See the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular at the Wellmont Theater on Thursday, January 30th!
Formed by Roger Waters with drummer Nick Mason, keyboard player Richard Wright, guitarist Bob Klose and vocalist Syd Barrett in 1965, the group would go through a series of names before settling on Pink Floyd in early 1966. Together, they released their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in 1967.
By the end of 1967, Barrett had to step down due to health issues, leading Roger Waters and the rest of the band to find a replacement. The answer was David Gilmour who was formally announced as a band member in 1968, who would help the band release their second album A Saucerful of Secrets which peaked at number 9 in the UK.
Following Barrett’s departure, Roger Waters took creative control over the band, becoming the band’s main lyricist and songwriter. Pink Floyd released their third album More in 1969, a soundtrack for a movie of the same name which also peaked at number 9 in the UK. The band’s 4th album Ummagumma came out the same year to high praise, peaking at 5 on the UK chart and being certified platinum in the US and gold in three other countries.
In 1970, the band finally topped the UK album chart with Atom Heart Mother and was in the top 10 in numerous European countries. The band continued their commercial success with Meddle in 1971 and Obscured by Clouds in 1972, with both albums performing quite well, with Meddle going double platinum in the US.
Then, in 1973, the band released the album that has become the fourth most-sold album of all time, behind only Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982), AC/DC’s Back in Black (1980), and the soundtrack for The Bodyguard (1992). We’re talking about the legendary The Dark Side of the Moon. After its release in 1973, with lyrics written entirely by Roger Waters, the album topped weekly charts across the globe, peaking no lower than the top 3 where it wasn’t number one.
With nearly every reissue, remaster, rerecording, and boxset, the album has returned to the charts, holding positions that even new releases can’t reach. The album is certified at least platinum in just about every country that has a system, including double diamond in Canada, and 15-time platinum in both the US and UK. The album is one of a few that can be called a “perfect” album with little to no argument.
Normally, when a band has a massive success to the size of The Dark Side of the Moon, it’s very difficult to follow up with anything that meets that standard. Yet, Pink Floyd delivered yet another hit-spawning, chart destroying album in 1975 with Wish You Were Here. They followed up in 1977 with Animals which followed their new pattern of topping the music world.
Following Animals was Pink Floyd’s 11th album, which would end up being the massively successful rock opera The Wall (1979). It would end up topping all but two weekly album charts across the world and become 23-time platinum in the US. The Wall would also go on to become a film released in 1982 that featured a combination of live actors and animation.
In 1983, Pink Floyd released The Final Cut, which was the first time in over a decade the band received mixed reviews. The album was written entirely by Roger Waters, leading to tensions between Waters and Gilmour that led to Waters leaving and Gilmour taking control of the band.
In September of 1987, the now Gilmour-led Pink Floyd released its first album in A Momentary Lapse of Reason, followed by 1994’s The Division Bell. These were the first albums Pink Floyd strayed from writing concept albums, and despite both receiving mixed reviews, they performed extremely well on the charts, with The Division Bell topping 21 different weekly charts out of the 24 it was on.
In 2014, Pink Floyd released their final studio album The Endless River. The album was comprised of recordings made with co-founder Richard Wright before his death in 2008. The album is regarded as a tribute to Wright and was not supported with a tour from the band, as Gilmour felt it wouldn’t work without Wright.
In 2022, Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason came together for one final release as Pink Floyd with the single “Hey, Hey, Rise Up!” to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With this release, as well as a handful of full-band reunions in the past, fans began to speculate the band would do a proper farewell tour, however Gilmour and Waters have both repeatedly stated they will do no such thing.