BEGINNINGS1.The Sixties

• The 1960 decade was one of significant changes in the world. It was a decade of extremes, of transformational change and bizarre contrasts: flower children and assassins, idealism and alienation, technological breakthroughs, rebellion and backlash.

• The counterculture movement dominated the second half of the 1960s, its most famous moments being the Summer of Love in San Francisco in 1967, and the Woodstock festival in New York in 1969. Psychedelic drugs, especially LSD, were widely used medicinally, spiritually and recreationally throughout the late 1960s, and were popularized by Thimothy Leary with his slogan "Turn on, tune in, drop out". American writer Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters also played a part in the role of "turning heads on". Psychedelic influenced the music, artwork and films of the decade, and a number of popular musicians, like 27 Club died of drug overdoses. The rise of the counterculture movement, particularly among the youth, created a market for rock, soul, pop, reggae and blues music.

2. The dawn of a new band• One day of 1963, 20-years old Roger Waters met

drummer Nick Mason, both studying architecture at the London Polytechnic at Regent Street. They started to play music together in a group formed by Keith Noble and Clive Metcalfe with Noble's sister Sheilagh. Keyboardist Richard Wright, a fellow architecture student, joined later that year, and the group became a sextet named Sigma 6, the first band to include Waters, who was at this time playing lead guitar; Wright, who at first played rhythm guitar since there was rarely an available keyboard; and Mason on drums. The band started performing during private functions, while rehearsing in a tearoom in the basement of the Regent Street Polytechnic.

Regent Street, London Polytechnic

• In 1964, as Metcalfe and Noble left to form their own

band, guitarist Syd Barret joined the band. 

Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Syd Barrett and Richard Wright

3. Pink Floyd- a great gig in the sky• Sigma 6 went through a number of other transitory

names before settling on the Tea Set. The group first referred to themselves as the Pink Floyd in late 1965. Barrett created the name on the spur of the moment when he discovered that another band, also called the Tea Set, were to perform at one of their gigs. The name is derived from the given names of two blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

• By 1966, the group's repertoire consisted mainly of rhythm and blues songs and they had begun to receive paid bookings, including one for a performance at the Marquee Club in March 1966, where lecturer Peter Jenner heard them and remained impressed by the sonic effects Barrett and Wright created. Together with his business partner and friend Andrew King, he became their manager.  Under Jenner and King's guidance, the group became part of London's underground music scene. While performing at the Countdown Club, the band had experimented with long instrumental excursions, which they associated for the first time with rudimentary but visually effective light shows, projected by coloured slides and domestic lights. An article in The Sunday Times  stated: "At the launching of the new magazine IT the other night a pop group called the Pink Floyd played throbbing music while a series of bizarre coloured shapes flashed on a huge screen behind them ... apparently very psychedelic”

•Psychedelic music and enigmatic presence- this was going to be the style of Pink Floyd in the next fifty years of existing as a band.

THE MUSIC1. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

• 1967 brings Pink Floyd success after releasing their first album the Piper at the Gates of Dawn, named after the title of chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Since its release, the album has been hailed as one of the best psychedelic rock albums of all time. It remains the only album made under Syd Barret’s leadership. By early 1967, Barrett was regularly using LSD, and Mason described him as "completely distanced from everything going on". The group initially hoped that his unpredictable behaviour would be a passing phase, but some were less optimistic, including Jenner, who commented: "I found [Barrett] in the dressing room and he was so ... gone. Roger Waters and I got him on his feet, [and] we got him out to the stage ... The band started to play and Syd just stood there. He had his guitar around his neck and his arms just hanging down."

