 1970, the album " Atom Heart Mother" ("Atom, Heart, Mother") and took first place in the UK. The group Pink Floyd (Pink Floyd) was growing musically, and now a choir and a symphony orchestra were needed to implement the ideas. The complex arrangement required the involvement of an outside specialist, which he became Ron Geesin: He wrote the intro to the title track as well as the album's orchestration.

A year later, in 1971, " Meddle" ("Intervention") is practically a twin of the previous one (in the form and length of the songs, but nothing in music, except that they did without an orchestra and choir). The second side of the disc was reserved for a 23-minute "epic sound poem" (as Waters called it ) entitled "Echoes" ("Echo"), where the group for the first time used 16-track tape recorders instead of the four- and eight-channel equipment that was used on "Atom Heart Mother", as well as Zinoviev's VCS3 synthesizer.

The album also included "One of These Days," a Pink Floyd live classic in which drummer Nick Mason promised in a horribly distorted voice that he would "cut you into little pieces." ), light and carefree "Fearless" and "San Tropez" and mischievous and hooligan "Seamus" (Seamus is the dog's name), where a Russian greyhound was invited to the vocal part. "Meddle" took third place in the British charts.

The band's lesser-known album was released in 1972, entitled " Obscured by Clouds"("Hidden by Clouds"), as a soundtrack to the film by Barbet Schroeder" La Vallee" ("Valley"). The album is one of Nick Mason's favorites. It's only number 46 in the US Top 50 and number six at home.

Album 1973" The Dark Side of the Moon"("The Far Side of the Moon") became the band's finest hour. It was a conceptual work, that is, the album was not just a collection of songs on one disc, but a work imbued with a single, connecting idea of ​​​​the pressure of the modern world on the human psyche.

The idea was a powerful catalyst for the group's creativity and together its members compiled a list of themes revealed in the album: the composition "On The Run" was about paranoia; "Time" described the approach of old age and the senseless waste of life; "The Great Gig In The Sky" (originally titled "Mortality Sequence") and "Religious Theme" are about death and religion; "Money" is about money that comes with fame and takes over a person; "Us And Them" talks about conflicts within society; "Brain Damage" is about madness. Thanks to the use of new 16-track recording equipment at Abbey Road Studios, almost nine months (a fantastically long time for that time!), which was spent on recording, and the efforts of engineer Alan Parsons, the album turned out to be unprecedented and entered the treasure trove of sound recordings of all time.

The single "Money" reached the top 20 in the US, the album went to number 1 (only number 2 in the UK) and remained in the US Top 200 for 741 weeks, including 591 consecutive weeks from 1973 to 1988, with several to first place. The album broke many records and became one of the best-selling albums of all time.

"Wish You Were Here" ("It's a Pity You're Not Here") was released in 1975 and featured alienation as its main theme. In addition to the title track, which has become a Pink Floyd classic, the album includes the critically acclaimed track "Shine on You Crazy Diamond." crazy diamond"), dedicated to Syd Barrett and his mental breakdown. In addition, the album includes "Welcome to the Machine" and "Have a Cigar", dedicated to the soulless showbiz businessmen.The album became number one in the UK and number two in America.

By the time the album was released " Animals"("Animals") in January 1977, the music of Pink Floyd (Pink Floyd) began to increasingly come under criticism from the emerging movement of punk rock for excessive "weakness" and arrogance, a departure from the simplicity of early rock and roll. The album contained three long main songs and two short ones that complement their content. The concept of the album was close to the meaning of George Orwell's book "Animal Farm". The album uses dogs, pigs and sheep as metaphors to describe or denounce members of modern society. The music of "Animals" is much more based use of guitars than previous albums, possibly due to increasing tension between Waters and Richard Wright, who did not contribute much to the album.

Rock opera " The Wall"("The Wall") was created almost entirely by Roger Waters and again received an enthusiastic reception from fans. The single from this album is "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" ("Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2"), touching on the issues teaching and education - hit No. 1 on the Christmas singles chart in the U.K. In addition to reaching No. 3 in the U.K., "The Wall" spent 15 weeks in the U.S. chart during 1980.

The album became very expensive during the writing process and brought in a lot of expenses due to large-scale shows, but record sales brought the group out of the financial crisis they were in. During the work on the album, Waters expanded his influence and strengthened his leadership role in the group's activities, giving rise to constant conflicts within it. For example, Waters tried to persuade the band members to fire Richard Wright, who had virtually no participation in the work on the album. Wright eventually took part in several concerts for a fixed fee.

