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Pink Floyd

Ummagumma album cover

Pink Floyd is a British progressive band famous for its songwriting, harmonic classical rock compositions, bombastic style, striking album art and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd is one of rock's most successful acts, ranking seventh in number of albums sold worldwide.

History

Pink Floyd formed in 1964 from earlier bands whose names included Sigma 6, T-Set, Meggadeaths, The Screaming Abdabs, The Architectural Abdabs, and The Abdabs. The band was again renamed The Pink Floyd Sound and then simply The Pink Floyd (after two blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council). The definite article was dropped by the time their debut album was released.

Pink Floyd originally consisted of Bob Klose (lead guitar), Syd Barrett (vocals, rhythm guitar), Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals), Roger Waters (bass, vocals) and Nick Mason (drums). They covered rhythm and blues staples such as "Louie, Louie". As Barrett started writing tunes more influenced by American surf music, psychedelic rock, and British whimsy, humour and literature, the heavily jazz-oriented Klose departed and left a rather stable foursome. The band formed Blackhill Enterprises, a six-way business partnership with their managers, Peter Jenner and Andrew King.

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Released in 1967, the band's debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is considered to be a prime example of English psychedelic music. The album's tracks showcase an eclectic mixture of music, from the avant garde free form piece 'Interstellar Overdrive' to whimsical songs, such as 'Scarecrow', a melancholic song inspired by the Fenlands, the rural region surrounding Barrett's home town of Cambridge.

In 1968, guitarist David Gilmour joined the band to carry out the playing and singing duties of Barrett, whose mental health was deteriorating, but nevertheless was intended to remain as the band's figurehead and songwriter. With Barrett's behaviour becoming less and less predictable, and use of LSD almost constant, he became very unstable, often staring into space while the rest of the band performed. The band's live shows became increasingly ramshackle until, eventually, the other band members simply stopped taking him to the concerts.

Once Barrett's departure was formalised, Jenner and King decided to remain with him, and the six-way Blackhill partnership was dissolved.

Whilst Barrett had written the bulk of the first record, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), he contributed just one song 'Jugband Blues' to the second A Saucerful of Secrets (1968).

After the film soundtrack More, the next record, the double album Ummagumma (part recorded at Mothers Rock Club, Birmingham, and in Manchester in 1969), was a mix of live recordings and unchecked studio experimentation by the band members, with each recording half a side of vinyl as a solo project (Mason's wife makes an uncredited contribution as a flautist).

1970's Atom Heart Mother, a UK number one album, is somewhat dated and has been described by Gilmour as the sound of a band "blundering about in the dark". The title piece owes much to orchestration by Ron Geesin.

Meddle

The band's sound was considerably more focused on Meddle (1971), with the 23-minute epic "Echoes" (in this track the band used the Zinovieff's VCS3 synth for the first time) . This album also included the atmospheric "One of These Days" (a concert classic, with a distorted, disembodied one-line vocal, "One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces"-courtesy of drummer Nick Mason, his only released vocal performance) and the pop-jazz stylings of "San Tropez". Their taste for experimentation was expressed on "Seamus" (earlier, "Mademoiselle Nobs"), a pure-blues number featuring lead vocals by a Russian wolfhound.

A less-well-known album, Obscured By Clouds, was released in 1972, as the soundtrack for the film "La Vallee" and was the band's first US Top 50 album.

Despite their never having been a hit-single-driven group, their massively successful 1973 album, Dark Side of the Moon, featured a US number Top 20 track ("Money"), and more importantly remained in the top 100 for over a decade, breaking many records on the way, and making it one of the top selling albums of all time. Dark Side of the Moon was a concept album dealing with themes of insanity, neurosis and fame. Thanks to the use of new 16-track recording equipment at Abbey Road Studios and the investment of an enormous amount of time by engineer Alan Parsons, the album set new standards for sound fidelity.

Dark Side of the Moon

Dark Side of the Moon and the three following albums (Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall) are held up by some fans as the peak of Pink Floyd's career. The first of those, Wish You Were Here, released in 1975, is a theme album about absence. In addition to the classic title track, "Wish You Were Here" includes the critically acclaimed, mostly instrumental nine-part "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", a tribute to Barrett in which the lyrics deal explicitly with the aftermath of his breakdown. The album also includes the epics "Welcome to the Machine" and "Have a Cigar."

By 1977, and the release of Animals, the band's music came under increasing criticism from some quarters in the new punk rock sphere as being too flabby and pretentious, having lost its way from the simplicity of early rock and roll. Animals contained more lengthy songs tied to a theme, taken in part from George Orwell's Animal Farm, using pigs, dogs and sheep as metaphors for members of contemporary society. Animals was a lot more guitar-driven than the previous albums and marked the start of tensions between Waters and Wright.

