The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. Primarily developed during live performances, the band premiered an early version of the record several months before recording began. The record was conceived as an album that focused on the pressures faced by the band during their arduous lifestyle, and dealing with the apparent mental problems suffered by former band member Syd Barrett, who departed the group in 1968. New material was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Introduction
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon | Introduction
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The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. Primarily developed during live performances, the band premiered an early version of the record several months before recording began. The record was conceived as an album that focused on the pressures faced by the band during their arduous lifestyle, and dealing with the apparent mental problems suffered by former band member Syd Barrett, who departed the group in 1968. New material was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road Studios in London.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Introduction
From the Dark Side of the Moon is a 2011 album released by singer/songwriter Mary Fahl. The album is a song-by-song "re-imagining" of Pink Floyd's classic 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon".
From the Dark Side of the Moon | Introduction
In some countries notably the UK Pink Floyd had not released a single since 1968's "Point Me at the Sky", and unusually "Money" was released as a single on 7 May, with "Any Colour You Like" on the B-side. It reached number 13 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in July 1973. A two-sided white label promotional version of the single, with mono and stereo mixes, was sent to radio stations. The mono side had the word "bullshit" removed from the song leaving "bull" in its place however, the stereo side retained the uncensored version. This was subsequently withdrawn; the replacement was sent to radio stations with a note advising disc jockeys to dispose of the first uncensored copy.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Label
Waters is the sole author of the lyrics. Released in March 1973, the LP became an instant chart success in the UK and throughout Western Europe, earning an enthusiastic response from critics. Each member of Pink Floyd except Wright boycotted the press release of "The Dark Side of the Moon" because a quadraphonic mix had not yet been completed, and they felt presenting the album through a poor-quality stereo PA system was insufficient. "Melody Maker"s Roy Hollingworth described side one as "utterly confused ... [and] difficult to follow", but praised side two, writing: "The songs, the sounds ... [and] the rhythms were solid ...
Pink Floyd | "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973)
The Dark Side of the Moon is an 1973 album by Pink Floyd. Dark Side of the Moon may also refer to:
Dark Side of the Moon (disambiguation) | Introduction
Pink Floyd recorded "The Dark Side of the Moon" between May 1972 and January 1973 with EMI staff engineer Alan Parsons at Abbey Road. The title is an allusion to lunacy rather than astronomy. The band had composed and refined the material while touring the UK, Japan, North America and Europe. Producer Chris Thomas assisted Parsons. Hipgnosis designed the packaging, which included George Hardie's iconic refracting prism design on the cover. Thorgerson's cover features a beam of white light, representing unity, passing through a prism, which represents society. The refracted beam of coloured light symbolises unity diffracted, leaving an absence of unity.
Pink Floyd | "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973)
On 4 February 1974, a double A-side single was released with "Time" on one side, and "Us and Them" on the opposite side. Menon's efforts to secure a contract renewal with Pink Floyd were in vain however; at the beginning of 1974, the band signed for Columbia with a reported advance fee of $1M (in Britain and Europe they continued to be represented by Harvest Records).
The Dark Side of the Moon | Label
Others have speculated that the recording bares a stronger resemblance to another rendition of "Ticket to Ride" by the Hollyridge Strings, though it is unlikely that this American orchestra would have had a tape in Abbey Road's possession.
Help! (George Martin album) | Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"
Progressive metal band Dream Theater have twice covered the album in their live shows, and in May 2011 Mary Fahl released "From the Dark Side of the Moon", a song-by-song "re-imagining" of the album. Milli Vanilli used the tape loops from Pink Floyd's "Money" to open their track "Money", followed by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch on "Music for the People".
The Dark Side of the Moon | Covers, tributes and samples
In a contemporary review for "The Dark Side of the Moon", Loyd Grossman of "Rolling Stone" gave "Time" a positive review, describing the track as "a fine country-tinged rocker with a powerful guitar solo by David Gilmour".
Time (Pink Floyd song) | Reception
The album was released in the UK on Monday, 1 July 1968 on EMI's Columbia label, reaching number 9 in the UK charts. It was released in the US by the Tower Records division of Capitol, where it was the only Pink Floyd album not to chart until 2019, when it peaked at 158. However, when reissued as "A Nice Pair" with the original version of "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" after the success of "The Dark Side of the Moon", the album did chart at number 36 on the "Billboard" 200. "Let There Be More Light" was released as a single, backed with "Remember a Day", in the US on 19 August 1969.
A Saucerful of Secrets | Release and reception
At the end of Pink Floyd's 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon", on the track "Eclipse", a section of the orchestral version of "Ticket to Ride" can very faintly be heard beneath the closing heart-beat sound effect. It is believed to be from this album. Before digital recording, recording tapes were wiped and re-used. It is possible that the tape used to record the heart-beat sound effect was not properly wiped and formerly had this track on it, if it was a deliberate inclusion by the band, or if it was playing in the background of Abbey Road Studios when the part of the track was being recorded, the latter theory being the most accepted.
Help! (George Martin album) | Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"
Pink Floyd Additional musicians Production Design
The Dark Side of the Moon | Personnel
In 2011 the album was re-released as part of the Why Pink Floyd...? campaign, featuring a remastered version of the album along with various other material.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Re-issues and remastering
"Us and Them" is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, from their 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon". The music was written by Richard Wright with lyrics by Roger Waters. It is sung by David Gilmour, with harmonies by Wright. The song is 7minutes and 51 seconds, the longest on the album. "Us and Them" was released as the second single from "The Dark Side of the Moon" in the United States, peaking at No. 72 on the "Cash Box" Top 100 Singles chart in March 1974. The single peaked at No. 85 in the Canadian chart.
