This biography was taken from the pirate album :
Pink Floyd - Total Eclipse - A retrospective 1967-1993
C'est un bon pirate; il n'est pas tout à fait ... complet, pour une rétrospective, mais il est assez consistant et regroupe pas mal de versions Live ( pas de qualité studio, certes ), mais néanmoins très sympathiques.
Si vous passez un jour devant, je vous conseille vivement de l'acheter; c'est un très bon investissement. Je sais qu'il a été diffusé à plusieurs milliers d'exemplaires. Si vous l'avez et que vous souhaitez vous en débarrasser, je suis toujours preneur.
Mais où en étions nous ? Ah ! Oui ! La Biographie... C'est quelques milliers de caractères mis bouts à bouts pour le plus grand plaisir de votre culture générale. Lisez-la, comme ça vous pourrez toujours dire à vos amis : " JE me suis tapé la biog' des Floyd, et en Anglais, avec ça !" . Je vous promets, ça en jette !!!
The Syd Barrett Years
The impropriety of the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco created the atmosphere whereby the International Times (IT) and the London Underground sprang to life. As the first British underground newspaper, IT was developed by Barry Miles and John Hopkins with intentions of discerning the cultural rise of psychedelia. After pulling together a sizeable staff and gaining a couple short-term loans, Miles and Hopkins were ready to launch their newspaper. Utilising north London's Roundhouse and the inexperienced services of a band named Pink Floyd, IT was set into motion in October, 1966.
Not long after its first issue however, IT began to lose money. Sensing an end to the magazine, John Hopkins teamed up with Joe Boyd and opened the Friday night UFO (Unlimited Freak Out) Club in West London to provide IT with needed cash flow. Billed as London's farthest-out group, Pink Floyd played UFO’s opening night where they almost instantly became the house favourite. That night's extended improvisations and accompanying light show marked the psychedelic style for which the Floyd became renowned. Previously called Sigma 6, T-Set, The Meggadeaths, and The Architectural and Screaming Abdabs, founding father Syd Barrett finally named the band Pink Floyd after his two Georgia-blues guitar heroes, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Originally Roger Waters played lead guitar and Rick Wright rhythm guitar while Clive Metcalf played bass until his departure shortly after the band formed. When Bob Close and Syd Barrett joined the band, Roger was demoted from Lead guitar to rhythm guitar to bass guitar with Rick moving to keyboards. Not really fitting in, Bob Close departed Leaving the early Floyd fine-up as Syd Barrett (guitar and vocals), Roger Waters (bass), Richard Wright (keyboards), and Nick Mason (who always was and still is the drummer). Sadly, that fine-up did not last long as Barrett’s mental condition rapidly declined because of his massive abuse of LSD. Pink Floyd were signed by EMI in 1967 and "Arnold Layne" was quickly released as their first single. Later yanked by Radio London because of the song's objectionable lyrics, "Arnold Layne" not-so-blatantly deals with a transvestite who endeavours to steal madam's dainties from clothes lines. That same year, Pink Floyd released their second single "See Emily Play" and their first full-length album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. These releases led them to their first tour of the United States where Syd's drug problem became apparent. During the U-S- tour at the end of 1967, Pat Boone attempted to interview Syd on national television but received only blank stores in response to his questions. The following day Pink Floyd were embarrassed on Dick Clark's American Bandstand when Syd decided not to lip-sync to Arnold Layne and See Emily Play, but rather gaze psychotically into the living rooms of mainstream America. The remainder of the tour was cancelled due to Syd's catatonic behaviour. A month later David Gilmour was asked to join the band. Acting as a rive piece band for a few months in early 1968, Pink Floyd recorded "A Saucerful of Secrets". A transitional album in that Syd was being phased out and Dave was being worked in, A Saucerful of Secrets proved to be the foundation from which the "new" Pink Floyd would build upon. Finally leaving Pink Floyd in April of 1968, Syd Barrett did indeed become a casualty of the Lifestyle that made him a star and a legend. Notably, Roger Waters, surely the most dominating personality in the band, began to take charge of the band's direction and their affairs after Syd's departure. The same day "A Saucerful of Secrets" was released, Pink Floyd (Syd-less) performed the first free concert in Hyde Park to promote the new album. Being the first rock concert held in a park, the event co-ordinator, Blackhill Enterprises, performed miracles of persuasion on the Bailiff of the Royal Parks to allow it to occur.
The Hyde Park concert's success ensured free summer concerts there for years to come.