The Wall

1979's epic rock opera, The Wall, conceived mainly by Waters, gave Pink Floyd renewed acclaim and another hit single with their foray into critical pedagogy - "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II." It also included "Comfortably Numb," which, though never released as a single, became a cornerstone of AOR and classic-rock radio playlists and is today one of the group's best-known songs. It is also one of a very small number of songs on Pink Floyd's first four concept albums not to segue at either the beginning or end. The album also became a vastly expensive and money-losing tour/stage show, although the album's sales got the band out of the financial hole they were in. During this time, Waters increased his artistic influence and leadership over the band, prompting frequent conflicts with the other members and even leading to the firing of Wright from the band. Wright returned, on a fixed wage, for the album's few live concerts. Ironically, he was the only member of Pink Floyd to make any money from the "Wall" shows, the rest having to cover the excessive costs. The album was co-produced by Bob Ezrin, a friend of Waters who shared songwriting credits on "The Trial" and whom Waters then kicked out of the Floyd camp after Ezrin inadvertently talked about the album to a journalist relative.

The Wall remained on best-selling-album lists for 14 years. A film entitled Pink Floyd The Wall starring Boomtown Rats founder Bob Geldof was adapted from it in 1982, written by Waters and directed by Alan Parker, and featuring striking animation by noted British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. The creation of the film saw a further deterioration of the Waters/Gilmour relationship, as Waters came to completely dominate the band.

1983 saw the release of The Final Cut. Even darker in tone than The Wall, this album re-examined many of the themes of that album while also addressing then-current events, including Waters' anger at Britain's participation in the Falklands War ("The Fletcher Memorial Home") and his cynicism toward, and fear of, nuclear war ("Two Suns in the Sunset"). Wright's absence meant this album lacked the keyboard effects seen in previous Floyd works, although guests Michael Kamen and Andy Bown both contributed keyboard work. Though released as a Pink Floyd album, the project was clearly dominated by Waters and became a prototype in sound and form for later Waters solo projects. Only moderately successful by Floyd standards, the album yielded only one rock radio hit, "Not Now John". The arguing between Waters and Gilmour by this stage was rumoured to be so bad that they were never seen in the recording studio simultaneously. There was no tour, and the band unofficially disbanded in 1983.

The Division Bell

After The Final Cut, the band members went their separate ways, each releasing solo albums, until 1987, when Gilmour and Mason began to revive the band. A bitter legal dispute with Roger Waters (who left the band in 1985) ensued, but Gilmour and Mason were upheld in their contention that they had the legal right to continue as Pink Floyd (Waters, however, gained the rights to some traditional Pink Floyd imagery, including almost all of the Wall props and characters and all of the rights to "The Final Cut"). The band under Gilmour returned to the studio with producer Bob Ezrin. Richard Wright re-joined during the recording sessions of A Momentary Lapse of Reason first as a session musician, paid a weekly salary, and later reinstated as a full-fledged member of the band for the 1994 release of The Division Bell and its subsequent tour, which was promoted by legendary Canadian concert impressario Michael Cohl and became the highest-grossing tour in rock history to that date.

All of the members of Pink Floyd have released solo albums which have met with varying degrees of commercial and critical success. Waters' Amused To Death was the most praised of these albums, though it was met with mixed reviews.

Live performances

Pink Floyd are renowned for their lavish stage shows, combining over-the-top visual experiences with their music to create a show in which the artists themselves are almost secondary. In their early days, Pink Floyd were among the first bands to use a dedicated traveling light show in conjunction with their performances, projecting slides, film clips, and psychedelic patterns onto a large circular screen (dubbed "Mr. Screen"). Later, additional special effects were added to the show, including lasers, pyrotechnics, and oversized balloons, notably a giant pig balloon which floated over the audience during performances of "Pigs" from the Animals album.

Pink Floyd mounted their most elaborate stage show in conjunction with the tour of The Wall, in which a band of session musicians played the first song, wearing rubber face masks (proving successfully that the members of the band were not known for their individual personalities). Later in the show, a huge wall was built between the audience and the band, being demolished, explosively, as the finale. This show was re-created (by Waters) and a number of guest artists (including Bryan Adams, The Scorpions, and Van Morrison) assembled around Roger Waters in 1990 amid the ruins of the Berlin Wall.

The lavish stage shows were also the basis for Douglas Adams' fictional rock group "Disaster Area" (creators of the loudest noise in the universe, and making use of solar-flares in their stage show) in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Douglas Adams was a personal friend of David Gilmour and made a one-off guest appearance, on guitar, on The Division Bell tour (October 28, 1994).

Recent activity

Pink Floyd have not released any new studio material since 1994's The Division Bell, and while they have not officially broken up, neither is there any sign of a new album. The only band activity since The Division Bell have been the 1995 live album P-U-L-S-E; a live version of The Wall, compiled from their 1980 and 1981 concerts, titled Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 2000; a two-disc set of their greatest hits called Echoes, in 2001; the 30th Anniversary Hybrid SACD reissue of "The Dark Side of the Moon" (2003); and a re-release of The Final Cut with the single "When the Tigers Broke Free" added (2004). Although rumours are spreading that the threesome Floyd have returned to the studio to make new material, there is no official news to back up any claims to date. Because the band members have gone on to work on various projects (drummer Nick Mason has written a book on his days with the band named "Inside Out" A Personal History of Pink Floyd), and because of the death of longtime manager Steve O' Rourke on October 30, 2003, the future of the band is uncertain.