Us and Them (song) | Introduction
In "The Dark Side of the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece", John Harris writes about the song: Nick Mason was even more vocal than Waters in his dislike for the song:
It Would Be So Nice | Reception
The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon is a collaborative studio album by the psychedelic rock group the Flaming Lips. The album is a complete track-for-track reimagining of Pink Floyd's seminal 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon". The album was released through the iTunes Store on December 22, 2009, and was released on other digital music retailers a week later. On April 17, 2010, Warner Bros. released 5,000 copies of "The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon" on 12" seafoam green vinyl as part of Record Store Day.
The Dark Side of the Moon (2009 album) | Introduction
[the] saxophone hit the air, the band rocked and rolled". "Rolling Stone"s Loyd Grossman described it as "a fine album with a textural and conceptual richness that not only invites, but demands involvement." Throughout March 1973, "The Dark Side of the Moon" featured as part of Pink Floyd's US tour. The album is one of the most commercially successful rock albums of all time; a US number 1, it remained on the "Billboard" chart for more than fourteen years, selling more than 45 million copies worldwide. In Britain, the album peaked at number 2, spending 364 weeks on the UK chart.
Pink Floyd | "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973)
For writing credits, see the original album's article. All songs published by World Copyrights Ltd.
The Dark Side of the Moon (2009 album) | Track listing
Upon release the record was released on both seafoam green and clear vinyl with a CD copy of the album included.
The Dark Side of the Moon (2009 album) | Introduction
An early 1973 set list (until mid-March) included: First Set: Second Set: "The Dark Side of the Moon" entire album Encore: For remainder of 1973 (except 4 November), the set list included:
Pink Floyd live performances | Dark Side of the Moon
In his 1973 review for "Rolling Stone" magazine, Loyd Grossman declared "Dark Side" "a fine album with a textural and conceptual richness that not only invites, but demands involvement". In "" (1981), Robert Christgau found its lyrical ideas clichéd and its music pretentious, but called it a "kitsch masterpiece" that can be charming with highlights such as taped speech fragments, Parry's saxophone, and studio effects which enhance Gilmour's guitar solos. "The Dark Side of the Moon" was released first in the US on 1 March 1973, and then in the UK on 16 March. It became an instant chart success in Britain and throughout Western Europe; by the following month, it had gained a gold certification in the US.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Release
Pink Floyd's lengthy tour through Europe and North America gave them the opportunity to make continual improvements to the scale and quality of their performances. Work on the album was interrupted in late February when the band travelled to France and recorded music for French director Barbet Schroeder's film "La Vallée". They then performed in Japan and returned to France in March to complete work on the film. After a series of dates in North America, the band flew to London to begin recording, from 24 May to 25 June. More concerts in Europe and North America followed before the band returned on 9 January 1973 to complete the album.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Background
One of the more notable covers of "The Dark Side of the Moon" is "Return to the Dark Side of the Moon: A Tribute to Pink Floyd". Released in 2006, the album is a progressive rock tribute featuring artists such as Adrian Belew, Tommy Shaw, Dweezil Zappa, and Rick Wakeman. In 2000, The Squirrels released "The Not So Bright Side of the Moon", which features a cover of the entire album. The New York dub collective Easy Star All-Stars released "Dub Side of the Moon" in 2003 and "Dubber Side of the Moon" in 2010. The group Voices on the Dark Side released the album "Dark Side of the Moon a Cappella", a complete a cappella version of the album.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Covers, tributes and samples
The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, in two sessions, between May 1972 and January 1973. The band were assigned staff engineer Alan Parsons, who had worked as assistant tape operator on their album "Atom Heart Mother" and gained experience as a recording engineer on the Beatles' "Abbey Road" and "Let It Be". The recording sessions made use of advanced studio techniques; the studio was capable of 16-track mixes, which offered a greater degree of flexibility than the eight- or four-track mixes Pink Floyd had previously used, although they often used so many tracks that to make more space available second-generation copies were made.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Recording
The idea is derived from the "sense of purity in the sound quality, being 5.1 surround sound ..." The image was created out of a desire to be "the same but different, such that the design was clearly DSotM, still the recognisable prism design, but was different and hence new". "The Dark Side of the Moon" was also re-released in 2003 on 180-gram virgin vinyl (mastered by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering) and included slightly different versions of the original posters and stickers that came with the original vinyl release, along with a new 30th anniversary poster. In 2007 the album was included in "Oh, by the Way", a box set celebrating the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd, and a DRM-free version was released on the iTunes Store.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Re-issues and remastering
The film's title is a reference to the 1973 Pink Floyd album of the same name. German black metal band Nargaroth uses samples of spoken word (albeit dubbed in German) of the film in their homonymous track of the 2004 album "Prosatanica Shooting Angels". Swedish death metal band Crypt of Kerberos utilizes samples from the film in their 1991 track "Devastator."