The New Pink Floyd
While touring "A Saucerful of Secrets" in the U-K-, Europe, and the U-S- and recording the soundtrack for Barbet Schroeder's film "More", Pink Floyd blindly popped in and out of the studio to record a new album without having had a bit of music prepared. Stemming from Rick Wright's discontent with Pink Floyd's music to date (and having some solo material at hand), the album "Ummagumma" (meaning "a bit of the other") developed into a series of solo compositions with each bond member being responsible for their own piece. Also added to Ummagumma was a second album containing live material recorded in April and May of 1969 at Mother's Club and Manchester College of Commerce. After touring for a few months alter the release of "Ummagumma", Pink Floyd recorded several songs for the soundtrack to Michealangelo Antonioni's film "Zabriskie Point".
"Atom Heart Mother" was released fate 1970 and became Floyd's first #1 LP in the U-K- Apart from being their most successful album up to that point, Atom Heart Mother was the first time they had the opportunity to fully experiment with a wide range of sound effects and conceptual themes. the name "Atom Heart Mother" arose from a newspaper heading about a baby being kept alive by an atomic pacemaker. the title sang had been premiered earlier in the year in Paris. With each successive performance, "Atom Heart Mother" evolved into the orchestral suite that would eventually appear on the album. More importantly, "Atom Heart Mother" marked Pink Floyd's passage into the realm of lengthy songs amidst a fury of sound effects which proved to be the basis for future albums. Subsequent to "Atom Heart Mother's" release, Pink Floyd toured Europe (twice) and the USA, occasionally performing "One of These Days" and "Echoes" before their release on "Meddle" in October of 1971. Pink Floyd usually developed their tunes while touring which would then be followed by stints in the studio.
"Meddle" was the first indication that the Floyd had finally found something which eluded them for years - direction. Culminating with their masterpiece? 'Echoes", Gilmour said, "It definitely, for me, achieved something very good and strong.'? From Rick's opening piano note sent through a Binson echo unit, to the mid-section lead by Roger's bass fine, and to Dave's resonant guitar technique, "Echoes" remains a favourite amongst fans and the band themselves.
A Piece for Assorted Lunatics
Embarking on a world tour in early 1972, Pink Floyd not only had material from "Meddle" to perform but also a new suite called "Eclipsed". Much shorter than its final recorded version, "Eclipsed" would later be known as the Dark Side of the Moon . The difference is that the live performances of "Eclipsed" contained more guitar joins and piano parts with fewer synthesisers. Also, "The Dark Side of the Moon" contains a completely different "On The Run" which was conceived in the studio along with "Speak to Me". Previously performed in two sections (a keyboard passage with Bible readings followed by other spoken bits and a keyboard instrumental), the final version "of The Great Gig in the Sky" changed in the studio also. Written by Rick Wright and passionately sung by Clare Torry, "Great Gig" was inspired by Rick's fear of dying.
Appropriately transcending any spoken or sung words, "Great Gig" leads the listener, via panicky screams and soothing moans towards a weary acceptance of death's mission. After touring the world using "Eclipsed" as the first half of their show, Pink Floyd were quite familiar with the material while recording it in the studio. This allowed them to properly add sound effects while not over-burdening the piece.
With "The Dark Side of the Moon's" release in 1973, Pink Floyd finally achieved the coveted status of rock super group. "The Dark Side of the Moon" has since sold a staggering 25 million copies world-wide and remained on the U-S- charts for 740 weeks (250 weeks longer than its Closest competitor - Johnny Matthis' Greatest Hits)! This album proved to be not only Pink Floyd's largest commercial success, but also The Dark Side of the Moon enabled them to rid the critic's belief that the Floyd were Nothing after Syd Barrett's departure.
Largely touring the U-S- immediately before and after "The Dark Side of the Moon's" release, Pink Floyd packed up and flew to tour Europe (mainly France) before returning to the U-K- for a winter tour in late 1974.
Adding "Raving and Drooling" ( which was called Sheep later ) , "You Gotta Be Crazy", and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" to their set list, they were once again touring material that would later appear on albums. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", which would become the centrepiece for 1975's release of "Wish You Were Here",was a tribune to Syd Barrett ("Raving and Drooling" and "You Gotta Be Crazy" didn't appear until 1977's release of "Animals").
By mid-1975, Pink Floyd began recording "Wish You Were Here". Exhausted from extensively touring Dark Side material, personalities dashed and arguments constantly erupted within the band regarding their direction. Roger's emphasis on the theme of insanity and the pitfalls of the record industry were not of major concern to the others. Dave and Rick wanted to expound on the music while Roger wanted increased emphasis on the lyrics.