The album Echoes caused some controversy because, on the album, songs segue into each other continuously in a different order than on their original albums and have sometimes had substantial parts removed from them; parts of the songs "Echoes", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Marooned" have been removed.

David Gilmour released a solo concert DVD, called David Gilmour in Concert, released in November 2002 and compiled from shows from June 22, 2001, and January 17, 2002, at The Royal Festival Hall in London. Rick Wright and Bob Geldof (Pink in The Wall film) make guest appearances.

In 2002 Q magazine named Pink Floyd as one of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die".

In 2004, it was announced that contracts had been signed for a Broadway musical version of The Wall, with extra music to be written by Waters. The broadway version will feature all of the music written by Waters. It is, however, unknown what will be done with the songs co-written by Gilmour (Young Lust, Comfortably Numb, and Run Like Hell). The show is estimated to be complete by mid 2005.

The images of Pink Floyd

Rolling Stone Magazine has called the cover to Wish You Were Here one of the best album covers ever created.

Integral to the music is the artwork which comes with it. The album covers and sleeve artwork add the emotional impact of the music with vivid and meaningful imagery. Throughout the band's career, this aspect was mainly provided by the talents of photographer and graphic artist Storm Thorgerson. Many of these images have acquired fame in their own right; notably the famous picture of a man shaking the hand of his burning alter-ego for Wish You Were Here and the refracting prism for Dark Side of the Moon. In fact, Thorgerson was involved in all the artwork for every album except for The Wall, for which the band employed Gerald Scarfe, and The Final Cut, the cover of which was designed by Waters himself, using photography made by his then brother-in-law, Willie Christie.

Discography

Studio Albums

  1. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
  2. A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
  3. Ummagumma (1969) (2LP, live and studio)
  4. Atom Heart Mother (1970)
  5. Meddle (1971)
  6. Relics (1971) (out-takes and b-sides)
  7. Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
  8. Wish You Were Here (1975)
  9. Animals (1977)
  10. The Wall (1979) (2LP)
  11. The Final Cut (1983)
  12. A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987)
  13. The Division Bell (1994)
  14. Dark Side of the Moon (30th anniversary edition) (2003)
  15. The Final Cut - Reissue (2004)

Soundtack albums

  • Music From the Film More (1969)
  • Zabriskie Point (1970) (soundtrack; various artists)]
  • Obscured By Clouds (1972)

Compilations

  • Masters of Rock (1973 or 1974) (compilation)
  • A Nice Pair (1973) (compilation)
  • A Collection of Great Dance Songs (1981) (compilation)
  • Works (1983) (compilation)
  • Shine On (1992) (compilation, CD box set)
  • Echoes (2001) (2CD best-of compilation)

Lives and Concerts

  • Tonite Let's all make Love in London (1967)
  • Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988) (live, also on VHS)
  • London '66-'67 (1995, not sanctioned by the band)
  • P-U-L-S-E (1995) (2CD, live, also on VHS)
  • Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81 (2000) (live)
  • Live at Pompeii: Directors Cut (2003) (DVD with live performance pre-DSOTM; previously available on video cassette, laserdisc, and video CD)

In the mid-Nineties, several people (supposedly including Trent Reznor and Jim Cauty of the KLF) released bootleg trance remixes of More, Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, Obscured By Clouds, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here (which was later reissued), Animals, The Wall, A Collection of Great Dance Songs, The Final Cut, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and The Division Bell.

Bibliography

  • For about ten years from 1982, a fanzine, "The Amazing Pudding" documented the band's activities.

Tribute bands

A multitude of tribute bands for Pink Floyd appeared in the 1990s. They include:

  • Pig Floyd http://pigfloyd.com
  • Which One's Pink? (http://whichonespink.com/)
  • The Australian Pink Floyd Show
  • The Machine
  • The Great Gig in the Sky
  • The Pink Floyd Experience
  • Think Floyd
  • Pink Void
  • Off The Wall (http://offthewall.info/)
  • Pink Froyd
  • Final Cut (German Band)
  • Floydian Slip

In addition, Easy Star All-Stars have recorded a reggae/trip hop 'tribute' to Dark Side of the Moon entitled Dub Side of the Moon [1] (http://www.easystar.com/dubsidemain.html)

Also Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade recorded a complete live performance of the Pink Floyd classic album, Animals on a CD titled Live Frogs Set 2 [2] (http://www.clubbastardo.com/music.html)

Luther Wright and the Wrongs made a country/bluegrass version of The Wall titled Rebuild the Wall (http://www.lutherwright.com/thewall.php)

Other bands like KoRn, Dream Theater, Velvet Revolver, PROBOT, Kittie, Mushroomhead, Type O Negative, System of a Down, Stone Temple Pilots, David Bowie, Unified Theory, Class of 99 and Wyclef Jean have recorded covers of Pink Floyd


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Other bands like KoRn, Dream Theater, Velvet Revolver, PROBOT, Kittie, Mushroomhead, Type O Negative, System of a Down, Stone Temple Pilots, David Bowie, Unified Theory, Class of 99 and Wyclef Jean have recorded covers of Pink Floyd.
. Luther Wright and the Wrongs made a country/bluegrass version of The Wall titled Rebuild the Wall (http://www.lutherwright.com/thewall.php). currently are touring outside of the United States on their world tour, which is currently to end in July 2005 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Also Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade recorded a complete live performance of the Pink Floyd classic album, Animals on a CD titled Live Frogs Set 2 [2] (http://www.clubbastardo.com/music.html). R.E.M. In addition, Easy Star All-Stars have recorded a reggae/trip hop 'tribute' to Dark Side of the Moon entitled Dub Side of the Moon [1] (http://www.easystar.com/dubsidemain.html). are currently using drummer Bill Rieflin on Around the Sun and the tour, and his drums may help a 2006 release.