The Dark Side of the Moon (1990 film) | Connections in popular culture
Dick Parry would join Pink Floyd during Money and Us and Them and a backing chorus of three or four women. Clare Torry sung backing vocals during the Robert Wyatt benefit concerts, she wouldn't do this again until 1990 at the Knebworth Festival. Due to the overwhelming chart success of both "Dark Side of the Moon", which reached #1 in the US in late April, #2 in the UK, and the US-released single "Money", the nature of Pink Floyd's audiences changed in June 1973. They used to play at theaters and auditoriums but in this tour they played at Stadiums and large arenas.
Dark Side of the Moon Tour | 1973 Dark Side of the Moon Tour
As of September 2006 Fahl completed the recording of "From the Dark Side of the Moon," produced by Mark Doyle and David Werner and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. Doyle also provided nearly all of the instrumentation. The album is a song-by-song "re-imagining" of Pink Floyd's classic album "The Dark Side of the Moon". Advance copies were not sent out, and the album remained unreleased for several years after V2 Records went out of business right before her release. Fahl self-released the album on May 10, 2011. Publication "Nippertown" referred to the album as "mindblowing," while "The Morton Report" called it "brilliant" and "a worthy re-interpretation not to be missed."
Mary Fahl | "From the Dark Side of the Moon" (2011)
As the quadraphonic mix of the album was not then complete, the band (with the exception of Wright) boycotted the press reception held at the London Planetarium on 27 February. The guests were, instead, presented with a quartet of life-sized cardboard cut-outs of the band, and the stereo mix of the album was presented through a poor-quality public address system. Generally, however, the press were enthusiastic; "Melody Maker"s Roy Hollingworth described side one as "so utterly confused with itself it was difficult to follow", but praised side two, writing: "The songs, the sounds, the rhythms were solid and sound, Saxophone hit the air, the band rocked and rolled, and then gushed and tripped away into the night." Steve Peacock of "Sounds" wrote: "I don't care if you've never heard a note of the Pink Floyd's music in your life, I'd unreservedly recommend everyone to "The Dark Side of the Moon"".
The Dark Side of the Moon | Release
Throughout March 1973 the band played the album as part of their US tour, including a midnight performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on 17 March before an audience of 6,000. The album reached the "Billboard" Top LPs & Tape chart's number one spot on 28 April 1973, and was so successful that the band returned two months later for another tour.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Release
She was shown on the gatefold sleeve of the original release of Pink Floyd's 1969 album "Ummagumma", but was excised from subsequent CD reissues. The uncropped picture was restored for the album's inclusion in the box set "Oh, by the Way". Waters says that when he played her the finished recording of "The Dark Side of the Moon", she burst into tears, which Waters saw as an indication that the work would be successful. He has admitted to infidelities during the marriage, and to his regret that they lost him his wife, and describes "the beginnings of the end of that marriage" as occurring in Greece in the summer of 1974.
Judith Trim | Introduction
"Brain Damage" is the ninth track from English rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon". It was sung on record by Roger Waters (with harmonies by David Gilmour), who would continue to sing it on his solo tours. Gilmour sang the lead vocal when Pink Floyd performed it live on their 1994 tour (as can be heard on "Pulse"). The band originally called this track "Lunatic" during live performances and recording sessions.
Brain Damage (song) | Introduction
Near the end, the only guitar part is heard: a chord over the explosion of the presumed aircraft, which gradually fades, segueing into the chiming clocks introduction of the following track "Time". When "The Dark Side of the Moon" was performed in 1972 (before the album was released), it went under the title "The Travel Sequence" and was, instead of a complex electronic instrumental, a more simple guitar jam, without the use of synthesizers and other electronic instruments. A short clip of this is played on the DVD "Classic Albums: Pink Floyd – The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon" and can also be heard on all performances of Pink Floyd playing the album live in that year.
On the Run (instrumental) | Composition
The Dark Side of the Moonnezz is the sixth studio album by Neapolitan parody singer-songwriter Tony Tammaro. It is the last after a long break for studio recording of eight years, during which the singer performed in tours. This concept album explores the flaws and merits of the Neapolitan society starting from the problem of garbage disposal and having a journey through love, childhood, cellphone addiction, music piracy, money, government failures, generational conflicts and annihilation of the individuals in the mass. The Dark Side of the Moonezz has several direct allusions and tributes to Pink Floyd's discography from the main themes of "The Dark Side of the Moon" to "Wish You Were Here".
The Dark Side of the Moonnezz | Introduction
Richard Wright of Pink Floyd wrote a tune called "The Violent Sequence" for inclusion in the film. Antonioni rejected the song because it was too subdued and instead synchronized a re-recording of the band's "Careful with That Axe, Eugene", retitled "Come in Number 51, Your Time Is Up", with the film's violent ending scene. Roger Waters states in "Classic Albums - Pink Floyd - Making The Dark Side Of The Moon" that while he loved the song, Antonioni said it was "too sad" and that it reminded him of church. Eventually it was reworked into a new song known as "Us and Them", which was released on their album "The Dark Side of the Moon" in 1973.
Zabriskie Point (film) | Unused music
Much of the album's early American success is attributed to the efforts of Pink Floyd's US record company, Capitol Records. Newly appointed chairman Bhaskar Menon set about trying to reverse the relatively poor sales of the band's 1971 studio album "Meddle". Meanwhile, disenchanted with Capitol, the band and manager O'Rourke had been quietly negotiating a new contract with CBS president Clive Davis, on Columbia Records. "The Dark Side of the Moon" was the last album that Pink Floyd were obliged to release before formally signing a new contract. Menon's enthusiasm for the new album was such that he began a huge promotional advertising campaign, which included radio-friendly truncated versions of "Us and Them" and "Time".
