Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd, hand-drawn from a publicity photo upon their release of their iconic album, “Dark Side Of The Moon”.
Left to right: Richard Wright (Keyboards, age 29), David Gilmour (Lead Guitar, age 27), Nick Mason (Drums, age 29) and Roger Waters (Bass,age 30).

Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. They achieved international acclaim with their progressive and psychedelic music. Distinguished by their use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, extended compositions, and elaborate live shows, they are one of the most commercially successful and influential groups in popular music history.

Pink Floyd was founded by students Syd Barrett on guitar and lead vocals, Nick Mason on drums, Roger Waters on bass and vocals, and Richard Wright on keyboards and vocals. Syd Barrett named the band by combining tow blues artists’ names Pink Anderson and the Floyd Council. They gained popularity performing in London’s underground music scene during the late 1960s, and under Barrett’s leadership released two charting singles and a successful debut album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” (1967).

Guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour joined in December 1967; Barrett left in April 1968 due to deteriorating mental health. Waters became the band’s primary lyricist and conceptual leader, devising the concepts behind their albums “The Dark Side of the Moon” (1973), “Wish You Were Here” (1975), “Animals” (1977), “The Wall” (1979) and “The Final Cut” (1983). “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall” became two of the best-selling albums of all time.

Floyd wrote and performed great hits such as: “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” (song written about Syd Barrett), “Us and Them”, “Money”, “Wish You Were Here”, “Time”, “Hey You”, “Another Brick In The Wall”, “Welcome To The Machine”, “Pigs”, to mention a few.

Following creative tensions, Wright left Pink Floyd in 1979, followed by Waters in 1985. After nearly two decades of enmity, Gilmour, Wright, and Mason reunited with Waters in 2005 to perform as Pink Floyd in London as part of the global awareness event Live 8.

Syd Barrett died in 2006, age 60, from pancreatic cancer. Richard Wright died in 2008 at age 65, due to lung cancer.

Pink Floyd were inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. By 2013, the band had sold more than 250 million records worldwide.

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