They include:. Not replacing Berry, R.E.M. A multitude of tribute bands for Pink Floyd appeared in the 1990s. Currently, there have been two songs played live supposedly on the next album, rumored for a 2006 release; "I'm Gonna D.J.", the catchy rocking song with multiple guitars, and "Weatherman", played once live and then stopped due to the 'lyrics not fitting the song'. In the mid-Nineties, several people (supposedly including Trent Reznor and Jim Cauty of the KLF) released bootleg trance remixes of More, Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, Obscured By Clouds, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here (which was later reissued), Animals, The Wall, A Collection of Great Dance Songs, The Final Cut, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and The Division Bell. In the same interview, Michael Stipe said he has lyrics to three new songs on his cell phone and one is almost complete and may be debuted live. In fact, Thorgerson was involved in all the artwork for every album except for The Wall, for which the band employed Gerald Scarfe, and The Final Cut, the cover of which was designed by Waters himself, using photography made by his then brother-in-law, Willie Christie. after the two albums left on their contract.

Many of these images have acquired fame in their own right; notably the famous picture of a man shaking the hand of his burning alter-ego for Wish You Were Here and the refracting prism for Dark Side of the Moon. In a recent interview, Peter Buck said that their next album would be very different from current R.E.M., and based on the single "I'm Gonna DJ", played live on the 2004-2005 world tour, we can expect it to be another rock album, which, if successful, could possibly lead to Warner resigning R.E.M. Throughout the band's career, this aspect was mainly provided by the talents of photographer and graphic artist Storm Thorgerson. "Electron Blue," the third single from the Around the Sun album, has been getting much airplay in the UK. The album covers and sleeve artwork add the emotional impact of the music with vivid and meaningful imagery. needed to cancel shows, on account of Mike Mills's flu and ear infection. Integral to the music is the artwork which comes with it. Singles from this album include "Leaving New York" and "Aftermath". R.E.M.'s Around the Sun World Tour is the first tour since the infamous Monster Tour that R.E.M.

The show is estimated to be complete by mid 2005. In 2004, the band returned with Around the Sun, which once again met with generally only mild critical praise. It is, however, unknown what will be done with the songs co-written by Gilmour (Young Lust, Comfortably Numb, and Run Like Hell). soundtrack appearances have found them revisiting some of their earliest material, hitherto available only on live bootlegs; their single, "Bad Day" (2003), was the prototype for "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," with some of the same lyrics. The broadway version will feature all of the music written by Waters. Recent R.E.M. In 2004, it was announced that contracts had been signed for a Broadway musical version of The Wall, with extra music to be written by Waters. The album gained mixed reviews.

In 2002 Q magazine named Pink Floyd as one of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". 2001's Reveal, confirms the return to an even mellower songwriting approach, with songs such as "Imitation of Life," "All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)," and "She Just Wants To Be" garnering some radio play. Rick Wright and Bob Geldof (Pink in The Wall film) make guest appearances. The band was no longer selling well in United States, though in Europe they stayed popular. David Gilmour released a solo concert DVD, called David Gilmour in Concert, released in November 2002 and compiled from shows from June 22, 2001, and January 17, 2002, at The Royal Festival Hall in London. After Berry's departure, the band returned with Krautrock-influenced Up (1998), another long and reflective record, with the lead single "Daysleeper." Many tracks contained drum machines, and Peter Buck played guitar only a little. The album Echoes caused some controversy because, on the album, songs segue into each other continuously in a different order than on their original albums and have sometimes had substantial parts removed from them; parts of the songs "Echoes", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Marooned" have been removed. Other notable tracks on that record include "E-Bow the Letter" (a collaboration with the legendary Patti Smith) and the intense western-themed rock of "Low Desert." The band re-signed with Warner Brothers in 1996 for the largest recording contract advance in history: 80 million dollars for 5 albums.