The Dark Side of the Moon | Label
The recording's existence was revealed by Flaming Lips' frontman Wayne Coyne before a special promotional concert at the Ricardo Montalbán Theater in Hollywood. The album was recorded with the band Stardeath and White Dwarfs, and features singer Henry Rollins recreating the original album's interview samples. The album also features the singer Peaches who performed Clare Torry's vocal segment of "The Great Gig in the Sky".
The Dark Side of the Moon (2009 album) | Background
"Eclipse" is the tenth and final track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, "The Dark Side of the Moon". It was written and sung by Roger Waters, with harmonies by David Gilmour and Rick Wright. After Waters left the band, Gilmour sang the lead when performing live. This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, "".
Eclipse (Pink Floyd song) | Introduction
"Any Colour You Like" is the eighth track on the English band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, "The Dark Side of the Moon". It is an instrumental written by David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason.
Any Colour You Like | Introduction
It was followed by "Wish You Were Here" (1975), "Animals" (1977), and "The Wall" (1979); all except "Animals" reached number one in the US. "The Dark Side of the Moon" is one of the best-selling albums in the world and "The Wall" is the highest-certified multiple-disc album by the Recording Industry Association of America. Pink Floyd released few singles after Barrett left the group, though "Money" was a US top 20 hit, and "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" was a number one hit in the UK and US.
Pink Floyd discography | History
Return to the Dark Side of the Moon (subtitled: A Tribute to Pink Floyd) is a tribute album organised by Billy Sherwood, and released in 2006 on Purple Pyramid. It is a re-creation of Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon", and a sequel to Sherwood's "Back Against the Wall", itself a re-creation of Pink Floyd's "The Wall". "Return to the Dark Side of the Moon", in addition includes an original piece composed by Sherwood (and recorded with Tony Kaye and Robby Krieger) in the style of the original album. The album features guests mostly from the world of progressive rock, including former Yes members Peter Banks, Geoff Downes, Rick Wakeman, Kaye and Sherwood himself.
Return to the Dark Side of the Moon | Introduction
Pink Floyd's album "The Dark Side of the Moon" was released March 1, 1973. "Money" is the only song from "The Dark Side of the Moon" to make its appearance on the "Billboard" Top 100 list of 1973, where it was ranked 92. In 2008, "Guitar World" magazine listed David Gilmour's solo on "Money" as No. 62 among readers' votes for "The Greatest 100 Guitar Solos." The song was also ranked No. 69 on the list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" of "Rolling Stone". This song does not entail the perennial themes that fans are used to such as paranoia, insanity, the meaning of life, and the passage of time.
Money (Pink Floyd song) | Reception
A foursome of female vocalists was assembled to sing on "Brain Damage", "Eclipse" and "Time", and saxophonist Dick Parry was booked to play on "Us and Them" and "Money". With director Adrian Maben, the band also filmed studio footage for "". Once the recording sessions were complete, the band began a tour of Europe.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Recording
In 1979, "The Dark Side of the Moon" was released as a remastered LP by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, and in April 1988 on their "Ultradisc" gold CD format. The album was released by EMI and Harvest on the then-new compact disc format in Japan in June 1983, in the US and Europe in August 1984, and in 1992 it was re-released as a remastered CD in the box set "Shine On". This version was re-released as a 20th anniversary box set edition with postcards the following year. The cover design was again by Storm Thorgerson, the designer of the original 1973 cover.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Re-issues and remastering
It has twice been remastered and re-released, and has been covered in its entirety by several other acts. It spawned two singles, "Money" and "Time". In addition to its commercial success, "The Dark Side of the Moon" is one of Pink Floyd's most popular albums among fans and critics, and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
1970s in music | Progressive rock
Later editions titled "Masters of Rock" were released in 1974 in France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, to capitalise on the success of "The Dark Side of the Moon". It is one of the "Masters of Rock" series of budget EMI compilations with identical titles, each volume for a different artist. Two different sleeve designs were used: one (by Herman Baas) based on the picture from the centre of the album sleeve for "Meddle", with Syd Barrett's face superimposed over the original photo of David Gilmour, who had not yet joined the band during most of the period covered by the album; and a later edition with the title filling the front cover.
The Best of the Pink Floyd | Later release
On some pressings, a faintly audible orchestral version of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride" can be heard after "Eclipse" over the album's closing heartbeats. The original quadraphonic mix, created by Alan Parsons, was commissioned by EMI but never endorsed by Pink Floyd, as Parsons was disappointed with his mix. To celebrate the album's 30th anniversary, an updated surround version was released in 2003. The band elected not to use Parsons' quadraphonic mix (done shortly after the original release), and instead had engineer James Guthrie create a new 5.1 channel surround sound mix on the SACD format. Guthrie had worked with Pink Floyd since co-producing and engineering their eleventh album, "The Wall", and had previously worked on surround versions of "The Wall" for DVD-Video and Waters' "In the Flesh" for SACD.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Re-issues and remastering
The Dark Side of the Moon Tour was a concert tour by British rock band Pink Floyd in 1972 and 1973 in support of their album "The Dark Side of the Moon". There were two separate legs promoting "Dark Side of the Moon", one in 1972 before the album's release and another in 1973 after its release.
