Pink Floyd band - composition, photos, videos, listen to songs. Legendary British rock band Pink Floyd: history and collapse

Pink Floyd- legendary British musical group, whose creativity is different periods can be classified as psychedelic, progressive and art rock, but any Pink Floyd record is much broader than any genre definition.

Starting out as an acid band in the 60s, Pink Floyd quickly became stars of the rock scene and influenced many musicians - from David Bowie to Queen and Radiohead. In each of their albums they experimented with sound, while at the same time emphasizing a strong guitar solo. Most of Pink Floyd's records are united by a single concept, with large-scale shows They toured the whole world more than once for their albums.

The history of the creation of Pink Floyd

In 1965, university friends Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright, passionate about music, formed a group called T-set. The guys studied architecture at the London Polytechnic Institute, which did not bother them at all free time dedicate to music. For several months (until July 1965), the band's rhythm guitarist was Rado "Bob" Klose. A little later, they were joined by their Cambridge friend Sid Barrett, who became the author of most of the compositions of the newly formed group and the frontman of the group. It was he who proposed changing the name to Pink Floyd, combining the names of his favorite bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

At first, the group played classic rhythm and blues, but Barrett was a great hunter of creative experiments, which was clearly felt in the pronounced psychedelic sound of some of his compositions. Sometimes some extraneous sounds were added to the songs, the composition could suddenly be interrupted in the middle, and the audience sat in bewilderment for several seconds in complete silence.

The band's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was written entirely by Syd Barrett and was released in 1967. It is still considered one of the best examples psychedelic music, and in the year of release it immediately took sixth position in the English charts. But not everyone coped with the unexpected popularity - Steve Barrett, whose psyche was already too vulnerable from the regular use of mind-expanding drugs and mild schizophrenia, began to behave inappropriately at concerts and terribly irritate other musicians with his behavior.

Pink Floyd without Syd Barrett

The following year, he was replaced by David Gilmour, although the other musicians still hoped that Sid would continue to write songs for the group. But all his new compositions, written under the influence of drugs, were increasingly reminiscent of random set sounds and to an unprepared public were perceived simply as some kind of crazy cacophony. In April 1968, Barrett left the group for good, after which he tried unsuccessfully to start solo career and organize own team. After that, he returned to his mother in his native Cambridge, where he lived as a hermit until he died of cancer in 2006.

In the summer of 1968, the group’s second album, “A Saucerful of Secrets,” was released, which the musicians began recording under Sid, but the resulting album had a completely different sound. Most of the tracks on the disc were written by Waters and Wright, and only one – “Jugband Blues” – by Syd Barrett. The group's second album was also warmly received by the British public and took ninth place in the local charts.

The following year, the musicians recorded the soundtrack to the film More by Barbe Schroeder and released the double album Ummagumma, which reached number five in the British charts and number seventy in the US.

The highest achievement Pink Floyd at this stage of creativity was the album “Atom Heart Mother” in 1970 - it confidently took first place in the British chart, and to realize its creative ideas The musicians turned to the symphony orchestra and arranger Ron Gisin for help.

Pink Floyd – Live in Pompeii (1972)

Career blossoming

But the real breakthrough in creative career Pink Floyd became their eighth album " The Dark Side of the Moon", released at the end of March 1973. Even those who have managed to never hear the songs from this record are certainly familiar with its legendary cover, created by designer Storm Thorgerson, who later collaborated with Pink Floyd more than once.

“The Dark Side of the Moon” became the second highest-selling album of all time and has still not lost this position, approaching total number copies sold have already reached 50 million. Above it is only “Thriller” by Michael Jackson.

This is the group's first concept album: each song raises some problem of our time or a philosophical question, be it the inexorable approach of old age, the exaggerated importance of money in the world, the pressure on people from religious and state institutions.

It feels like a very meditative album with the improvisational sound characteristic of the group - the musicians themselves admitted that many motives were born right in the studio. The tracks “Time” and “Money” are especially worth highlighting.

With this disc, Pink Floyd turned from a psychedelic band for music lovers into one of best rock bands of their time and have not left this pedestal. It would seem difficult to repeat the success of “The Dark Side of the Moon,” but the next album became a worthy successor to its predecessor. Thus, Gilmour and Wright generally considered “Wish You Were Here” (1975) to be Pink Floyd’s best creation. The album consists of only 5 tracks - Pink Floyd have always been distinguished by their attraction to large forms. The musicians dedicated the title track “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, divided into two tracks with a total duration of almost half an hour, to Syd Barrett.

In the next record, “Animals” (1977), the musicians tried, in the spirit of George Orwell, to compare people with animals and staged a show with inflatable animals, the pig from which migrated to all subsequent performances of the group.

Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall (part 1)

In the fall of 1979, another super-successful album by the group, “The Wall,” was released, which in its structure resembled a rock opera, and the single “Another Brick in the Wall” became the most famous composition Pink Floyd and entered the list greatest songs of all times. The wall on the album is a symbol of the alienation that a person may be subjected to. The two discs contain such diamonds of progressive rock as “Hey You”, “Nobody Home” and, of course, “Comfortably Numb”. Three years later, based on the album, director Alan Parker made a film of the same name, similar to a huge video clip with unusual animated inserts.

Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall (part 2)

Pink Floyd breakup

Meanwhile, disagreements gradually accumulated between the team members. During the recording of "The Wall" and the subsequent even darker album " Final Cut“Roger Waters often pulled the blanket over himself and even got Gilmour removed from producing, which is why he practically turned into a session musician. This state of affairs did not suit the ambitious David; serious conflicts began between them, as a result of which Waters himself left the group in 1985, announcing the end of Pink Floyd.

In 2008, Richard Wright died of lung cancer, after which the remaining band members stated that a reunion would be impossible without him. In 2014, the album “The Endless River” was released, based on unreleased recordings from the 90s. In 2015, David Gilmour announced the final breakup of Pink Floyd.

Discography

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

Pink Floyd now

Pink Floyd no longer exists, but its members continue to work on solo projects. Roger Waters tours with the program “The Wall” around the world (in 2011 he was in Russia), David Gilmour released his solo album “Rattle That Lock” in 2015.

– legendary British group, who played in styles psychedelic rock, art rock. One of the most popular rock groups in the history of the genre. More than 300 million copies of the band's records have been sold worldwide. In the United States, it ranks 7th in terms of the number of albums sold.

Pink Floyd: history

The group was founded in 1965 in London by fellow students Richard Wright, Nick Mason, Roger Watres and their Cambridge friend Syd Barrett. The name consists of the names of two bluesmen - Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. The group was originally called The Pink Floyd, but after 1970 the article was removed from the name. It is worth noting that the group changed many other names before, among which it is worth noting The Tea Set, The Pink Floyd Sound.

The foundations for the formation of the group were laid back in 1963, when Mason and Waters joined the group of Cliff Metcalf and Keith Noble. Wright soon joined them. Rehearsals took place at Mason and Waters' apartment. Bob Close soon joined the group, and Metcalfe and Noble left. In 1963, Roger's friend Syd Barrett came to London and joined the group. In 1964, Sid changed the name of the group from Tea Set to The Pink Floyd Sound, since they performed at one of the concerts with other Tea Set. For some time, Chris Dennis was the band's vocalist, and after his departure, Barrett took this place.

In December 1964, thanks to Wright's connections, he entered a recording studio. During the break, 4 songs were recorded - a cover of I'm A King Bee, and 3 songs by Sid - Lucy Leave, Butterfly and Double O Bo. At this time, the group performed at the Countdown Club and participated in the program Ready Steady Go!. In 1965 Close left the group.

In 1966, Peter Jenner and Andrew King became the group's managers. At this time, experiments began with the sound of the group.

Pink Floyd: first recordings

In January 1967, the first professional recording took place at Polydor.

At this time he signed to EMI and singles were released on this label. On March 11, the single Arnold Lane / Candy And A Currant Bun was released and reached number 20 on the chart.

In August 1967, the band's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was released, taking its name from a chapter from the book The Wind in the Willows, written by Kenneth Grahame. Barrett wrote most of the album's material. The album reached number 6 on the chart and is considered one of the best English psychedelic albums.

Pink Floyd: The Tragedy of Syd Barrett

But success turned Syd Barrett's head and, due to drug addiction, after the disruption of concerts in January, David Gilmour joined the group. At first it was planned that Syd would continue to write songs, but this did not lead to anything good. Sid began to lead a reclusive life, occasionally releasing collections of songs. Over the next period, Pink Floyd and Barrett met only once. In 1968, the group's second album was released, which contained only one of his songs. In 1969, he recorded the soundtrack to the film “More” and the album “Ummagumma”, which contained live show

groups. The album charted in the US, peaking at number 70 and reaching number 5 in the UK. Pink Floyd continues to record albums every year. So in 1970 “Atom Heart Mother” was released with a 20-minute title track. Longplay became the first in Britain. When recording it we used Symphony Orchestra

and choir In 1971, “Meddle” was released - on its recording the group used 16-track tape recorders and a synthesizer. In 1972, “Obscured by Clouds” appeared, which became the soundtrack to the film “La Vallee”. After this album and until 1987, the lyrics were written exclusively by Roger Waters, who became the leader of the group. The group's most classic albums were recorded during this period.

