Pink Floyd: The Greatest Rock Band of All Time

Pink Floyd is one of my favorite bands and many would agree when I say that they are one of the greatest bands of all time. My older brothers liked a lot of this era of music and they introduced Pink Floyd, as well as other bands to me. They are known for large, full-scale concerts with a lot of staff and equipment.

The band released what is probably their last album in 2014: The Endless River. They are down to David Gilmour (a great guitarist) and Nick Mason, the drummer as Richard Wright died from cancer in 2008. Like many great bands, they have had two vocalists, like Depeche Mode and the Beatles. Pink Floyd, especially with Roger Waters, has mastered the concept album.

They started in 1965. Syd Barrett was the original vocalist. They all went to school together in Cambridge. They initially played a lot of Rhythm and Blues. The name stems from the names of blues artists Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Initially, they played a lot of small gigs, which would include light shows. Slowly, their reputation was built. They began playing out of town more and more. Most of their fans, at least early on, were a male audience. Syd had taken a lot of drugs, such as LSD, which one would guess influenced a lot of his lyric writing. I only like the song ‘Bicycle’ by Syd. He began to fall apart. He became erratic. David Gilmour replaced Syd and became lead guitarist. Gilmour was good at writing lyrics, which helped fill the void.

They played a free concert in Hyde Park to well over a quarter of a million people in June 1968. Arnold Layne, about a transvestite, was their first single. They even joined Jimi Hendrix on tour. Much of their music has been eclectic, such as ‘Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict’, which has the band members making animal noises.

By 1972, they were touring the world. In 1973, Dark Side of the Moon was released. It had violence and death, stress, loneliness, and fear. Money became a US single. Dark Side took care of their record company advances. However, many of their tour dates were done at a loss due to a crew of 25. Dark Side of the Moon is one of my favorite albums by Pink Floyd.

Wish You Were Here was released in 1975. During the recording sessions, a fat and bald Syd Barret turned up. Everyone was sad at how he turned out. ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond’, is claimed by many to have been inspired by him. Welcome to the Machine is said to be about being sucked into the music business.

Animals was released in 1977. It is an odd album.

The Wall was released as a double album in 1979. Waters and Rick Wright had not been getting along, so Richard was kicked out of the band. The Wall was well known for its concerts, as well as the movie, starring Bob Geldof. The movie was unnerving and frightening. The Wall is another one of my favorites.

The Final Cut was released in 1982. It is pretty much a solo album for Roger Waters.

Waters is a genius and mastermind. In my mind, he is Pink Floyd. Roger left Pink Floyd in 1985. He wanted to keep the band name and sued in 1987 but lost. His solo albums, such as ‘Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking’, have themes just as Pink Floyd albums do. Radio KAOS came out in 1987. It has a radio show with DJ Jim Ladd introducing each track. Waters has railed against monetarism and politicians’ trickery (he has gone against Trump). Amused to Death was released in 1992.

David Gilmour and Roger Waters have had a lot of solo albums, with Mason & Wright on a few. There have been live albums-Delicate Sound of Thunder and the Wall by Waters. Personally, I don’t really like live albums and I don’t see the point. Perhaps some ad-libbing, rare songs, or sometimes live songs sound better. Pink Floyd has been led by David Gilmour since the split. He is a great guitarist. ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason’ released in 1987. The Division Bell was released in 1994. At the time, I remember hearing that Roger Waters did not want to get back together, and David Gilmour did. Now, that has reversed.

I saw on a Rolling Stone magazine cover that David Gilmour said that Pink Floyd was dead.

In 2019, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets was on tour. Nick Mason has liked racing. I have Mason’s book.
Gilmour sold most of his guitars for millions of dollars to benefit the response to climate change.

I even had a dream that Roger Waters and David Gilmour came to dinner. It turned into a nightmare because I introduced them to my brother, and he didn’t care.

I am currently trying to win tickets to Roger Waters’ tour ‘This is Not a Drill’.