Ironically, Richard was the only one who managed to earn any money from these concerts, since the rest of the group were forced to cover the exorbitant costs of the show." The Wall"The Wall was co-produced by Bob Ezrin, a friend of Roger Waters who co-wrote the song "The Trial." Waters later kicked him out of the Pink Floyd camp after Ezrin Inadvertently talked to a journalist relative about the album, and The Wall remained on the best-selling album list for 14 years.

In 1982, a full-length film was made based on the album - "Pink Floyd The Wall". The leading role of the rock star "Pink" starred the founder of the group "Boomtown Rats" and the future organizer of the festivals "Live Aid" and "Live 8" - Bob Geldof. The film's script was written by Waters, directed by Alan Parker, and animated by renowned animator Gerald Scarfe.

The film can be called provocative, since one of the main ideas was a protest against established ideals and the English passion for order. The film was also a definite manifesto in defense of rockers. After all, as you know, in the 1970s a person could be arrested only for wearing torn jeans or for having a mohawk on his head. The movie "The Wall" doesn't show any of the problems directly. The entire film is woven from allegories and symbols, for example, faceless teenagers who, one after another, fall into a meat grinder and turn into a homogeneous mass.

The making of the film was accompanied by a further deterioration in the relationship between the group's two strongest personalities: Waters and Gilmour.

In 1983 the album " The Final Cut" ("Final Cut" or "The Mortal Wound") subtitled "Pink Floyd's Requiem to Roger Waters' Post-War Dream." Darker than "The Wall," this album revisits many of its themes while also addressing issues that... were relevant and remain so to this day.

This included Waters' dissatisfaction and anger at Britain's involvement in the Falklands conflict - the composition "The Fletcher Memorial Home", where Fletcher is Waters' father Eric Fletcher. The theme of the track "Two Suns in the Sunset" is the fear of nuclear war. Wright's absence from recording the album resulted in some lack of keyboard effects typical of previous Pink Floyd works, although guest musicians Michael Kamen (piano and harmonium) and Andy Bown (band musician) Status Quo") made some contributions as keyboardists.

Among the musicians of the group " Pink Floyd"who took part in the recording of "The Final Cut", noted tenor saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft. Despite conflicting reviews of this album, "The Final Cut" was a success (N1 in the UK and N6 in the US), and soon upon release it went platinum.

The most hit compositions according to radio stations were "Gunner's Dream" and "Not Now John." Friction between Waters and Gilmour during the recording of the album was so strong that they never did not appear in the recording studio at the same time. The group did not tour with this album. Soon Waters officially announced his departure from the group.

After The Final Cut, the band members went their own ways, releasing solo albums until 1987, when Gilmour and Mason began reforming Pink Floyd. This gave rise to heated legal disputes with Roger Waters, who, after leaving the group in 1985, decided that the group could not exist without him anyway. However, Gilmour and Mason were able to prove that they had the right to continue their musical activities as a group." Pink Floyd"Waters at the same time retained some of the traditional images created by the group, including most of the props and characters from" Walls"and all rights to" The Final Cut".

As a result, Pink Floyd, led by David Gilmour, returned to the studio with producer Bob Ezrin. While working on the band's new album entitled " A Momentary Lapse of Reason" ("A Brief Loss of Sanity", N3 in both the UK and the USA) Richard Wright joined the band, first as a session musician with a weekly payment for his work, then as a full-fledged member until 1994. This year the last work of the Floyd was released " The Division Bell" ("Bell of Separation", N1 in the UK and USA) and the subsequent tour, which became the most profitable in the history of rock music to date.

All members of the group have released their own solo albums, achieving varying levels of popularity and commercial success. "Amused to Death" by Roger Waters was received most warmly by the public, but was still met with mixed reviews from critics.

Pink Floyd have not released studio material and there are no plans to do so in the near future. The only results of the group's work were the 1995 live album " PULSE"("Pulse"), live recording of "The Wall", compiled from concerts in 1980 and 1981" Is There Anybody out There? - The Wall Live 1980–81"("Is There Anybody Outside? The Wall Live, 1980–81") in 2000; a two-disc set containing the band's most significant hits" Echoes" (Echo) in 2001; 30th anniversary reissue of "Dark Side of the Moon" in 2003 (remixed on SACD by James Guthrie); reissue of "The Final Cut" in 2004 with added single "When the Tigers" Broke Free" ("When the tigers broke free").

Album " Echoes"has caused much controversy due to the fact that the songs flow into each other in a different order than on the original albums, significant parts of some have been torn out, and also because of the song sequence itself, which, according to fans, does not follow logic.

David Gilmour released a DVD of his solo concert in November 2002 David Gilmour in Concert"("David Gilmour in Concert"). It was compiled from recordings of shows from 22 June 2001 to 17 January 2002 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Richard Wright and Bob Geldof were invited on stage as guests .