David Gilmour• At the end of 1967, due to Barrett’s mental state,

a new member was added to the band: David Gilmour. Gilmour already knew Barrett, having studied with him at Cambridge Tech in the early 1960s. The two had performed at lunchtimes together with guitars and harmonicas, and later hitch-hiked and busked their way around the south of France. David Gilmour was announced as the second guitarist, the band intending to continue with Barrett as a nonperforming songwriter. The relationship with Syd began to wobble as well as working with him was very difficult. Matters came to a head in January while en route to a performance in Southampton when a band member asked if they should collect Barrett. According to Gilmour, the answer was "Nah, let's not bother", which meant the end of Barrett's collaboration with Pink Floyd. Roger Waters later admitted, "He was our friend, but most of the time we now wanted to strangle him". In early March 1968, after a discussion with the business partners about the band future, Syd Barrett agreed to leave. After Barrett's departure, the burden of lyrical composition and creative direction fell mostly on Waters.

A Saucerful of Secrets• A Saucerful of Secrets is the second album of Pink

Floyd, recorded before and after the departure of Syd Barrett.  "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" from this album was the only song all five members appeared on together. Drummer Nick Mason declared A Saucerful of Secrets his favourite Pink Floyd album. The writer of “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”, Roger Waters, admitted to "borrowing" the lyrics from a book of Chinese poetry from the Tang Dynasty period.

Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother and Meddle

• Ummagumma represented a departure from their previous work. Despite of being very well received at the time of release, it has since been looked upon unfavourably by the band, who has expressed negative opinions about it in interviews. The album is also notable for its artwork, featuring a number of pictures of the band combined together to give a Droste effect.

Atom Heart Mother

• Atom Heart Mother was the first Pink Floyd album to be specially mixed for four-channel quadraphonic sound. The cover, which shows a cow, was significant in that it was the first one to not feature the band's name on the cover, or contain any photographs of the band anywhere. This was a trend that would continue on subsequent covers throughout the 1970s and beyond.

• Although the tracks possess a variety of moods, Meddle is generally considered more cohesive than Atom Heart Mother. The largely instrumental "One of These Days" is followed by "A Pillow of Winds", which is considered as being one of the few quiet, acoustic love songs of Pink Floyd. The title of "A Pillow of Winds" was inspired by the games of Mahjong that Waters and Mason, and their wives, played while in the south of France.

The Dark Side of the Moon• The eight album of Pink Floyd, the Dark Side of the Moon lacks the extended

instrumental excursions that characterized their work following the departure in 1968 of founder member, principal composer, and lyricist, Syd Barrett. The themes on The Dark Side of the Moon include conflict, greed, the passage of time, and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett's deteriorating mental state. 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 albums of all time.

• Dark Side of the Rainbow and Dark Side of Oz are two names commonly used in reference to rumours (circulated on the Internet since at least 1994) that The Dark Side of the Moon was written as a soundtrack for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Observers playing the film and the album simultaneously have reported apparent synchronicities, such as Dorothy beginning to jog at the lyric "no one told you when to run" during "Time", and Dorothy balancing on a tight-rope fence during the line "balanced on the biggest wave" in "Breathe”. David Gilmour and Nick Mason have both denied a connection between the two works, and Roger Waters has described the rumours as "amusing".

• The track Time is about how time can slip by, but many people do not realize it until it is too late. “The Great gig in the sky” is an organ instrumental song accompanied by spoken word samples from the Bible and snippets of speeches by Malcolm Muggeridge, a British writer known for his conservative religious views. In “us and them” , a track with prominent jazz influence, the only spoken part is “Well I mean, they're gonna kill ya, so like, if you give 'em a quick sh...short, sharp shock, they don't do it again. Dig it? I mean he got off light, 'cause I coulda given 'im a thrashin' but I only hit him once. It's only the difference between right and wrong innit? I mean good manners don't cost nothing do they, eh?”

Wish You Were Here

• The album Wish you were here, released in September 1975, contains some songs which criticize the music business and others that express alienation. The famous "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a tribute to Syd Barrett. Barrett is fondly recalled with lines such as "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun" and "You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon". The lyrics of the song, "Wish You Were Here", relate both to Barrett's condition, and to the dichotomy of Waters' character, with greed and ambition battling with compassion and idealism.