Because the band members have gone on to work on various projects (drummer Nick Mason has written a book on his days with the band named "Inside Out" A Personal History of Pink Floyd), and because of the death of longtime manager Steve O' Rourke on October 30, 2003, the future of the band is uncertain. While on this tour the band recorded the album New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996), a long, roughly produced and decidedly bleak record which featured, in the seven-minute "Leave," perhaps the band's most intense song. Although rumours are spreading that the threesome Floyd have returned to the studio to make new material, there is no official news to back up any claims to date. The album was followed by a massive tour during which drummer Bill Berry suffered a brain hemorrhage on stage, which would eventually lead to his leaving the band. The only band activity since The Division Bell have been the 1995 live album P-U-L-S-E; a live version of The Wall, compiled from their 1980 and 1981 concerts, titled Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 2000; a two-disc set of their greatest hits called Echoes, in 2001; the 30th Anniversary Hybrid SACD reissue of "The Dark Side of the Moon" (2003); and a re-release of The Final Cut with the single "When the Tigers Broke Free" added (2004). The band's 1994 release, the grunge-influenced Monster, including "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?," proved to be a crossover hit and their best selling album to date, though many critics disliked the band's foray into glam rock. Pink Floyd have not released any new studio material since 1994's The Division Bell, and while they have not officially broken up, neither is there any sign of a new album. These two critically acclaimed albums featured hit singles including "Losing My Religion," "Shiny Happy People," "Everybody Hurts," and "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite." Out of Time also includes emotional, contemplative tracks such as "Belong," "Half A World Away," and "Country Feedback." On Automatic, the band developed a reserved, meditative sound that took them back to their roots, and the record's 15 million copies were sold in spite of such melancholy themes as death, suicide, and sexual jealousy.

Douglas Adams was a personal friend of David Gilmour and made a one-off guest appearance, on guitar, on The Division Bell tour (October 28, 1994). Their next records, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), were both international hits, despite the fact that R.E.M. did not tour for either album. The lavish stage shows were also the basis for Douglas Adams' fictional rock group "Disaster Area" (creators of the loudest noise in the universe, and making use of solar-flares in their stage show) in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. recorded with Warren Zevon as the Hindu Love Gods. This show was re-created (by Waters) and a number of guest artists (including Bryan Adams, The Scorpions, and Van Morrison) assembled around Roger Waters in 1990 amid the ruins of the Berlin Wall. In 1990, most of R.E.M. Later in the show, a huge wall was built between the audience and the band, being demolished, explosively, as the finale. had become too commercial and that the quality of the music had decreased, but the band had now been brought to international attention.

Pink Floyd mounted their most elaborate stage show in conjunction with the tour of The Wall, in which a band of session musicians played the first song, wearing rubber face masks (proving successfully that the members of the band were not known for their individual personalities). days complained that R.E.M. Later, additional special effects were added to the show, including lasers, pyrotechnics, and oversized balloons, notably a giant pig balloon which floated over the audience during performances of "Pigs" from the Animals album. Some fans from the I.R.S. Screen"). This was the band's first time with heavy promotion, and they toured stadiums extensively in 1989. In their early days, Pink Floyd were among the first bands to use a dedicated traveling light show in conjunction with their performances, projecting slides, film clips, and psychedelic patterns onto a large circular screen (dubbed "Mr. signed to the major label Warner Brothers and released Green.

Pink Floyd are renowned for their lavish stage shows, combining over-the-top visual experiences with their music to create a show in which the artists themselves are almost secondary. In 1988 R.E.M. Waters' Amused To Death was the most praised of these albums, though it was met with mixed reviews. The compilation contains several alternative versions and mixes of songs. All of the members of Pink Floyd have released solo albums which have met with varying degrees of commercial and critical success. The album is described in the liner notes as "A little bit of uh-huh and a whole lot of oh-yeah." The band's early years are summarized in the compilation Eponymous, released in 1988. Richard Wright re-joined during the recording sessions of A Momentary Lapse of Reason first as a session musician, paid a weekly salary, and later reinstated as a full-fledged member of the band for the 1994 release of The Division Bell and its subsequent tour, which was promoted by legendary Canadian concert impressario Michael Cohl and became the highest-grossing tour in rock history to that date. Highlights include three Velvet Underground covers, an Aerosmith cover, an uncommissioned commercial for a barbecue restaurant in Athens, and a boozy version of "King of the Road." The CD also has the EP Chronic Town at the end.

The band under Gilmour returned to the studio with producer Bob Ezrin. Dead Letter Office (1987) was a collection of B-sides and outtakes. A bitter legal dispute with Roger Waters (who left the band in 1985) ensued, but Gilmour and Mason were upheld in their contention that they had the legal right to continue as Pink Floyd (Waters, however, gained the rights to some traditional Pink Floyd imagery, including almost all of the Wall props and characters and all of the rights to "The Final Cut"). "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" recalls the rapid-fire lyrical style of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and can be described as pre-apocalyptic. After The Final Cut, the band members went their separate ways, each releasing solo albums, until 1987, when Gilmour and Mason began to revive the band. The popularity of this song of grim satisfaction over the end of an unhappy relationship was due mainly, however, to its misinterpretation as a love song. There was no tour, and the band unofficially disbanded in 1983. 9 on the American pop charts.