In 1973, The Dark Side of the Moon was released - the best-selling album in the history of all rock music and the second best-selling album in the world after Michael Jackson's Thriller. The album itself is a concept record that describes the pressure that the modern world puts on the human psyche. The recording took 9 months, but it was definitely worth the time. The album finally became number one in the US, staying on the charts for 741 weeks, including 591 in a row (from 1973 to 1988!). At the same time, in Pink Floyd’s homeland, he became only second in the ranking. The next album, “Wish you were here,” was released only two years later. The song “Shine on you crazy diamond” was dedicated to Syd Barrett. It is noteworthy that during the recording of this album, Sid himself visited the studio, whom the musicians did not recognize at first.

Published in 1977 new job- “Animals”. The concept of the disc is close to Orwell's Animal Farm. During recording, tensions begin to rise between the band members, particularly between Wright and Waters. Also at this time, the group’s work was criticized by members of the punk movement.

In 1979, another masterpiece album was released - “The Wall”. The album was very successful and became the band's best-selling album in the United States. During the tour in support of it, a real show was held on stage, which cost a lot of money. financial investments and almost bankrupted the group. Richard Wright took part in the recording for a fixed fee and became the only one who made money from this tour. In 1982, a film based on the album was released, the script for which was written by Waters. During the making of the film, the relationship between Gilmour and Waters becomes even more tense.

Pink Floyd group: split in the group

1983 – album The Final Cut. Gilmour and Waters did not appear in the studio together during recording, and the band did not tour in support of the album. After its release until 1986, the participants pursued solo careers.

In 1986, Gilmour and Mason reunited the group. Wright also joined the group, initially as a session musician. Following this, the band released "A Momentary Lapse of Reason". In 1994, The Division Bell was released with High Hopes as its highlight. The Marooned instrumental won a Grammy. Released in 1995 live album“P*U*L*S*E.” Nick Mason releases Inside Out: Personal story Pink Floyd". On July 2, 2005, the band came together to perform at Live 8.

Richard Wright dies in 2008. In 2012, it was announced that the group would perform at the closing ceremony Olympic Games in London, but only Nick Mason appeared from the lineup.

In 2014, the album The Endless River was released, composed of demos left over from the album The Division Bell. Only 1 composition was not instrumental. A video has been released for the song Marooned from The Division Bell.

In addition, it is worth noting that the live album “Delicate Sound of Thunder” was the first album to be in space.

It has become a standard. 4 albums of the team are in the top 500 according to the version Rolling Stone. Current members bands pursue solo projects, sometimes teaming up for one-off appearances (eg Gilmour and Waters).

The British rock band Pink Floyd was founded in 1965 by fellow architecture students at the Polytechnic in London. The founders of the group: Richard Wright (keyboardist, vocalist), Roger Waters (bass guitarist, vocalist, Nick Mason (drummer) and their friend from Cambridge - Syd Barrett (guitarist). At first the group was called “The Pink Floyd Sound”, after which shortened the name in honor of blues musicians: Pink Anderson and Floyd Cancil. The article “The” was discarded only after the 70s, the group was assembled into the “Golden Line-up” with lead guitarist David Gilmour. creative path in clubs where she played songs in the style of rhythm and blues. In 1966, London school lecturer Peter Jenner became seriously interested in them, and was delighted with the use of acoustic effects in the songs. He, along with his friend Andrew King, became the group's managers. On this moment it is one of the most influential and successful groups in rock music. In 1994, she held her last tour and quietly disbanded. Despite the collapse of the team, each member made a successful career for himself.

In August 1967, their debut album entitled “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” was released. The album's tracks carry a mixture of avant-garde and whimsical music. Not all participants could withstand the success that fell on the group. Due to excessive drug use, the leader, Syd Barrett, leaves the group. At that time, the second album was almost ready, but the group reviewed all the material and began creating it from scratch. Only one of Sid’s songs was included on the second album, “A Saucerful of Secrets,” “Jugband Blues.” After the release of the album “The Dark Side of the Moon”, the band was in its finest hour. The main idea of the album is pressure modern world on the human psyche. The album “The Wall” was also conceptual, which was in rotation for a whole year on all the world charts. It became very expensive and brought enormous popularity to the team. Last performance group happened in 2005 at the Live 8 concert, where they showed a grandiose show that will forever remain in the memory of listeners. In total, the team sold about 74.5 million albums in the USA and about 300 million records worldwide. All of the band's albums contained elements of innovation, and concert performances were thought out to be a grand show.

The author of almost all the group's songs was Waters, which is why he secured his status as the permanent leader. The team is famous for its philosophical texts and acoustic experiments. The first recordings were made in 1967 at Polydor, when the compositions “Arnold Layne” and “Interstellar Overdrive” were written. The first song was banned from the radio because it was about a transvestite who stole women's underwear from the clothesline at night. The most famous songs bands: “Time”, “Money”, “Wish You Where Here” and “Another Brick in the Wall”.