• One of the more notable events during the recording of Wish You Were Here occurred on 5 June 1975, the day Gilmour married his first wife, on the eve of Pink Floyd's second US tour that year. The band were in the process of completing the final mix of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" when an overweight man with shaven head and eyebrows, and holding a plastic bag, entered the room. Waters, who was working in the studio, initially did not recognise him. Not Wright, nor Mason didn’t realise the man was Syd. In Mason's personal memoir of Pink Floyd, Inside Out, he recalled Barrett's conversation as "desultory and not entirely sensible". He joined the guests at Gilmour's wedding reception in the EMI canteen, but left without saying goodbye. None of the band members saw him from that day until his death in 2006. 

Animals

• Animals is the child of a Waters concept. Loosely based on George Orwell's political fable Animal Farm, its lyrics describe various classes in society as different kinds of animals: the combative dogs, despotic ruthless pigs, and the "mindless and unquestioning herd" of sheep. Whereas the novella focuses on Stalinism, the album is a critique of capitalism and differs again in that the sheep eventually rise up to overpower the dogs. The album was developed from a collection of unrelated songs into a concept which, in the words of author Glenn Povey, "described the apparent social and moral decay of society, likening the human condition to that of mere animals".

•  "Sheep" contains a modified version of Psalm 23, which continues the traditional "The Lord is my shepherd" with words like "he maketh me to hang on hooks in high places and converteth me to lamb cutlets" (referring to the sheep of the title). Towards the end of the song, the eponymous sheep rise up and kill the dogs, but later retire back to their homes.

A view of the building was chosen for the cover image of the album, and the band commissioned German company Ballon Fabrik (who had previously constructed Zeppelin airships) and Australian artist Jeffrey Shaw to build a 9.1 m porcine balloon (known as Algie). The balloon was inflated with helium and maneuvered into position on 2 December, with a marksman ready to fire if it escaped.

Unfortunately inclement weather delayed work, and the band's manager forgot to book the marksman for a second day. The balloon broke free of its moorings and disappeared from view. It eventually landed in Kent and was recovered by a local farmer, who was apparently furious that it had "scared his cows". Eventually, this pink porcine balloon became a symbol of the band and was used during many of their concerts.

The WallThe Wall• Probably the most well-known album, The Wall is the last studio album released

with the classic lineup of Gilmour, Waters, Wright and Mason before keyboardist Richard Wright left the band. 

• The Wall is a rock opera that explores abandonment and isolation, symbolised by a metaphorical wall. The songs create an approximate storyline of events in the life of the protagonist, Pink, a character based on Barrett and Waters, whose father was killed during the Second World War. Pink is oppressed by his overprotective mother, and tormented at school by tyrannical, abusive teachers. All of these traumas become metaphorical "bricks in the wall". The protagonist eventually becomes a rock star, his relationships marred by infidelity, drug use, and outbursts of violence. As his marriage crumbles, he finishes building his wall, completing his isolation from human contact.

• Hidden behind his wall, Pink's crisis escalates, culminating in a hallucinatory on-stage performance where he believes that he is a fascist dictator performing at concerts similar to Neo-Nazi rallies, at which he sets brownshirts like men on fans he considers unworthy.  Tormented with guilt, he places himself on trial, his inner judge ordering him to "tear down the wall", opening Pink to the outside world. The album turns full circle with its closing words "Isn't this where …", the first words of the phrase that begins the album, "… we came in?", with a continuation of the melody of the last song hinting at the cyclical nature of Waters' theme. The album includes several references to former band member Syd Barrett. "Comfortably Numb" was inspired by Waters's injection with a muscle relaxant to combat the effects of hepatitis during the In the Flesh Tour.

