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In 1963, Roger Waters, bassist, Nick Mason,
drumer, and Richard Wright, keyboard player, met at the Regent Street
Polytechnic, where they studied Architecture. They decided to create Sigma
6, Roger Waters being singer. Two years later, Syd Barret joined the group
to create "Pink Floyd". This misunderstood artist, young music
genius, replaced Waters to sing and played guitar. The name "Pink
Floyd" came of two old bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
The innovative quatuor rapidly became influenced by the psychedelic genre,
after a first period Rock/Rythm'n'Blues, and Syd streched his songs with
long instrumental solos.
The group, looking like the Beatles, rapidly became famous in England with two successful 45 tours, "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", today still listened. In 1967, Barret shows his genius with their first album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn", a very psychedelic album, almost odd during this period in England. The Piper marked the British Psy music for always, with the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's". Just after this album, Syd started to show mind trouble signs, he was sometimes inable to play on scene, it is why the others members of the group deciced to ask for David Gilmour's help, friend of Barret. But the 5 musicians system wasn't a good idea, and the mind of Barret was always degraded, he was finally expeled of the group, and Gilmour became main guitarist and singer, while Waters take control of the compositions.
Fans was saying that he band couldn't continue without Syd, but Pink Floyd wasn't still well-known in the States, and Gilmour's guitare game quickly convinced fans that the Pink Floyd adventure will continue, with more success, in particular with their second album, "A Saucerful of Secrets". Waters and the others composed a lot of albums, and started the composition of the biggest master-piece of the entire universe, "The Dark Side Of The Moon". Released in 1973, nobody feels indifferent about this album. Very accessible but so instrumental, sad but so alleviating, odd but pop, this success in a magnificient realization from the first song to he last seconds. This wonder stayed 15 years in the American Hit Parad (an unrealisable exploit) and has been sold in millions and millions specimens.
After the "Dark Side of The Moon", the big success appeared every years: "Wish You Were Here", "Animals", and the so famous double album "The Wall", emblematic master-piece of the band, sold in more than 23 millions specimens. Until the early 80's, the band started to be desintagrated, because Waters was monopolizing the composisitions, and the others members wasn't very open to this dictatorship. The problem has been regaluted with the album "The Final Cut", a quasi solo album of Waters. So, in 1983, the four musicians was separated, and started solo careers.
In 1986, Gilmous wanted to restart th Pink Floyd Story, and asked to Mason ans Wright if they were interresed. The Band started again, in spite of Waters' stupid lawsuit. In 1987, "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" marked the new Pink Floyd's age as a success, as they had done twenty years before, just after the Syd departure. During he 90's, the band was still very known, but with a new-generation fans. They marketed a new series of albums, and touched the ceiling of music temple. After "The Division Bell" in 1994 and "PULSE" (1995), the band slowed down, the members working on their solo projects. In 2001, the young fans (me for example) could discover the whole style of the most wonderful psychedelic band in all history with "Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd".
In spite of the bad image done of Waters, the ex-bassist of Pink Floyd joined his three old friends for the Live 8 in 2005, permitting to the Pink Floyd's listener borned after the second age of Pink Floyd to see the entire band play in concert. A last tear for the four gods of music, before listen their 26 CDs in loop.
A Testu.
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