Due to the fact that the band members are mostly involved in their own projects - for example, Mason wrote the book "Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd" (" Inside Out: The Personal History of Pink Floyd"), due to the death of Steve O" Rourke on October 30, 2003 - the band's manager for many years, due to David Gilmour's solo project (the album On an Island and the concert tour of the same name) - the future of the group is unclear .

Although on July 2, 2005, putting past differences aside for one evening, Pink Floyd performed with their classic line-up (Waters, Gilmour, Mason, Wright) at the worldwide show “Live 8”, dedicated to the fight against poverty.

Pink Floyd are known, among other things, for their incredible performances, combining visuals and music to create a show in which the musicians themselves almost fade into the background. In the early period of their creativity, Pink Floyd were practically the first group to use special equipment for a light show in their performances - slides and video clips projected on a large round screen.

Later lasers, pyrotechnics, balloons and figures were used (most notably the huge inflatable pig that first appeared on the album " Animals").

The largest performance on stage was associated with the album " The Wall", where several session musicians played the first song wearing rubber masks (showing that the band members were unknown as individuals); then, during the first part of the show, workers gradually built a huge wall of cardboard boxes between the audience and the band, onto which cartoons by Gerald Scarfe were then projected , and at the end of the performance the wall collapsed.

This show was later recreated by Waters with the help of many guest musicians, including Bryan Adams, the Scorpions and Van Morison, in 1990 among the ruins of the Berlin Wall.

("Led Zeppelin") they shaped the music of the 1960s. The album The Dark Side of the Moon became the best-selling album in the history of world music - the number of copies sold exceeds 45 million, and this figure is constantly growing.

History of creation and composition

Members of Pink Floyd are associated with early childhood. , Syd Barrett and attended neighboring schools in Cambridge. At the University of Westminster, at the Faculty of Architecture, Waters met Nick Mason and Richard Wright. It took several decades to understand: together they are the future composition of the legendary group.

The first to team up were Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright. Together with fellow students in 1963, they created the group Sigma 6. They played the repertoire of The Searchers and songs written by Ken Chapman, the band's manager. The main audience were students at private parties.

The autumn of the same year gave Sigma 6 two gifted musicians at once - instead of Mason, guitarist Bob Close moved into Waters' apartment, and then Syd Barrett visited London. Since 1964, when the group was renamed Tea Set (or T-Set), the three teenagers began to live together and rehearse for days on end.

Later it turned out that a group under the name Tea Set already existed. This is how The Pink Floyd Sound was born. The new name was formed from the names of two bluesmen - Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. The idea belonged to Syd Barrett.

At the end of 1964, the Floyd found themselves in a recording studio for the first time and created four compositions. The musicians often performed in bars, where Peter Jenner once noticed them. He was fascinated by acoustic effects and experimental sounds.

Jenner decided to help the group get promoted and arranged a couple of concerts in themed venues for the general public. He also recommended removing the word Sound and the article The from the name. This is how Pink Floyd first sounded.

Music

In January 1967, Floyds suddenly became popular. They released the single Arnold Layne, which instantly topped the charts. The work, written in the genre of psychedelic rock, is still included in the list of “The 50 Best British Songs of All Time” according to Mojo magazine. The same publication placed the track at number 56 on its list of “100 Records That Changed the World.”

Pink Floyd is considered the progenitor of psychedelic music as a genre, and the debut album The Piper at the Gates of Down, which was released in August 1967, became its standard. Teenagers unfamiliar with experimental rock were delighted with the cosmic song Interstellar Overdrive and the strange Scarecrow. Music critics were also pleased. The band's first album reached number six in the British charts.

The success that fell was not for everyone. Pink Floyd leader and songwriter Syd Barrett began taking drugs. Together with alcohol and exhausting touring, they made the musician unbearable and mentally unstable. In January 1968, guitarist David Gilmour was hired instead of him.

It was initially planned that Barrett, after undergoing therapy, would return to creativity and continue writing tracks for the group, but in April he finally left the Floyd. Further biography The musician had an unenviable life: he released two solo albums, which, however, did not find a response from critics, and then returned to his native Cambridge to his mother. He died on July 7, 2006 from pancreatic cancer.

The loss of a musical inspiration did not break Pink Floyd. The album Atom Heart Mother exceeded the expectations of the musicians and soared to number one in the UK chart. The track list named the stages of child development: Father's Shout, Breast Milky, Mother Fore, etc. To record this “story” the group the help of a choir and a symphony orchestra was required.

Floyd's music is full-fledged works of art, worthy of a place in the classic discography. For example, the 1971 album Meddle included an instrumental piece, a multi-movement suite, and Echoes, a 23-minute “epic sound poem,” as Waters called it. All four members of Pink Floyd had a hand in its creation. The composition entered the top 3 long-running songs of the group.