Dark Side of the Moon Tour | Introduction
"The Dark Side of the Moon" built upon experiments Pink Floyd had attempted in their previous live shows and recordings, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions which, according to critic David Fricke, had become characteristic of the band after founding member Syd Barrett left in 1968. Gilmour, Barrett's replacement, later referred to those instrumentals as "that psychedelic noodling stuff", and with Waters cited 1971's "Meddle" as a turning-point towards what would be realised on the album. "The Dark Side of the Moon"s lyrical themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time, death, and insanity, the latter inspired in part by Barrett's deteriorating mental state.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Concept
"Disc One" "Disc Two" "The Dark Side of the Moon:" "The encores:" Songs #10 to #19 on disc two are a complete performance of Pink Floyd's 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon".
Pulse (1995 film) | Concert
"All the music before had not had any great lyrical point to it. And this one was clear and concise. The cover was also right. I think it's become like a benevolent noose hanging behind us. Throughout our entire career, people have said we would never top the "Dark Side" record and tour. But "The Wall" earned more in dollar terms."
The Dark Side of the Moon | Sales
Playing 93 shows in 1972, the most until 1994, Pink Floyd debuted the live performance before its release not of a song but a whole album. The original title was "Eclipse", then "Dark Side of the Moon – A Piece for Assorted Lunatics", the name under which it made its press debut in February 1972 at London's Rainbow Theatre. The title changed for the first part of the US tour to "Eclipse (A Piece for Assorted Lunatics)" during April and May before reverting to "Dark Side of the Moon – A Piece for Assorted Lunatics" in September for the second part of the US tour and finally released in 1973 under the title of "Dark Side of the Moon".
Dark Side of the Moon Tour | 1972 Dark Side of the Moon Tour
It was penned by Richard Wright for a riot scene in the movie and although unreleased in any form officially, was incorporated into their live set as an acoustic piano piece in the early part of the year. It was a forerunner to the melody of "Us and Them", which featured on their 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon".
Pink Floyd bootleg recordings | 1969
"The Dark Side of the Moon" is the world's third best-selling album, and the twenty-first best-selling album of all time in the US. The success of the album brought enormous wealth to the members of Pink Floyd. Waters and Wright bought large country houses while Mason became a collector of expensive cars. Disenchanted with their US record company, Capitol Records, Pink Floyd and O'Rourke negotiated a new contract with Columbia Records, who gave them a reported advance of $1,000,000 (US$ in dollars). In Europe, they continued to be represented by Harvest Records.
Pink Floyd | "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973)
The Dark Side of the Moon Live was a worldwide concert tour by Roger Waters, lasting two years. Waters and his band performed the titular album in its entirety at each show, beginning at the Rock in Rio festival on 2 June 2006. The tour featured elaborate stage design by Mark Fisher (the architect of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" shows), including giant puppets, large video screen displays and a 360° quadraphonic sound system. The performances were divided into two sets: the first being a collection of Pink Floyd material along with songs from Roger's solo career, and the second "The Dark Side of the Moon" in its entirety, plus encores.
The Dark Side of the Moon Live | Introduction
"The Dark Side of the Moon", "Wish You Were Here" and "The Wall" have also been released as heavyweight vinyl formats. Each is 180g vinyl with stickers and a pass to download the albums for free, as 320kbit/s mp3 format. "The Wall" vinyl also contains a new poster containing all of the album's lyrics, handwritten by Gerald Scarfe. The "Wish You Were Here" vinyl comes sealed in a black polythene bag as the original did in 1975. "Wish You Were Here" is also released as a SACD version; a dual-layer CD containing the 2011 remastered stereo audio and the 2009 5.1 surround sound audio.
Why Pink Floyd...? | Vinyl and SACD
Roger "The Hat" Manifold proved difficult to find, and was the only contributor recorded in a conventional sit-down interview, as by then the flashcards had been mislaid. Waters asked him about a violent encounter he had had with another motorist, and Manifold replied "... give 'em a quick, short, sharp shock ..." When asked about death he responded "live for today, gone tomorrow, that's me ..." Another roadie, Chris Adamson, who was on tour with Pink Floyd, recorded the snippet which opens the album: "I've been mad for fucking years absolutely years". The band's road manager Peter Watts (father of actress Naomi Watts) contributed the repeated laughter during "Brain Damage" and "Speak to Me".
The Dark Side of the Moon | Voices
The album was partially recorded at Seaside Lounge Studios in Brooklyn, New York City. The EP's cover art is a reference to the cover art for the 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon" by English rock band Pink Floyd. Trevor Tyrrell, guitarist and lead vocalist for Weird Owl, has stated that "the cover was a quick joke having more to do with our self-presumed spot in the continuum of mind-music more than it has to do with any great reverence for Floyd. We felt as if we were the sons of a certain musical father (in a collective sense) and that it was now time for the son to assert his independence".
Nuclear Psychology | Recording
During the first official performance of "Dark Side of the Moon", at the Rainbow Theatre on 17 February 1972, a version of this song was played with guitar, keyboard and drums instead of the synthesizer track that appeared on the album. Subsequent performances matched the album version and, at the end of the song, a model aeroplane would fly from one end of the arena to the other, appearing to crash in a brilliant explosion. The same effect was used in the "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" tour, but with a flying bed rather than an aeroplane. "The Division Bell" tour would reuse the aeroplane, only this time with the back of it in flames for additional effects.
