Pink Floyd released their first album in 20 years this week. To celebrate the sprawling two-disc epic The Endless River, let’s take a look at all things Floyd with a list of ten things you might not know about the English prog legends.
1. The Dark Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard charts for 14 years.
Pink Floyd became one of the biggest bands in the world when they released The Dark Side Of The Moon in 1973, and the album lasted longer on the Billboard charts than any other album, remaining listed until 1987 — a total of 741 weeks. No other record has come within years of topping that streak.
2. The Endless River will be the final album released under the Pink Floyd name.
Not only is The Endless River the first Floyd album in 20 years, it will also be the last. Drummer Nick Mason says he considers the recording to be a “reasonably graceful departure” for the band. The album features the final recordings of keyboardist Richard Wright, who passed away in 2008. With Wright gone, and a reunion between Roger David Gilmour not happening, it wouldn’t make sense to use the Floyd name again.
3. Roger Waters re-joined Pink Floyd for one last gig at Live 8 in 2005.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEyFsd1oig0
1983’s The Final Cut was the last album to feature Roger Waters, who left the band soon after the release. Creative tension between Waters and Gilmour caused the split (The Final Cut is often considered to be practically a Waters solo album, since he wrote all the songs and Gilmour has very few vocals). After that, the pair had little interest in re-uniting, but they made an exception for the Live 8 concert in 2005, playing classics like “Breathe,” and “Wish You Were Here.” It was a historic moment, and it will almost certainly be the last time we see Waters and Gilmour together.
4. Since leaving Floyd, Waters has entered the world of opera.
In 2005, Waters released his first album in 13 years (still his most recent), and it was an opera, entitled Ça Ira (French for “it’ll be fine”). Pink Floyd had experimented with operatic elements on The Wall, but this was a full-fledged opera in three acts. The themes were similar to many classic Floyd albums, discussing oppressive governments and the drudgery of working class life. It took Waters 17 years to complete the recording, and it is probably his most ambitious project ever.
5. The kids who sang on “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)” sued for royalties in 2004.
Everyone knows that the second bit of “We don’t need no education” comes from a chorus of English schoolchildren. But what you may not know is, in 2004, those kids-turned-adults wanted to get paid. They filed a lawsuit in attempt to procure royalties for the song. The lawsuit would ultimately prove unsuccessful. You could understand why the kids would want to get paid; “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)” was Pink Floyd’s most successful single, and their only song to top the Billboard Hot 100.
6. Roger Waters’s The Wall Live is the highest-grossing tour by a solo musician.
From 2010 to 2013, Roger Waters embarked on an epic solo tour in which he re-created the original tour for The Wall, complete with the ever-growing wall that eventually separates the band from the audience. The North American leg of the tour grossed $89 million. Overall, the tour grossed $459 million, the third highest total of all time. The figure broke Madonna’s record for the most profitable tour ever by a solo artist.
7. “Jugband Blues” was the final track to feature Syd Barrett – and it was his lone contribution to A Saurcerful Of Secrets.
Syd Barrett was the original lead singer of Pink Floyd, fronting their entire debut, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. However, he would exit the band during the recording of their second album, A Saucerful Of Secrets, with his only contribution to that release being the eccentric closer “Jugband Blues.” While Barrett’s mental condition was deteriorating, he still managed to record two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs, and Barrett.
8. The name Pink Floyd came from combining the names of two blues musicians the band admired.
Barrett christened the band Pink Floyd due to his admiration for blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Both players were known for the prominent usage of bass in their music. If you’re curious, you can check out a recordings of both in the above clip.
9. “One Of These Days” is the only song to feature drummer Nick Mason on vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRPCrWPAtEQ
“ONE OF THESE DAYS I’M GONNA CUT YOU INTO LITTLE PIECES!”
Well, if you only get to record one sentence over a 47-year span, you might as well make it a good one. The tape was slowed down to make the whole thing extra scary.
10. The Endless River was recorded on a boat.
For an album called The Endless River, the recording process certainly fit. The Endless River was recorded on David Gilmour’s houseboat studio, The Astoria. According to Mason, the studio space was small, but the ambiance of the boat setting made it an enjoyable space to record an album.
