Gareth Thomas Pink Floyd: The Illustrated Biography kirja

Gareth Thomas
Pink Floyd: The Illustrated Biography


Formed towards the end of the 1960s, Pink Floyd quickly became renowned for their progressive music and thoughtful lyrics, as well as for the psychedelic lighting effects and quadraphonic sound at their concerts. During the 1970s they released a series of concept albums, beginning with the phenomenally successful The Dark Side Of The Moon, which shot the group to instant superstardom when it was released in 1973. The following albums, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall. confirmed Pink Floyd as one of rock music's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful groups.

During the 1970s and early 1980s the group's elaborate stage shows with their special effects were legendary, but by the mid-1980s guitarist and main lyricist Roger Waters had become disillusioned with playing the vast arenas that were necessary to accommodate their legions of fans. He decided to leave Pink Floyd, declaring that it was a "spent force" and for a while the future of the group hung in the balance. However, guitarist David Gilmour was determined to keep the band alive and, along with drummer Nick Mason and keyboard player Richard Wright, he took Pink Floyd to further worldwide success. After a gap of 20 year Waters and the other band members were reunited on sta at Live 8 London, for what turned out to be the last live performance featuring the classic Pink Floyd line up. Since then Richard Wright has died and the others are pursuing solo careers, but the legend of Pink Floyd lives on in their albums, most of which are re-released regularly and still sell in vast numbers.