Pink Floyd was founded in 1965 by London Polytechnic architectural college students Nick Mason on drums, Roger Waters on bass and vocals, and Richard Wright on keyboards and vocals. Art student Syd Barratt was a childhood friend of Waters and he completed the quartet as guitarist and lead vocalist.
Barratt gave the band its name, inspired by his heroes, blues singers Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
During Pink Floyd's early shows, the band experimented with long instrumental excursions, and they began to expand them with rudimentary but effective light shows. These early light shows were very low-tech using slide projectors and colored condoms stretched over lights.
Pink Floyd released their debut album The Piper At the Gates of Dawn on August 4, 1967. Most of the songs were penned by Syd Barrett. The album showcased the band's psychedelic and experimental sound, largely influenced by the songwriting and creativity of their lead singer Syd Barrett.
Guitarist David Gilmour joined in December 1967; Barrett left in April 1968 due to deteriorating mental health, which was made worse by heavy drug use.
Throughout their career, Pink Floyd experimented with their sound. Their second single, "See Emily Play" premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, on May 12, 1967. During the performance, the group first used an early quadraphonic device called an Azimuth Co-ordinator. Using four different channels of audio, it was an early version of surround sound.
The BBC paid Pink Floyd to jam out in the background live as the Apollo 11 astronauts landed in 1969. The resulting jam was called "Moonhead," a song that has frequently popped up on Floyd bootlegs throughout the years but never officially released.
In May 1971, Pink Floyd played a show at London’s Crystal Palace Bowl that was so loud it killed a reported 300 fish in a lake 100 yards.
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon was released on March 1, 1973; the album is often considered the best concept album and the height of experimental rock.
Dark Side Of The Moon was in the U.S. Billboard chart for 736 consecutive weeks — more than 14 years.
The actress Naomi Watts' father, Peter, was a road manager and sound engineer for Pink Floyd, who died of a heroin overdose in 1976. Pink Floyd provided financial support to the family.
A giant inflatable pig being used in a Pink Floyd photo shoot to promote their 1977 Animals album broke free and caused all flights at London Heathrow to be grounded and the Royal Air Force to send helicopters to search for it. It landed in a farmer's field unscathed where it scared all of his cows.
The Wall, a rock opera and concept album by Pink Floyd, was first released on November 30, 1979. It was the last studio album released with the 11-year-spanning line-up of Roger Waters, Richard Wright, David Gilmour, and Nick Mason.
The Wall features the band's only single to top various charts, "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2",
The album has sold more than 24 million copies, and is one of the best-selling of all time.
Following creative tensions, Wright left Pink Floyd in 1979, followed by Waters in 1985. Wright came back in 1987, after Waters quit.
700 actual beds were laid out on a beach and used for the cover of Pink Floyd's 1987 album, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. None of them were cardboard cutouts.
Waters tried unsuccessfully to sue the other members so that they could not call themselves Pink Floyd. He later admitted to regretting the lawsuit.
After nearly two decades of acrimony, Pink Floyd reunited with Waters in 2005 for a performance in London as part of the global awareness event Live 8, but Gilmour and Waters have since stated they have no plans to reunite as a band again.
Barrett died in his home in Cambridge at the age of 60 due to diabetes on July 7, 2006.
In 2014, English YouTube star Zoella uploaded a picture to Instagram of a "random man & his dog" on the beach. The "random man" was David Gilmour.
Source Artistfacts
Barratt gave the band its name, inspired by his heroes, blues singers Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
During Pink Floyd's early shows, the band experimented with long instrumental excursions, and they began to expand them with rudimentary but effective light shows. These early light shows were very low-tech using slide projectors and colored condoms stretched over lights.
Pink Floyd released their debut album The Piper At the Gates of Dawn on August 4, 1967. Most of the songs were penned by Syd Barrett. The album showcased the band's psychedelic and experimental sound, largely influenced by the songwriting and creativity of their lead singer Syd Barrett.
Guitarist David Gilmour joined in December 1967; Barrett left in April 1968 due to deteriorating mental health, which was made worse by heavy drug use.
 |
| Pink Floyd in January 1968. Clockwise from bottom: Gilmour, Mason, Barrett, Waters, Wright |
Throughout their career, Pink Floyd experimented with their sound. Their second single, "See Emily Play" premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, on May 12, 1967. During the performance, the group first used an early quadraphonic device called an Azimuth Co-ordinator. Using four different channels of audio, it was an early version of surround sound.
The BBC paid Pink Floyd to jam out in the background live as the Apollo 11 astronauts landed in 1969. The resulting jam was called "Moonhead," a song that has frequently popped up on Floyd bootlegs throughout the years but never officially released.
In May 1971, Pink Floyd played a show at London’s Crystal Palace Bowl that was so loud it killed a reported 300 fish in a lake 100 yards.
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon was released on March 1, 1973; the album is often considered the best concept album and the height of experimental rock.
 |
| The iconic artwork for The Dark Side of the Moon Wikipedia |
Dark Side Of The Moon was in the U.S. Billboard chart for 736 consecutive weeks — more than 14 years.
The actress Naomi Watts' father, Peter, was a road manager and sound engineer for Pink Floyd, who died of a heroin overdose in 1976. Pink Floyd provided financial support to the family.
A giant inflatable pig being used in a Pink Floyd photo shoot to promote their 1977 Animals album broke free and caused all flights at London Heathrow to be grounded and the Royal Air Force to send helicopters to search for it. It landed in a farmer's field unscathed where it scared all of his cows.
The Wall, a rock opera and concept album by Pink Floyd, was first released on November 30, 1979. It was the last studio album released with the 11-year-spanning line-up of Roger Waters, Richard Wright, David Gilmour, and Nick Mason.
The Wall features the band's only single to top various charts, "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2",
The album has sold more than 24 million copies, and is one of the best-selling of all time.
 |
| The Wall album cover |
Following creative tensions, Wright left Pink Floyd in 1979, followed by Waters in 1985. Wright came back in 1987, after Waters quit.
700 actual beds were laid out on a beach and used for the cover of Pink Floyd's 1987 album, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. None of them were cardboard cutouts.
 |
| A Momentary Lapse Of Reason Wikipedia.com |
Waters tried unsuccessfully to sue the other members so that they could not call themselves Pink Floyd. He later admitted to regretting the lawsuit.
After nearly two decades of acrimony, Pink Floyd reunited with Waters in 2005 for a performance in London as part of the global awareness event Live 8, but Gilmour and Waters have since stated they have no plans to reunite as a band again.
 |
| Pink Floyd at Live 8 By Dave Bushe - http://www.flickr.com |
Barrett died in his home in Cambridge at the age of 60 due to diabetes on July 7, 2006.
In 2014, English YouTube star Zoella uploaded a picture to Instagram of a "random man & his dog" on the beach. The "random man" was David Gilmour.
Source Artistfacts
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