The arguing between Waters and Gilmour by this stage was rumoured to be so bad that they were never seen in the recording studio simultaneously. Document (1987) was their last album for the indie record label I.R.S., and provided their first major hit with "The One I Love," which reached No. Only moderately successful by Floyd standards, the album yielded only one rock radio hit, "Not Now John". In many ways, this album marked the end of the first period in the band's history. Though released as a Pink Floyd album, the project was clearly dominated by Waters and became a prototype in sound and form for later Waters solo projects. Ironically, the 'hit' from the album, "Superman," was a cover song that didn't appear on the original album cover. Wright's absence meant this album lacked the keyboard effects seen in previous Floyd works, although guests Michael Kamen and Andy Bown both contributed keyboard work. "Cuyahoga" is about the river in Ohio that caught fire due to pollution.

Even darker in tone than The Wall, this album re-examined many of the themes of that album while also addressing then-current events, including Waters' anger at Britain's participation in the Falklands War ("The Fletcher Memorial Home") and his cynicism toward, and fear of, nuclear war ("Two Suns in the Sunset"). The lyrics were becoming both more intelligible and more direct, with political themes appearing more explicitly ("Begin the Begin," "Flowers of Guatemala," "Hyena"). 1983 saw the release of The Final Cut. The songs are upbeat, the tempo is fast; this is a fairly hard-rocking album. The creation of the film saw a further deterioration of the Waters/Gilmour relationship, as Waters came to completely dominate the band. But that's all part of life's rich pageant, you know."). A film entitled Pink Floyd The Wall starring Boomtown Rats founder Bob Geldof was adapted from it in 1982, written by Waters and directed by Alan Parker, and featuring striking animation by noted British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. The next album, Lifes Rich Pageant (sic) (1986), takes its name from a Pink Panther movie ("You'll catch your death of cold!" "Yes, I probably will.

The Wall remained on best-selling-album lists for 14 years. practically defined college rock by this time. The album was co-produced by Bob Ezrin, a friend of Waters who shared songwriting credits on "The Trial" and whom Waters then kicked out of the Floyd camp after Ezrin inadvertently talked about the album to a journalist relative. R.E.M. Ironically, he was the only member of Pink Floyd to make any money from the "Wall" shows, the rest having to cover the excessive costs. were critically acclaimed, and the video for "Can't Get There from Here" was played frequently on MTV. Wright returned, on a fixed wage, for the album's few live concerts. By the time this album was released, R.E.M.

During this time, Waters increased his artistic influence and leadership over the band, prompting frequent conflicts with the other members and even leading to the firing of Wright from the band. "Kohoutek," their first song about a romantic relationship, compares the fizzled comet of 1973 to a fizzled romance. The album also became a vastly expensive and money-losing tour/stage show, although the album's sales got the band out of the financial hole they were in. The source of the title of "Can't Get There from Here" is a curious phrase heard when asking directions in a rural area. It is also one of a very small number of songs on Pink Floyd's first four concept albums not to segue at either the beginning or end. Trains are a frequent topic of Southern music; they epitomize the freedom and promise of an escape from one's home environment. 1979's epic rock opera, The Wall, conceived mainly by Waters, gave Pink Floyd renewed acclaim and another hit single with their foray into critical pedagogy - "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II." It also included "Comfortably Numb," which, though never released as a single, became a cornerstone of AOR and classic-rock radio playlists and is today one of the group's best-known songs. "Driver 8" is a song about the scenery surrounding railroad tracks.

Animals was a lot more guitar-driven than the previous albums and marked the start of tensions between Waters and Wright. A celebration of an eccentric individual is the subject of no less than four songs on the album ("Maps and Legends," "Life and How to Live It," "Old Man Kensey," "Wendell Gee"). Animals contained more lengthy songs tied to a theme, taken in part from George Orwell's Animal Farm, using pigs, dogs and sheep as metaphors for members of contemporary society. Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) explores the mythology of the southern United States. By 1977, and the release of Animals, the band's music came under increasing criticism from some quarters in the new punk rock sphere as being too flabby and pretentious, having lost its way from the simplicity of early rock and roll. The final song, "Little America," is written about driving through rural America ("another Greenville, another Magic Mart (http://www.magicmartstores.com/)"), and serves as a prelude to the Southern themes on the subsequent album. The album also includes the epics "Welcome to the Machine" and "Have a Cigar.". The jangling guitars and beautiful melodies obscure the dark lyrics.

In addition to the classic title track, "Wish You Were Here" includes the critically acclaimed, mostly instrumental nine-part "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", a tribute to Barrett in which the lyrics deal explicitly with the aftermath of his breakdown. Song topics include cold weather, a fairy tale of brothers with magical powers and a flood, along with five laments of separation. The first of those, Wish You Were Here, released in 1975, is a theme album about absence. R.E.M.'s second album, Reckoning (1984), explored a variety of musical styles. Dark Side of the Moon and the three following albums (Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall) are held up by some fans as the peak of Pink Floyd's career. The dark mood is broken by two brighter, more hopeful songs, "Sitting Still," and "Shaking Through", marked by the return of arpeggio and jangling guitars. Thanks to the use of new 16-track recording equipment at Abbey Road Studios and the investment of an enormous amount of time by engineer Alan Parsons, the album set new standards for sound fidelity. The mood is grey - "Rest assured this will not last, take a turn for the worst", "martyred, misconstrued", "Not everyone can carry the weight of the world", "lies and conversation, fear".