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With the arrival of Gilmour, the group became less “strange”, but more efficient. The musicians began to release at least an album a year: Ummagumma and More (1969), Atom Heart Mother and the soundtrack to M. Antonioni's film Zabriskie Point (1970), Meddle (1971), Obscured By Clouds (1972). The albums' soundtracks were filled with multi-part compositions, multi-style exercises, and 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 (1972), which was recorded on film and released as a concert film.

The Best of Pink Floyd
HIP Art

In the 1970s, the group reached the peak of popularity and excellence. One of the most famous albums, Dark Side Of The Moon (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 acquaintance with her basic values (Time and Money) and, finally, the gradual loss of reason and departure to “ dark side Moons" (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 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 1977 – Animals, composed based on the story-parable by J. Orwell “ Barnyard" 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, rumors arose about the possible breakup of the group. But in 1979, Pink Floyd recorded its, one might say, cult album in the genre of rock opera, The Wall, 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 from this album Another Brick In The Wall, a sharp denunciation of the education system, became a number one hit. "The Wall" remained on the best-selling album list for 14 years.

Pink Floyd are a progressive/psychedelic rock band formed in London in 1965 by fellow students Richard Wright, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and their friend Syd Barrett. One of the most successful projects rock and roll. Famous for its thoughtful and ideological works, powerful stage productions and is one of the top best-selling groups in the world (more than 300 million copies).

The group changed many names, settling on “The Pink Floyd Sound”, gradually shortening it to “Pink Floyd”, after the names of two Carolina bluesmen who were dearly loved by Sid. After playing the standards of jazz and rhythm and blues for some time, the musicians began to write their own songs and in 1967 they published their first album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” full of bizarre psychedelia both in the music and in Sid’s lyrics. Barrett. The result is an eclectic collection, combining the avant-garde "Interstellar Overdrive" and the whimsically pastoral "Scarecrow", the debut album immediately hits the British charts. Syd Barrett cannot withstand the success that has fallen: drug use and worsening schizophrenia finally break the musician, and in 1968 he was replaced by David Gilmour.

On the wave of popularity, the group wrote soundtracks for the films “More” (1969) and “Zabriskie Point” (1970), with the first being published as a separate release with minor musical editing. The group developed rapidly and to record the monumental “Atom Heart Mother” in 1970, it already needed a choir, a symphony orchestra and sound engineer Ron Gisin. A year later, the release “Meddle” was released, repeating the structure of the previous one: the long composition “Echoes” on one side and several regular-length songs on the other side of the record. To record this album, the musicians use advanced equipment: 16-channel tape recorders, a VCS3 synthesizer, a vocoder for “One Of These Days” and for a short hooligan sketch “Seamus” they brought a Russian greyhound into the studio.

The band's real success was 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon, which, along with the Beatles' Lonely Hearts Club, is one of the earliest concept albums. Implement musical ideas The band was helped by sound engineer Alan Parsons and the latest equipment from the Abbey Road studio, where the band worked for 9 months. To consolidate commercial success, the single “Money” was released after the album, which entered the top twenty of the US hit parade and was warmly received by Western listeners despite its non-standard, difficult-to-understand size (7/8). The album itself stayed at the top of the world charts for more than 700 weeks (from 1973 to 1988). It is one of the best-selling songs in recording history.

In 1975, “Wish You Were Here” was released, dedicated to the untimely extinction of the mind of Syd Barrett. The album turned out to be less successful than its predecessor, however, the title song from it becomes a true classic of the group. In the winter of ’77, the group released another concept album, “Animals,” dedicated to the work “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, and in ’79, the cult “The Wall” was released. Created almost entirely by Waters, The Wall was received enthusiastically by fans, and the single "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" immediately rose to the top of the UK singles chart. Large-scale show programs in support of the album almost ruined the group, but in the end, record sales helped them overcome the crisis. Over time, discord brews in the team between Waters and Wright, and a little later between Waters and Gilmour. The group's imminent disintegration became obvious.

In the 80s after the release of "The Final Cut" there was a series legal proceedings between Waters and Gilmour. The reason was the issue of copyright for the name “Pink Floyd” itself, the lyrics and music of the songs, the images of the group, etc. In 1994, the last studio album “The Division Bell” was released and the group’s last tour took place. After this, apart from collections and compilations, the group stopped publishing new music.
In July 2005, as part of the Live 8 show, Pink Floyd performed in their in full force, putting aside previous disagreements to put a final point. To date, despite still receiving offers from various labels and companies, the group does not perform, record music or publish.