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Pink Floyd, still giving me goose bumps 40 years later and about to release a new album.
I have patiently waited 20 years to receive news from afar that we will once again be blessed with the next chapter of music from the eternal Pink Floyd and to say that I feel a fair amount of anticipation and excitement regarding the immanent release of their new album “The Endless River” in October 2014 is an understatement of epic proportions.
Having met at college in 1965 Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters & Richard Wright formed Pink Floyd and thankfully adding into their mix in 1967 the ever present front man David Gilmour (who in my opinion actually is “gods own guitarist”) and whatever your views regarding the politics that led to the eventual split from the band of Roger Waters, the music that both sides have gone on to produce either solo or as Pink Floyd I for one have been left begging and pleading for more.
When my cosmic melodic intervention occurred and I was exposed for the first time to the stirring sounds of Pink Floyd I was hanging out with my best friend, it was a scorching summer day in Sydney in 1974 and I was sitting in the back of her boyfriend’s 308 Sandman Panel Van with a few other mates winding down Mona Vale Road in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on our way to Warriewood Beach. The tail gate was open and the curtains were dancing in the humid air that was wrapping around the van kissing our faces as we looked out staring at the gum trees and native flora going by that was abundant on both sides of the road leading to the beach back then.
As we drove through the summer heat the tape deck proudly displayed on the dashboard came to life and it was in that moment that I heard the first spectacular musical notes of “Dark Side of the Moon” seducing me through the speakers that had been lovingly wired in and hanging in the back of the van. I remember suddenly feeling a realisation that I was being transformed experiencing the initial dose of “Floyd” goose bumps and the ensuing release from the mind numbing ordinary and as I came to life I knew then I would never again return to how I was before tasting those first delicious musical morsels of that album that consequently stayed in the charts for a monumental 741 weeks between 1973 and 1988.
When I saw my beloved Pink Floyd in 1988 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre after lining up at 5am to get tickets weeks before, I had found myself bleary eyed and third in line from the box office window when I secured seats 16 rows back from the stage and on the night in the midst of the other unwavering fans I took my seat nervously awaiting the arrival of the musical gods and goddesses who were about to gift us with one of the most profound live musical experiences I would ever have and one that is still unmatched to this day.
As the lights dimmed the moment had finally arrived and my idols walked onto the stage in all their glorious splendour assuming their positions and composing themselves as if they knew they were about to blow us away. When those first magical notes rang out almost instantaneously the floor began vibrating and as the music made its way up through my body it exploded out of the top of my head when I jumped to my feet as the arena erupted and it was clear we were hearing the unmistakable beginning sounds of “Shine on you Crazy Diamond”.
Not knowing where to look first, I felt myself being transformed as the music washed over me holding me in a place of uncertainty and wondering once again if I would be reborn and delivered by the musical perfection that was blossoming and unfolding like a spring flower bearing its brilliant soul to the world. I made a conscious decision to drink in every single moment that night as I gazed in disbelief at the Dalek like machines rising from the stage shooting their laser beams in time with the music across the audience before disappearing again as the band bathed in the soft mist of the smoke of the psychedelic atmosphere that is the genius of Pink Floyd.
I could happily have left at the end of the first song that night satisfied that I had lived a live music experience that nothing would ever come close to or better in my life time but get better it did with each perfect note that poured out one after the other taking me to a higher plane with every glorious heavenly song that was played but those moments were fleetingly tainted with a heavy feeling in the back of my mind that I would never experience this again and I couldn’t bear the thought of it ending.
And so I have waited for news of their return and whether or not I live to see them in the flesh again in whatever form they have morphed into with the sad passing of the late great Richard Wright in 2008 remains to be seen and in the meantime I have kept the hunger at bay with my records, tapes, CD’s, DVD’s and IPod still getting those goose bumps and soon I will be drinking from the psychedelic sounds of the “Endless River” but until then rock and roll on October!!.
TraceyLinc
Pink Floyd don’t really need introducing, do they? The Dark Side of the Moon is the second biggest-selling record in history, they pioneered progressive rock as we know it today, and are unquestionably one of the most influential musical groups in history. We are talking about a band, here, who are so big that one of their tribute acts - The Australian Pink Floyd Show - play arenas themselves. In 1994, they played their final tour dates in support of their final album to date, The Division Bell, which certainly showed no sign of them slowing down commercially; it remained on the UK charts for fifty-one weeks. Ten years after the departure of Roger Waters, though, their creativity was beginning to fizzle out. After ten years of dormancy, they were persuaded to reform - Rogers included - for Live 8, and played a stunning set that opened with ‘Breathe’ and ended on an extended version of ‘Comfortably Numb’. It would prove to be their final ever show, too, with keyboardist Richard Wright passing away in 2008. Later this year, however, they’ll release one last album, The Endless River, based on material from 1994 sessions that were tentatively known as The Big Spliff; there’s always the possibility that Dave Gilmour and Nick Mason will mark its release on stage.
Joeg_67
It's very unlikely that they will perform live again but one can be optimistic. I saw them in 1994 and without doubt, it was one of the highlights of the year for me. They played a number of nights at Earls Court in London. Unfortunately, one night some of the seating collapsed and there were possibly some injuries, I wasn't there that night. The line up was obviously (as any fan would know) without Syd Barrett! Also, Roger Waters had already left the band. The visual aspects of the concert including the flying pigs, the aeroplane moving diagonally across the roof of the venue, the circular screen showing various films, some rather manic, were mesmorising, but without doubt it was the music and Dave Gilmour's singing that was the best part of the show.
Fans were well pleased with all the favourites that were included like Money, Comfortably Numb, etc. A truly awesome night of music.
joodywoody
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