Dark Side of the Moon was a concept album dealing with themes of insanity, neurosis and fame. Evocative words are used to create a mood instead of a narrative. Despite their never having been a hit-single-driven group, their massively successful 1973 album, Dark Side of the Moon, featured a US number Top 20 track ("Money"), and more importantly remained in the top 100 for over a decade, breaking many records on the way, and making it one of the top selling albums of all time. The songs on the album blend together. A less-well-known album, Obscured By Clouds, was released in 1972, as the soundtrack for the film "La Vallee" and was the band's first US Top 50 album. The melody is found in the bass notes, and the lyrics are practically indecipherable. Their taste for experimentation was expressed on "Seamus" (earlier, "Mademoiselle Nobs"), a pure-blues number featuring lead vocals by a Russian wolfhound. The jangling guitars, so prominent on Chronic Town, are used more sparingly.

This album also included the atmospheric "One of These Days" (a concert classic, with a distorted, disembodied one-line vocal, "One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces"-courtesy of drummer Nick Mason, his only released vocal performance) and the pop-jazz stylings of "San Tropez". The album is stylistically unified. The band's sound was considerably more focused on Meddle (1971), with the 23-minute epic "Echoes" (in this track the band used the Zinovieff's VCS3 synth for the first time) . Their debut album, Murmur (1983), is held to be one of the best records of the 1980s. The title piece owes much to orchestration by Ron Geesin. Their debut EP, Chronic Town (1982), illustrated R.E.M.'s signature musical style: jangling guitars, chords played in arpeggio, murmured vocals, and lyrics that completely avoid the standard topics of popular music - love and relationships. 1970's Atom Heart Mother, a UK number one album, is somewhat dated and has been described by Gilmour as the sound of a band "blundering about in the dark". was one of the world's most popular, respected, and influential bands.

After the film soundtrack More, the next record, the double album Ummagumma (part recorded at Mothers Rock Club, Birmingham, and in Manchester in 1969), was a mix of live recordings and unchecked studio experimentation by the band members, with each recording half a side of vinyl as a solo project (Mason's wife makes an uncredited contribution as a flautist). By the early '90s, R.E.M. Whilst Barrett had written the bulk of the first record, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), he contributed just one song 'Jugband Blues' to the second A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). Throughout the 1980s, while signed to the independent label I.R.S., they achieved a growing cult status due mainly to Stipe's obscure (and sometimes inaudible and unintelligible) lyrics and the band's sound, most noticeably influenced by The Byrds. Once Barrett's departure was formalised, Jenner and King decided to remain with him, and the six-way Blackhill partnership was dissolved. R.E.M. is a rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by Michael Stipe (vocals), Bill Berry (drums), Peter Buck (guitar), and Mike Mills (bass). The band's live shows became increasingly ramshackle until, eventually, the other band members simply stopped taking him to the concerts. Lyric Annotations FAQ (http://www.flim.com/remlafaq.html).

With Barrett's behaviour becoming less and less predictable, and use of LSD almost constant, he became very unstable, often staring into space while the rest of the band performed. R.E.M. In 1968, guitarist David Gilmour joined the band to carry out the playing and singing duties of Barrett, whose mental health was deteriorating, but nevertheless was intended to remain as the band's figurehead and songwriter. rec.music.rem FAQ (http://people2.clarityconnect.com/webpages6/ronhenry/remfaq.htm). The album's tracks showcase an eclectic mixture of music, from the avant garde free form piece 'Interstellar Overdrive' to whimsical songs, such as 'Scarecrow', a melancholic song inspired by the Fenlands, the rural region surrounding Barrett's home town of Cambridge. Forum (http://www.myrem.com). Released in 1967, the band's debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is considered to be a prime example of English psychedelic music. 2nd Largest R.E.M.

The band formed Blackhill Enterprises, a six-way business partnership with their managers, Peter Jenner and Andrew King. Page (http://www.retroweb.com/rem.html). They covered rhythm and blues staples such as "Louie, Louie". As Barrett started writing tunes more influenced by American surf music, psychedelic rock, and British whimsy, humour and literature, the heavily jazz-oriented Klose departed and left a rather stable foursome. - The RetroWeb R.E.M. Pink Floyd originally consisted of Bob Klose (lead guitar), Syd Barrett (vocals, rhythm guitar), Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals), Roger Waters (bass, vocals) and Nick Mason (drums). File Under R.E.M. The definite article was dropped by the time their debut album was released. Rock (http://www.remrock.com/).

The band was again renamed The Pink Floyd Sound and then simply The Pink Floyd (after two blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council). R.E.M. Pink Floyd formed in 1964 from earlier bands whose names included Sigma 6, T-Set, Meggadeaths, The Screaming Abdabs, The Architectural Abdabs, and The Abdabs. Collector's Guide (http://www.svs.com/rem/). Pink Floyd is one of rock's most successful acts, ranking seventh in number of albums sold worldwide. The R.E.M. Pink Floyd is a British progressive band famous for its songwriting, harmonic classical rock compositions, bombastic style, striking album art and elaborate live shows. news & multimedia (http://www.remison.com/).