The Final Cut

• The Final Cut, also known as A Requiem For The Post-War Dream by Roger Waters is the last studio album to include founding member, bassist and songwriter Roger Waters, and their only album on which he alone is credited for writing and composition. The Final Cut is an anti-war concept album, whose lyrics explore what Waters regards as the betrayal of fallen British servicemen – such as his father – who during World War II sacrificed their lives in the spirit of a post-war dream. This post-war dream was that their victory would usher in a more peaceful world, whose leaders would no longer be so eager to solve disputes by resorting to war. The album's lyrics are critical of Thatcher, whose policies and decisions Waters regarded as an example of this betrayal. She is referred to as "Maggie" throughout the album.

A Momentary Lapse of Reason• In 1987, Gilmour began

recruiting musicians for what would become Pink Floyd's first album without Waters, A Momentary Lapse of Reason. He also convinced Richard Wright to come back. The album went straight to number three in the UK and the US. Waters commented: "I think it's facile, but a quite clever forgery ... The songs are poor in general ... [and] Gilmour's lyrics are third-rate." Although Gilmour initially viewed the album as a return to the band's top form, Wright disagreed, stating: "Roger's criticisms are fair. It's not a band album at all."

The Division Bell• The music was written mostly by 

David Gilmour and Richard Wright. The Division Bell deals with themes of communication and the idea that talking can solve many of life's problems. In the Studio radio host Redbeard suggested that the album offered "the very real possibility of transcending it all, through shivering moments of grace". Songs such as "Poles Apart", "Lost for Words", and particularly the reference to "the day the wall came down" in "A Great Day for Freedom" have been interpreted as references to the estrangement between Pink Floyd and former band member Roger Waters, who had left in 1985. The title refers to the division bell rung in British parliament to announce a vote. Drummer Nick Mason said: "It does have some meaning. It's about people making choices, yeas or nays."

THE ENDLESS FINAL1. Reunion

• On 2 July 2005, Waters, Gilmour, Mason and Wright performed together as Pink Floyd for the first time in more than 24 years, at the Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park. They planned their setlist at the Connaught Hotel in London, followed by three days of rehearsals at Black Island Studios. The sessions were problematic, with minor disagreements over the style and pace of the songs they were practicing; the running order decided on the eve of the event.  

At the beginning of their performance, Waters told the audience: "[It is] quite emotional, standing up here with these three guys after all these years, standing to be counted with the rest of you ... we're doing this for everyone who's not here, and particularly of course for Syd."

At the end, Gilmour thanked the audience and started to walk off the stage. Waters then called him back, and the band shared a group hug. Images of that hug were a favourite among Sunday newspapers after Live 8. Waters commented on their almost twenty years of animosity: "I don't think any of us came out of the years from 1985 with any credit ... It was a bad, negative time, and I regret my part in that negativity."

The endless River

• The endless River is the fifteenth and final album of Pink Floyd. Described as a “swan song" for Wright, The Endless River mostly comprises instrumental music. It is based on 20 hours of unreleased material Pink Floyd wrote, recorded and produced with Wright during sessions for their previous studio album The Division Bell. The closing track "Louder Than Words" is the album's only song to have a lead vocal track, with lyrics by David Gilmour's wife Pollz Samson. The Endless River cover artwork depicts a young boy in an open shirt punting across a sea of clouds towards the sun. The album title is taken from a lyric on the last track and single released from The Division Bell, “High Hopes": "The water flowing / The endless river / Forever and ever." 

Conclusions

• When referring to Pink Floyd, I cannot but talking in superlatives. Always surrounded by an aura of mystery, Pink Floyd has always made genuinely deep music. Their lyrics are symbolic and metaphorical, full of subtle and subliminal references to the concerned theme, staying at the verge of being literature and poetry. The instruments give their music an ethereal touch and the live performances were among the most magnificent ones and probably way ahead of their times. Because there is always something to discover in their songs, I personally think Pink Floyd reinvented the music and is one of the most revolutionary rock bands of all times.