Group

Pink Floyd

From: London, England
Active: 1965–2014
Rating: ★ 4.45 (81 votes)
Releases: 654

progressive rock
psychedelic rock
rock
art rock
space rock
progressive
rock opera
classic rock

About

Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965 by Syd Barrett (guitar, vocals), Nick Mason (drums), Roger Waters (bass guitar, vocals) and Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals). David Gilmour (guitar, vocals) joined in 1967. Gaining an early underground following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, Pink Floyd were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments, philosophical lyrics, and elaborate live performances, becoming a leading progressive rock band.

With Barrett as their main songwriter, Pink Floyd released two hit singles, "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", and the successful debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (all 1967). Barrett left in 1968 due to deteriorating mental health. After a period of experimentation with albums including A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) and Meddle (1971), Waters became the primary lyricist, devising the concepts behind Pink Floyd's most successful albums, The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979). The musical film based on The Wall, Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982), won two BAFTAs. Pink Floyd also composed several film scores.

Personal tensions led to Wright leaving in 1981, followed by Waters in 1985. Gilmour and Mason continued as Pink Floyd, rejoined later by Wright. They produced the studio albums A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994), both backed by major tours. In 2005, Gilmour, Mason and Wright reunited with Waters for a performance at the global awareness event Live 8. Barrett died in 2006, and Wright in 2008. The last Pink Floyd studio album, The Endless River (2014), was based on unreleased material from the Division Bell recording sessions. In 2022, Pink Floyd released the song "Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" in protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Pink Floyd are one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales exceeding 250 million records worldwide. The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and are among the best-selling albums of all time. Four Pink Floyd albums topped the US Billboard 200 and five topped the UK Albums Chart. Although an album-orientated band, they did achieve several hit singles, including "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play" (both 1967), "Money" (1973), "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" (1979), "Not Now John" (1983), "On the Turning Away" (1987) and "High Hopes" (1994). Pink Floyd were inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2008, they were awarded the Polar Music Prize for "their monumental contribution over the decades to the fusion of art and music in the development of popular culture".

From Pink Floyd on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Members

Nick Mason 1965–now · original member drums (drum set), percussion
David Gilmour 1968–now guitar, lead vocals, slide guitar
Syd Barrett 1965–1968 · original member · former guitar, lead vocals
Richard Wright 1965–1981, 1987–2008 · original member · former keyboard, lead vocals
Roger Waters 1965–1985 · original member · former bass guitar, lead vocals