1973 was a triumphant year: the album The Dark Side of the Moon was released. According to Waters' idea, the compositions were to be united by a common theme. He proposed to take as a basis events and conditions that drive people to madness. After discussion, the musicians made a list: “tight deadlines, long trips, fear of flying, temptation of money, fear of death, mental stress” and so on. Waters took up writing poetry. By the way, The Dark Side of the Moon became the first record for which the lyrics were written by one person. The album includes 10 songs.

In 1975, the disc Wish You Were Here, dedicated to Syd Barrett, was released. Former member The group, as if sensing this, once came to the Floyd’s studio during recording. At first, none of his friends recognized him: he had gained a lot of weight and shaved his head and eyebrows. When the musicians realized who was in front of them, they were literally speechless - Barrett had become so impoverished and bloated.

The photo taken that day shows the man mad and lost. After that appearance at the studio, no one from the group met with Syd again until the funeral in 2006. Nevertheless, the album dedicated to him turned out to be impressive. It included the track Shine On You Crazy Diamond, which lasts 26 minutes.

The rock opera The Wall, written in 1979, has become a cult classic. Nowadays, young people are familiar with Pink Floyd mainly from this album and the track Another Brick in the Wall, Part II, which talks about the problems of education.

“The Wall” tells the story of Pink Floyd (born Floyd Pinkerton), who, from birth, built a thick wall between himself and society, brick by brick. He grew up without a father, under the yoke of a hysterical mother. The teachers added fuel to the fire, then the girls. As the opera progresses, Pink gets divorced, gets hooked on drugs, loses control of his aggression and goes crazy.

Touring in support of the opera turned out to be expensive. In each city, musicians staged a theatrical show, destroying a wall made of cardboard blocks 12 meters high. The concerts were accompanied by animated clips, created by 40 animators. The loss from this album amounted to about 400 thousand pounds sterling. To balance income and expenses, the film “Pink Floyd: The Wall” was shot in 1982.

During the recording of the album The Wall, problems began in the group: Waters proclaimed himself the leader and did not recognize the right of other soloists to write songs. During tour he lived separately from his now former friends and drove a separate car.

For some time Pink Floyd became solo project Waters, and in 1983 the album The Final Cut was released with the subtitle: "Requiem for Roger Waters' Post-War Dream, Performed by Pink Floyd." At these moments, the leader had a strong conflict with Gilmore, which led to Roger leaving the group.

Until 1986, the musicians were engaged in solo work, and then Gilmour and Mason tried to bring Pink Floyd back. Wright later joined them. Together they recorded two albums, which reached the top three of the British charts. After this, the group’s activities fell into “anabiosis.”

In 2005, four Floyds put aside their differences to play on the Live 8 show, dedicated to the fight against poverty. The group was offered £150 million to tour the US, but the members refused and returned to solo projects.

For their anniversary in 2015, they re-released some collections and albums. In August of the same year, David Gilmour officially announced the dissolution of Pink Floyd.

Pink Floyd now

Roger Waters released the album Is This the Life We Really Want? in 2017. It rose to number three in the UK. In 2018, the musician announced his intention to make a farewell tour with the show Us + Them.

In 2015, David Gilmour's solo album Rattle That Lock was released. It was followed by a short tour of Europe and America.

Nick Mason has retired from creativity. He lives in Los Angeles, plays golf, and is active on social media.

For example, when news of his death broke in March 2018, he tweeted, quoting famous phrase :

“In my opinion, reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Richard Wright died on September 15, 2008 from lung cancer. He was 65 years old. He did not have time to complete his fourth solo album.

Discography

• 1967 – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
• 1968 – A Saucerful of Secrets
• 1969 – Music from the Film More
• 1969 – Ummagumma
• 1970 – Atom Heart Mother
• 1971 – Meddle
• 1972 – Obscured by Clouds
• 1973 – The Dark Side of the Moon
• 1975 – Wish You Were Here
• 1977 – Animals
• 1979 – The Wall
• 1983 – The Final Cut
• 1987 – A Momentary Lapse of Reason
• 1994 – The Division Bell
• 2014 – The Endless River

Clips

• 1968 – Astronomy Domine
• 1968 – See Emily Play
• 1968 – Arnold Layne
• 1968 – The Scarecrow
• 1968 – Apples and Oranges
• 1971 – One of These Days
• 1973 – Money Wayne Isham
• 1975 – Welcome to the Machine
• 1979 – Another Brick in the Wall, Part II
• 1987 – Learning to Fly
• 1988 – On the Turning Away Lawrence Jordan
• 1994 – High Hopes
• 2014 – Marooned
• 2014 – Louder Than Words