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Wish they were there!
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Aficionados will swear by Pink Floyd, who redefined the way rock was written and sung.
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BRAIN DAMAGE: (From Left) Rick Wright, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and David Gilmour.
FEW BANDS arouse as much passion as Pink Floyd. Right through their 30-year career, fans have continued to remain steadfast and loyal to the group. Despite this bondage, few would recognise the individual members of the group, - an indication of the true nature of the group's members. Their craving for anonymity and the importance given to the band and its music above the individual is in stark contrast to most other groups, where one individual overshadows the other members as well as the group.
Three friends Rick Wright, Nick Mason and Roger Waters, students of architecture and Syd Barrett an art student, all sharing a love for music formed a band called Sigma. Success however eluded them early on. It was Barrett who suggested the name Pink Floyd after a record by Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. A change in name brought a change in fortune too. Arnold Layne, the story of a crazy transvestite who steals women's clothes, and See Emily Play hit the British charts and the band finally tasted name and fame.
Glory brought along pitfalls too. Syd Barrett became increasingly dependent on LSD. Song writing became impossible without a dose of LSD and his life and behaviour was becoming more unpredictable. Left with no other option, the band replaced Syd Barrett with David Gilmour. The group was now complete.
Pink Floyd for about four years after the exit of Syd Barrett was involved in providing sound track for various films including More, The Valley, (Obscured by Clouds) and Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point. During this period they also released a double album called Ummagumma, followed by Atom Heart Mother and a compilation of their earlier works called Relics.
SPECTACULAR, SPECTACULAR: Pink Floyd stage shows were a psychedelic experience.
However, it was in 1973 that the group hit big time. Their album The Dark Side of the Moon broke all previous records and remained in the Bill Board top 200 charts for nearly 15 years. The theme of the album was basically negative, depicting a bleak picture of society and how it alienates, controls and destroys daily life. For the stage performances of The Dark Side of the Moon, they introduced slide and light shows, a feature that was repeated by many others in later years.
Wish You Were Here, an album dedicated to original lyricist and guitarist Syd Barrett was released in 1975, which paid tribute to him with the song Shine On You Crazy Diamond.
Animals, which the group released in 1979, depicted people differently - with each animal representing a different community: businessmen as dogs, communist tyrants as pigs and sheep as commoners who were almost always led by the pig and the dog. The Wall with the anthemic Another Brick in the Wall also touched No.1 on the bestseller charts. In all their work, it was the lyrics of Rogers Waters and expertise of David Gilmour on the guitar with his vocals that stood out. Though the two seemed to be made for each other, it was not to be.
All the members began to contend with each other and started releasing solo albums. The end seemed imminent as suggested by their next album titled The Final Cut. It marked the effective end of the original Pink Floyd.
A. GEORGE ANTONY
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