David Gilmour - Selftitled (1978) + Bonus Live Tracks

(U.K 1963 - Present)

David Gilmour was asked to join Pink Floyd in January 1968 making Pink Floyd briefly a five-piece again. He was used to fill in for Barrett's guitar parts when the front man was unable to take a consistent part in Floyd's live performances. Gilmour immediately went out and bought a custom-made yellow Fender Stratocaster, and the guitar became one of his favorites throughout his career. When Syd Barrett "left" the group (the band chose not to pick him up one night for a gig due to his erratic behaviour), Gilmour by default assumed the role of the band's lead guitarist and shared lead vocal duties with Roger Waters and Richard Wright in Barrett's stead.

Gilmour's guitar playing and song writing became major factors of Pink Floyd's world-wide success during the 1970s. However, after the back-to-back successes of first Dark Side of the Moon and then Wish You Were Here, Waters took more and more control over the band, writing most of Animals and The Wall by himself. Wright was fired during The Wall sessions and the relationship between Gilmour and Waters would further deteriorate during the making of The Wall film and the 1983 Pink Floyd album The Final Cut.

In 1985, Waters declared that Pink Floyd was "A spent force creatively ". However, in 1986, Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason issued a press release saying that Waters had quit the band and they intended to continue on without Waters. Gilmour assumed full control of the group and created A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987 with some contributions from Mason. Wright rejoined the band for a lengthy world tour and helped create 1994's 'The Division Bell' as well.

Musical style

Gilmour has a very precise solo style, rooted in blues and notable for expressive note bends and sustain, indeed his use of 'multiple bends,' where he bends a note to pitch, sustains it, then bends the note to a higher pitch before releasing it, is very characteristic of his style and a useful way of identifying him in recordings. His solos are noted for being well-composed, economical, lyrical and emotional often favouring the minor pentatonic (1 b3 4 5 b7), blues(1 b3 4 b5 5 b7) and natural minor (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7) scales . In interviews, Gilmour has explained that what he sees as his lack of technique led him to concentrate on melody and mood over speed and 'virtuosity', and this is borne out by the enduring appeal of his solos.

During many of his solos he would switch the guitar to the rhythm (or neck) pick-up. This, switching pick-up, produced a fatter, stronger "liquid" sound to a "cut through" sound all in the same solo and is featured in "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Echoes". This is part of what gives Gilmour's playing such a distinctive sound and tone.

In his early career with Pink Floyd Gilmour played a multitude of Fender Stratocasters. He employs a Fender pedal steel guitar for the re-formed Pink Floyd's rendition of the classic "One of These Days". During both the Momentary Lapse and Division tours he almost exclusively played a Red '57 reissue with a set of EMG active pick-ups. In his solo career he employs a wide assortment of guitars, favouring none. Indeed, one of his most famous solos ("Another Brick in the Wall Part 2") was played on a Gibson Les Paul

Although mainly known for his guitar work, Gilmour is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist. He also plays bass guitar (which he did on some Pink Floyd tracks), keyboards, harmonica, drums (as heard on the Syd Barrett solo track "Dominoes", and other songs where he opted to play all the instruments) and lately, the saxophone.

In 1996, Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd.

In August 2006, Gilmour's solo on "Comfortably Numb" was voted the greatest guitar solo of all time in a poll by listeners of the digital radio station Planet Rock. [extracts from the pink floyd experience]

Why a solo album?

In a recent interview with Uncut Magazine, David explained his motive for doing a solo album in 1978 “I don’t think it was a counteract to some sort of frustration I was feeling within Floyd. If anything, I thought it would be nice to have a bunch a guys in a room, play some tunes, knock ’em down and put out record”.

David Gilmour solo album

This might very well be one of the reasons for doing the album, but there definitely was a lot of tension within Pink Floyd at that point – both during and after the Animals tour, which ended in July 1977. They were sick and tired of each other and from touring.

Roger, especially, went through a tough time and didn’t feel comfortable with the exposure and the rabid fans. His pissy mood was a stark contrast to David, who, according to himself in later interviews, enjoyed the tour.

There might also have been a financial motive for doing a solo album. By 1978 it was evident that although Pink Floyd was one of the biggest selling bands of all time, their investments had failed and they were now also subject to massive taxation. In short – they were broke.

Both Rick and David recorded solo albums in early 1978 and they did it in France to avoid taxes. Roger started writing what eventually ended up as The Wall (and Pros of Cons of Hitch Hiking) and although having a great idea for the band’s next album album, he also knew that he needed to create a success that could save the them financially.

The Recording Sessions

David Gilmour was largely written between November 1977 and January 1978 and recorded and mixed at Super Bear Studios in Nice, France, during a few weeks in February 1978. The album was released in May to fairly good reviews and it charted decent in both US and UK.

There are very few sources from the sessions. David has stated in several interviews that everything went really fast, which was, and still is, quite unusual for him. Sadly, there was also a fire that burned Super Bear Studio to the ground in 1986, and with it all the documents, reels and pictures from the sessions.

Album Press Release (select to read)

Interestingly, the guys David chose for his project, was his old band mates Rick Wills (bass) and Willie Wilson (drums). Both from Joker’s Wild and Bullitt – the bands David played in before joining Pink Floyd. The power trio rehearsed and recorded all of the songs together and additional session musicians were hired for piano, backing vocals and other overdubs.

