A saucerful of secrets : Pink Floyd, free improvisation and collective composition

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

Abstract

The history of Pink Floyd is one of phases and transitions. However, although he was only in the band for three years and left during the recording of their second album, guitarist/singer/ songwriter Syd Barrett casts a shadow over the group’s entire career. It is commonly understood that Barrett led the band during his tenure, while from early 1968 – when he was replaced by guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour – Roger Waters assumed leadership through writing the bulk of the group’s material. Eventually, Waters’ dominance led to the ejection of founding member and keyboardist/songwriter Richard Wright during the recording of The Wall (1979). Ultimately, Waters would himself leave the group after The Final Cut (1983), which was all but a Waters solo record, assuming that the group identity would be dissolved. However, Gilmour and founding drummer Nick Mason (the only individual to contribute to every Floyd album) pressed on with further recordings and tours into the mid-1990s, and after a hiatus of nearly two decades, a fnal album in 2014, The Endless River.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Routledge Handbook of Pink Floyd
EditorsChris Hart, Simon A. Morrison
Place of PublicationU.K.
PublisherRoutledge
Pages73-88
Number of pages16
ISBN (Electronic)9780367338282
ISBN (Print)9780367338275
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Sept 2022

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