Floydian Slip. R.E.M. Final Cut (German Band). fan site (http://www.rem-fan.com/). Pink Froyd. R.E.M. Off The Wall (http://offthewall.info/). forum (http://www.murmurs.com/).

Pink Void. news, multimedia, file sharing & largest R.E.M. Think Floyd. Murmurs : R.E.M. The Pink Floyd Experience. website (http://www.remhq.com/). The Great Gig in the Sky. Official R.E.M.

The Machine. 2005 "Electron Blue" #26 UK. The Australian Pink Floyd Show. 2004 "Aftermath" #41 UK. Which One's Pink? (http://whichonespink.com/). 2004 "Leaving New York" #5 UK. Pig Floyd http://pigfloyd.com. 2004 "Animal" #33 UK.

For about ten years from 1982, a fanzine, "The Amazing Pudding" documented the band's activities. 2003 "Bad Day" #8 UK. Live at Pompeii: Directors Cut (2003) (DVD with live performance pre-DSOTM; previously available on video cassette, laserdisc, and video CD). 2001 "I'll Take the Rain" #51 UK. Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81 (2000) (live). 2001 "All the Way to Reno" #24 UK. P-U-L-S-E (1995) (2CD, live, also on VHS). 2001 "Imitation of Life" #83 US; #6 UK.

London '66-'67 (1995, not sanctioned by the band). 2000 "The Great Beyond" #57 US; #3 UK. Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988) (live, also on VHS). 1999 "At My Most Beautiful" #10 UK. Tonite Let's all make Love in London (1967). 1998 "Lotus" #26 UK. Echoes (2001) (2CD best-of compilation). 1998 "Daysleeper" #57 US; #6 UK.

Shine On (1992) (compilation, CD box set). 1996 "Electrolite" #96 US; #29 UK. Works (1983) (compilation). 1996 "Bittersweet Me" #46 US; #19 UK. A Collection of Great Dance Songs (1981) (compilation). 1996 "E-Bow the Letter" #4 UK. A Nice Pair (1973) (compilation). 1995 "Tongue" #13 UK.

Masters of Rock (1973 or 1974) (compilation). 1995 "Strange Currencies" #47 US; #9 UK. Obscured By Clouds (1972). 1995 "Crush with Eyeliner" #23 UK. Zabriskie Point (1970) (soundtrack; various artists)]. 1994 "Bang and Blame" #19 US; #15 UK. Music From the Film More (1969). 1994 "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" #21 US; #9 UK.

The Final Cut - Reissue (2004). 1993 "Nightswimming" #27 UK. Dark Side of the Moon (30th anniversary edition) (2003). 1993 "Everybody Hurts" #29 US; #7 UK. The Division Bell (1994). 1993 "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" #17 UK. A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987). 1993 "Man on the Moon" #30 US; #18 UK.

The Final Cut (1983). 1992 "Drive" #28 US; #11 UK. The Wall (1979) (2LP). 1991 "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" #39 UK; #69 US (1988). Animals (1977). 1991 "Radio Song" #28 UK. Wish You Were Here (1975). 1991 "The One I Love" (re-issue) #16 UK.

Dark Side of the Moon (1973). 1991 "Near Wild Heaven" #27 UK. Relics (1971) (out-takes and b-sides). 1991 "Shiny Happy People" #10 US; #6 UK. Meddle (1971). 1991 "Losing My Religion" #4 US, #19 UK. Atom Heart Mother (1970). 1989 "Pop Song 89" #86 US.

Ummagumma (1969) (2LP, live and studio). 1989 "Orange Crush" #28 UK. A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). 1989 "Stand" #6 US. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). 1987 "The One I Love" #9 US. 1986 "Fall On Me" #94 US.

1984 "South Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" #85 US. 1983 "Radio Free Europe" #78 US. 1988-2003 (compilation) (2003); #1 UK, #8 US. In Time - The Best of R.E.M.

R.E.M.IX (Web Only Remixes). In The Attic (rarities compilation) (1997). R.E.M. Singles Collected (1994);.

The Best of R.E.M. (1991); #7 UK. Eponymous (compilation) (1988) #44 US. Around the Sun (2004); #1 UK, #13 US. Reveal (2001); #1 UK, #6 US.

Up (1998); #2 UK, #3 US. New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996); #1 UK, #2 US. Monster (1994); #1 UK, #1 US. Automatic for the People (1992); #1 UK, #2 US.

Out of Time (1991); #1 UK, #1 US. Green (1988); #27 UK, #12 US. Document (1987); #28 UK, #10 US. Chronic Town EP) (1987) #52 US.

Dead Letter Office (outtakes and b-sides, incl. Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) #21 US. Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) #28 US, #35 UK. Reckoning (1984); #27 US.

Murmur (1983); #178 US. Chronic Town EP (1982). Download sample of "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" from Monster. "Losing My Religion" may have been the biggest hit song that uses a mandolin as the main instrument.

They started out as Twisted Kites for the first show they played at a party, but, according to "It Crawled From the South," considered Negro Eyes, Slut Bank, and Cans of Piss before settling for R.E.M. They liked the name because it was so ambiguous. out of the dictionary. The band members picked the name R.E.M.