On the Run (instrumental) | Live performances
With lyrics written entirely by Waters, "The Dark Side of the Moon" was one of the most commercially successful rock albums ever. It spent 736 straight weeks on the "Billboard" 200 chart—until July 1988—and sold over 40 million copies worldwide. It was continuing to sell over 8,000 units every week as of 2005. According to Pink Floyd biographer Glen Povey, "Dark Side of the Moon" is the world's second best-selling album and the United States' 21st-bestselling album. In 1970 Waters composed "Music from The Body" in collaboration with Ron Geesin, a soundtrack album to Roy Battersby's documentary film "The Body".
Roger Waters | Waters-led period
The light band emanating from the prism on the album cover has six colours, missing indigo compared to the traditional division of the spectrum into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Inside the sleeve were two posters and two pyramid-themed stickers. One poster bore pictures of the band in concert, overlaid with scattered letters to form PINK FLOYD, and the other an infrared photograph of the Great Pyramids of Giza, created by Powell and Thorgerson. The band were so confident of the quality of Waters' lyrics that, for the first time, they printed them on the album's sleeve.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Packaging
Hope-Evans left the band for over a year, and Fiddler, Relf (on bass), and drummer John Davies recorded the band's third album and last on Dandelion, "Dark Side of the Moon". It was released in 1972, the year before the Pink Floyd album of the same name. According to Nicholas Schaffner, Pink Floyd briefly changed the name of their piece (which they were already performing live), to "Eclipse", until the Medicine Head album turned out to be "a commercial dud". The track "Only To Do What Is True" appeared on the 1972 compilation, "There Is Some Fun Going Forward".
Medicine Head | Career
After a tour of the UK performing "Dark Side", Pink Floyd returned to the studio in January 1975 and began work on their ninth studio album, "Wish You Were Here". Parsons declined an offer to continue working with them, becoming successful in his own right with the Alan Parsons Project, and so the band turned to Brian Humphries. Initially, they found it difficult to compose new material; the success of "The Dark Side of the Moon" had left Pink Floyd physically and emotionally drained. Wright later described these early sessions as "falling within a difficult period" and Waters found them "tortuous".
Pink Floyd | "Wish You Were Here" (1975)
"Atom Heart Mother", "The Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" were released in the more successful SQ format.
Money (Pink Floyd song) | Re-recording
"Breathe" (sometimes called "Breathe (In the Air)") is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd on their 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon".
Breathe (Pink Floyd song) | Introduction
Following the success of "The Dark Side of the Moon", Pink Floyd were unsure of their future direction; they worried about how they would be able to top that record's huge popularity. In a return to their experimental beginnings, they began work on a project entitled "Household Objects", which would consist of songs played on household appliances, hand mixers, rubber bands stretched between two tables, wine glasses and so on. The planned album was soon shelved. Two tracks recorded at these sessions, "The Hard Way", and "Wine Glasses" (later incorporated into the opening of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"), were released on the Pink Floyd reissues in September and November 2011 on "The Dark Side of the Moon" (Immersion Box Set) and "Wish You Were Here" (Experience Version and Immersion Box Set), respectively.
List of unreleased songs recorded by Pink Floyd | "Household Objects"
The album was released physically on vinyl and CD in 2010. In 2010, the band performed "I Can Be a Frog" on the Nick Jr. television series Yo Gabba Gabba.
The Flaming Lips | "Embryonic" and "Dark Side of the Moon" (2009)
Reflecting the circumstances of the song's creation, the recording features a lush musical arrangement that includes acoustic and slide guitars, layered harmony vocals, orchestral strings, and sitar drone. An edited version of the track appeared on his 1989 compilation "Best of Dark Horse". Harrison's solo demo of the song was included as a bonus track on the 2004 reissue of "George Harrison".
Here Comes the Moon | Introduction
In 1974, the band commissioned animations of "Speak to Me", (the cardiogram and prism) "Time" (the flying clocks) and "On the Run" (twin towers explosion) by Emes to visualise "The Dark Side of the Moon".
Ian Emes | Early career and Pink Floyd
On "Classic Albums: Pink Floyd – The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon", it is pointed out that during the recording of the album, in which death and life had been a consistent theme, the members of the band went around asking questions and recording responses from the folks working inside Abbey Road. Among the questions, they were asked "Are you afraid of dying?" The responses of doorman Gerry O'Driscoll and the wife of their road manager Peter Watts were used, as well as other spoken parts throughout the album ("I've always been mad" "That geezer was cruisin' for a bruisin").
The Great Gig in the Sky | Spoken parts
The single version was leased on Dot Records and issued in March 1957. "Dark Moon" peaked at #14 on the "Billboard" Hot Country Singles chart and became a top 10 hit on the "Billboard" Hot 100, reaching #6. The single was Guitar's first major hit as a musical artist.
Dark Moon (song) | Bonnie Guitar version
Subsequently, Maben was invited with a small crew using a single 35 mm camera to Abbey Road Studios to film supposed recording sessions of "The Dark Side of the Moon", as well as interviews conducted off-camera by Maben, and footage of the band eating and talking at the studio cafeteria. Maben was particularly happy with this footage, feeling it captured the spontaneous humour of the band. Running at 80 minutes, this latest version premiered on 10 November 1973, at the Alouette Theatre in Montreal, the release organized in part by George Ritter Films, and Mutual Films. It was a financial success in Canada, and according to "Billboard", the film "did such amazing business in its first week in Montreal that the original number of prints ordered for Canada has doubled." The film's American release was overseen by the Cincinnati-based April Fools Films, an independent distributor founded for the purpose of distributing the film.
Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii | Release history
As of September 2006 Fahl completed the recording of "Mary Fahl: From the Dark Side of the Moon," produced by Mark Doyle and David Werner and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. Doyle also provided nearly all of the instrumentation. The album remained unreleased for several years, and Fahl released it independently on May 10, 2011.
From the Dark Side of the Moon | Production
Some releases of "Dark Side of the Moon", for example TC-SHVL. 804 (cassette, New Zealand release) and Q4SHVL 804(quad LP, UK release) have a different mix of "Brain Damage". During the closing instrumental, beginning at about 3:02, after the second chorus and leading into the final track, "Eclipse", only Peter Watts' "lunatic laughing" is heard, repeatedly, unlike other versions which have the speech sample "I can't think of anything to say", then Peter Watts' laugh and another sample "I think it's marvelous (ha ha ha)".
Brain Damage (song) | Versions
Starting in 1973, after "The Dark Side of the Moon" was released, Pink Floyd started using regular backing musicians. Many of the musicians that Pink Floyd used as backing musicians were part of the studio recordings of albums such as Dick Parry, who played saxophone on "Money" and The Blackberries who did the backing vocals for "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".
Pink Floyd live backing musicians | Introduction
"Speak to Me" is the first track on British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, "The Dark Side of the Moon", on which it forms an overture. Nick Mason receives a rare solo writing credit for the track, though recollections differ as to the reasons for this. Mason states that he created the track himself, whereas Richard Wright and Roger Waters stated the credit was a "gift" to Mason to give him some publishing income (subsequently regretted by the latter, following his acrimonious departure from the band). A live version is included on "Pulse".
Speak to Me | Introduction
Pink Floyd also recorded other unreleased material during the same sessions. Most notable is a lengthy composition which at that time was known as "The Violent Sequence" (later released on Dark Side of the Moon Immersion Box Set). This was later reworked, as "Us and Them" from "The Dark Side of the Moon".. An additional number of tracks of previously unreleased studio work from these sessions have been released in 2016 on The Early Years 1965–1972 (Volume 4: 1970: Devi/ation).
Zabriskie Point (album) | Pink Floyd
The record builds on ideas explored in Pink Floyd's earlier recordings and performances, while omitting the extended instrumentals that characterised their earlier work. The group employed multitrack recording, tape loops, and analogue synthesisers, including experimentation with the EMS VCS 3 and a Synthi A. Engineer Alan Parsons was responsible for many sonic aspects and the recruitment of singer Clare Torry, who appears on "The Great Gig in the Sky". A concept album, the themes of "The Dark Side of the Moon" explore conflict, greed, time, death, and mental illness. Snippets from interviews with the band's road crew, as well as philosophical quotations, were also used.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Introduction
In the UK, Pink Floyd had blocked the release of singles. Menon pushed for the songs, "Us and Them" and "Time" to be edited and released as singles for American radio. To date, "The Dark Side of the Moon" has spent 950 weeks on the USA-based "Billboard" 200 album chart, the longest duration of any album in history. It is also the fourth highest selling album globally of all time, selling more than forty million units. Menon was featured in the documentary , "The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon." Menon’s contributions to the "Dark Side of the Moon" album’s success were recognized and when asked in an interview whether he was surprised at the results of his efforts he was quoted as saying, "I always believed that the record would be very, very successful.
Bhaskar Menon | Dark Side of the Moon
Sometimes the smaller record mastering and pressing plants simply hid the bootleg work when record company executives would come around (in which case the printed label could show the artist and song names) and other times they would print labels with fictitious names. For example, the 1972 Pink Floyd bootleg called "Brain Damage" was released under the name The Screaming Abdabs. In January 1972, Pink Floyd debuted the live performance of their album "The Dark Side of the Moon" before its release. A lot of Pink Floyd bootlegs date back from this period. Most of these bootlegs contain a pre-release version of the whole album.
Pink Floyd bootleg recordings | Dark Side of the Moon Tour
Dub Side of the Moon is a dub reggae tribute to the 1973 Pink Floyd album, "The Dark Side of the Moon", co-produced by Easy Star All-Stars founders Michael G (Michael Goldwasser) and Ticklah (Victor Axelrod).. Easy Star All Stars released "Dub Side of the Moon: Special Anniversary Edition", on CD and vinyl, on September 16, 2014.
Dub Side of the Moon | Introduction
On 22 June 1973, in Buffalo, New York, USA, during the performance, a spectator fell off the upper level deck seating killing the person that they landed on. In October 1973, after a few months of hiatus, Pink Floyd performed a few concerts in Europe.
Dark Side of the Moon Tour | 1973 Dark Side of the Moon Tour
At one point he left the stage, but the band were able to continue with a less sensitive keyboard, a piano and a simpler light show. Following a brief intermission, they returned to perform "The Dark Side of the Moon", but critics displeased about being denied access backstage savaged the performance.
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album) | Touring
The following credits were adapted from the booklet of "This Side of the Moon" and AllMusic:
This Side of the Moon | Credits and personnel
Mason-James performed backing vocals for Roger Waters on the seventh and last leg of his The Dark Side of the Moon Live world tour between 27 April and 18 May 2008, replacing Katie Kissoon.