This struggle proved beneficial for Wish You Were Here (the band sometimes refers to this period as Wish WE Were Here due to their bits of arguing) because it provided the perfect balance between the music and the message. During one session, a fat and bald Syd Barrett visited Pink Floyd, but silently left the studio never to be seen by the band again.
In the midst of the Punk explosion of 1977, the Floyd released "Animals", which also contained a large portion of previously toured material. Containing Pigs, Dogs ("You Gotta Be Crazy"), and Sheep ("Raving and Drooling"), "Animals" eludes to the forthcoming album, "The Wall". As a basis for "The Wall's" character definitions, Animals surely opened the door for Waters to further expound on his hatred for war and money mangers. The analogy of pigs as politicians, dogs as monopolistic industrialists, and sheep as the belittled labouring class draws closely to the symbols used in Orwell's "Animal Farm". Though not well-received, Animals makes the important point of not falling prey to the corrupt tactics of our politicians or allowing oneself to be exploited by the upper class.
Extensively touring "Animals" for a large part of 1977, Pink Floyd's immense popularity resulted in playing to sold out crowds at huge venues. Pink Floyd were now burdened with the job of running through their large set list leaving little or no room for improvisation and experimentation.
Having grown accustomed to performing in smaller (more personal) venues to petite and quiet crowds, the Floyd were now greeted by thousands of screaming fans wanting to hear their radio favourite, "Money". Culminating at Olympic Stadium (Montreal, Canada), Roger Waters' high-strung perfectionism and demanding expectations of the audience took a rude turn. Taking aim at the face of a particularly obnoxious and annoying fan in the front row, Roger let fly a wad of spit.
Over The Wall
For the next two years, Roger went into hiding. During this period, lie wrote what is arguably rock's magnum opus - "The Wall". About this album, one of my friend told me once that Waters convocate Gilmour, Mason and Wright on the studio and gave them the partitions. So to speak, it wasn’t any more " Pink Floyd, The Wall " but " Pink Floyd plays : Roger Waters’ Wall " . Partly autobiographical, The Wall is a sad but important story, travelling the psychological tragedy of Pink, a degenerate rock star going mad by building a watt of misconstrued emotional turmoil between himself and the outside world. The Wall in its infant stage was a lot longer and lyric-laden with less of the distinctive music later found on the final version. Though scaling over 15 million copies, Pink Floyd only performed The Wall thirty Times to a live audience. The USA, UK, and West Germany were the only fortunate countries to cater these concerts.
While performing The Wall live, camera crews filmed the shows for later inclusion in The Wall concert movie. Though a Wall movie did materialise in mid-1982, directed by Alan Parker ,along with alternative versions of Mother ( We insisted to put the version from the film in our album, which amazingly corresponds to album’s lyrics . Note that the song and its lyrics does not correspond each other, in the album mastered in 1994 ... ) and In The Flesh and the new When the Tigers Broke free, the concert footage was abandoned. Basically ending up as a music video for the entire double album, little dialogue occurs in the film, and what arcs is insignificant to the movie’s theme and plot. The movie Pink Floyd - The Wall utilises the efforts of Bob Geldorf as Pink, Bob Hoskins as Pink's manager, and the incredible artistic talent of Gerald Scarf who brilliantly animated pans of the film. But just as Pink's emotional problems brought about his end in The Wall, the serious lack of communication and unworkable relationship between Roger Waters and David Gilmour threatened the end of Pink Floyd. Originally planning to release an album of new music tram the film of The Wall, Pink Floyd instead opted at Waters' urging to record what would become their last album together, The Final Cut. Dealing once again with his father’s death in World War 2 and the injustice of war, Roger wrote The Final Cut as a requiem for the post war dream. Largely considered a Waters solo effort, The Final Cut would be the impetus behind Roger’s departure from Pink Floyd.
Fading as if the cumulative creativity of Pink Floyd was tapped out, Roger called for the band's dissolution. As expected, the others opposed. Waters pursued legal action but failed to stop Gilmour, Mason, and Wright from recording A Momentary Lapse of Reason and embarking on a mammoth two year tour of the world.
Ending up at Knebworth Park on June 30, 1990, the Waters-less Floyd entranced the crowd with over an hour of their music. One month alter the Floyd's Knebworth performance, Roger Waters and a cast of stars performed The Wall in its entirely at Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, to a crowd of over 200,000 fans.
From earning £15 a night in the 60s to grossing over £130 million between 1987 and 1989, Pink Floyd have not Only amassed a sizeable fortune but have given the world a style of music and concept that will never be duplicated nor ever forgotten.
Et l'histoire n'est pas finie !