Sylvia Mason-James | Early life and career
Following "Meddle" in 1971, Pink Floyd assembled for a tour of Britain, Japan and the United States in December of that year. In a band meeting at drummer Nick Mason's home in Camden, bassist Roger Waters proposed that a new album could form part of the tour. Waters' idea was for an album that dealt with things that "make people mad", focusing on the pressures faced by the band during their arduous lifestyle, and dealing with the apparent mental problems suffered by former band member Syd Barrett. The band had explored a similar idea with 1969's "The Man" and "The Journey".
The Dark Side of the Moon | Background
A rare US-only single release (Tower 440) contains edited mono versions of this song and "Remember a Day". The single did not chart. Pink Floyd performed the song live from 1968–69, often as an encore. The song was played by Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets in 2018 and 2019.
Let There Be More Light | Release and live
Dark Side of the Rainbow – also known as Dark Side of Oz or The Wizard of Floyd – refers to the pairing of the 1973 Pink Floyd album "The Dark Side of the Moon" with the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz." This produces moments where the film and the album appear to correspond. Members of Pink Floyd have denied any intent to connect the album to the film.
Dark Side of the Rainbow | Introduction
The album was also the first of several released by Pink Floyd to feature distinctive cover artwork by Hipgnosis. After Barrett's departure, the band released a soundtrack album ("More") and subsequently "Ummagumma" (1969). The album was released as a double disc, the first disc containing songs performed live, the second containing new studio-recorded songs. The following year's "Atom Heart Mother" was a collaboration with Ron Geesin featuring an orchestra and choir, with "Meddle" following in 1971. The band achieved worldwide commercial success with "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973), which has sold more than 30 million copies, and been reissued as a Quadrophonic LP and 5.1 surround sound Super Audio CD.
Pink Floyd discography | History
Alan Parsons has stated that the film was not mentioned during production of the album.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Dark Side of the Rainbow
The song was included on the Paul McCartney compilation albums "All the Best!" (1987) and "" (2001). It was also included as a bonus track on the 1993 remastered CD of "Red Rose Speedway", as part of The Paul McCartney Collection.
C Moon | Releases
The original version of "Dark Moon" was recorded by American country music artist Bonnie Guitar in 1957. Guitar's producer, Fabor Robison, originally intended for rock and roll singer Dorsey Burnette to record the song, but was dissatisfied with the finished product. Instead, Guitar offered to record "Dark Moon", giving up her royalties to record the song, stating "I told him I’d give up my royalties to be able to record that song. I knew in my mind, as little as I knew, that that was a hit song. I just knew it. So, we went right in the studio and started working on it, and I played the lead guitar and everything." Ned Miller himself played the guitar in this recording.
Dark Moon (song) | Bonnie Guitar version
"On the Run" is the third track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, "The Dark Side of the Moon". It is an instrumental piece performed on an EMS synthesizer (Synthi AKS). It deals with the pressures of travel, which, according to Richard Wright, would often bring fear of death.
On the Run (instrumental) | Introduction
At its first full live performance at Guildhall, Portsmouth, England on 21 January 1972, most of the album was in the form it would be when released 14 months later. The significant differences include: "On the Run", whose working title was "The Travel Sequence", was a guitar and drum jam and would remain so for the rest of the year's performances.
Dark Side of the Moon Tour | 1972 Dark Side of the Moon Tour
Publication "Nippertown" referred to the album as "mindblowing," while "The Morton Report" called it "brilliant" and "a worthy re-interpretation not to be missed."
From the Dark Side of the Moon | Reception
The recording sessions suffered regular interruptions; Waters, a supporter of Arsenal F.C., would often break to see his team compete, and the band would occasionally stop work to watch "Monty Python's Flying Circus" on the television, leaving Parsons to work on material recorded up to that point. Gilmour has, however, disputed this claim; in an interview in 2003 he said: "We would sometimes watch them but when we were on a roll, we would get on." Returning from the US in January 1973, they recorded "Brain Damage", "Eclipse", "Any Colour You Like" and "On the Run", while fine-tuning the work they had already laid down in the previous sessions.
The Dark Side of the Moon | Recording
Phase 1 of the "Why Pink Floyd...?" campaign began on 26 September 2011 with the release of "The Dark Side of the Moon" "Experience", "Immersion" and vinyl editions; a remastered re-release of all 14 studio albums, a "Discovery" box set containing all 14 with a booklet, and a "Sampler".
Why Pink Floyd...? | Phase 1
When the band reconvened after the American leg of the "Meddle" tour, Roger Waters brought with him a prototype version of "Brain Damage" along with other songs such as "Money". He had been playing the song during the recording of the "Meddle" album in 1971, when it was called "The Dark Side of the Moon". Eventually this title would be used for the album itself. The song seemed to be partially inspired by their former band member Syd Barrett who had endured a mental breakdown. After road testing, the new suite entitled "A Piece for Assorted Lunatics", the song was recorded in October along with "Any Colour You Like".
Brain Damage (song) | Composition
The album has sold over half a million copies worldwide. The album was certified silver by the BPI. Then-Pink Floyd member David Gilmour sang backing vocals on the track "Troubled Soul" (he had also appeared on Brown's debut album, "Stop!", in 1988).
April Moon | Introduction