Using close friends and old band mates seems to be a pattern in David’s musical career. Willie Wilson continued to work with Pink Floyd as the drummer in the Surrogate Band during the The Wall tour. Snowy White, who played rhythm guitar during both the Animals and Wall tours, is an old friend of David’s. So is Dick Parry, who played saxophone on Dark Side, WYWH, Division Bell and On an Island. [extract from gilmourish.com Thanks to Bjørn Riis]

The album found success on the U.K. charts, landing at No. 17. But from that point forward, Gilmour focused mainly on his work with Pink Floyd. In 1979, Floyd released The Wall, their double-album opus. Gilmour's next solo album, About Face, wouldn't arrive until 1984.

Gilmour's self-titled debut is probably destined to be forever compared with Animals and then The Wall, the two Waters-heavy Pink Floyd releases on either side of it. But David Gilmour holds up better when considered as a smaller, personal statement."  This album was important to me in terms of self-respect," Gilmour told Circus in 1978. "Being in a group for so long can be a bit claustrophobic, and I needed to step out from behind Pink Floyd's shadow." 

Loose and collaborative with some interesting instrumentals, David Gilmour succeeds on its terms by not trying too hard to sound like Pink Floyd – and that's a mistake Gilmour was prone to during the band's third act. Instead, everything feels familiar and comfortable. Credit goes in part to his backing band, a group of old buddies who had been members of his earlier solo group Bullitt. Together, they construct what stands as Gilmour's most varied offering.

On May 26th - 1978, David Gilmour's eponymous, first solo album was released. The cover was designed by the team at Hipgnosis, and by David as well. It also reached number 17 in the Australian charts in late September and is still very popular with Floyd fans. Below is a picture taken from the cover photo sessions...

This post consists of FLACs ripped from my 'near mint' LP.  This album literally got me through my second year at Uni and was a favourite amongst my College friends. Full album artwork and label scans are included, along with all photos featured above. I have also decided to include a few live tracks taken from Gilmour's Berkley concert, held on the 29th June in 1984.

Track List

01 Mihalis 5:42

02 There's No Way Out Of Here 5:05

03 Cry From The Street 5:08

04 So Far Away 5:49

05 Short And Sweet 5:28

06 Raise My Rent 5:30

07 No Way 5:31

08 Deafinitely 3:26

09 I Can't Breathe Anymore 3:06

10 Mihalis (Bonus Live) *    9:18

11 Short & Sweet (Bonus Live) *   7:17

* Bonus tracks recorded live at Berkley, 29th June, 1984

The Band:

David Gilmour - Guitars,. Keyboards, Vocals

Rick Wills - Bass, Vocals

Willie Wilson - Drums, Percussion

David Gilmour Link (322Mb)

W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Babies Go Pink Floyd (2006)

 
Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.

This month's W.O.C.K On Vinyl post brings you delightful, serene melodies that can be enjoyed by anyone, of any age! These beautifully gentle instrumental renditions of Pink Floyd songs provide the perfect bedtime lullaby for your baby to drift off to sleep to. The laid back, calming tone of these 'Floyd' songs in the style of music boxes for babies is almost whimsical.

With hits like ‘Another Brick in the Wall’, ‘Comfortably Numb’ and ‘Wish you were here’, this album can be enjoyed by Pink Floyd fans of all ages – all the songs are slowed down to relaxing, gentle versions that still have all the prog-rock character of the originals.

Forget simply feeling relaxed at baby’s bedtime – you’ll feel 'comfortably numb' when you play these beautiful rock lullabies and watch your little mite gently drift off to sleep. 

Sweet Little River have also released dozens of other 'Babies Go' titles covering bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Abba, Elton John, Queen and The Bee Gees to name but a few. For a full listing see HERE  

Pink Floyd finds a new audience as scientists think The Dark Side Of The Moon can help lull your BABY to sleep

* Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon contains elements of good lullabies

* The band's music has influenced the creation of the perfect tune for babies

(L-R in 1971) Roger Waters, Nick Mason, David Gilmour and Richard Wright

Forget Baa, Baa Black Sheep - the perfect lullaby for babies may be one inspired by the experimental musical soundscapes of Pink Floyd. 

The British Academy of Sound Therapy has produced a piece of music based on decades of scientific research which is all but guaranteed to get a baby to drift off. It contains watery sounds like those in the safety of the womb, soothing wind chimes and the calming clatter of rainsticks. 

Underpinning it is the influence of Pink Floyd’s seminal classic The Dark Side Of The Moon. While it may not seem like a classic for the under-ones, the album contains many elements good for lullabies, according to Lyz Cooper, who founded the British Academy of Sound Therapy and produced the lullaby in collaboration with music producer Sillkey, based on a commission by supermarket Aldi’s baby and toddler brand, Mamia.

Ms Cooper said: ‘While older lullabies like Baa, Baa Black Sheep have their place, the soundscapes of Pink Floyd provide real inspiration for getting babies to sleep.

Pink Floyd take you on a musical journey, very much like the journey to sleep in a lullaby, often without the distraction of vocals. The kind of music which aims to alter consciousness, and get people to turn on, tune in and drop out, is also very good for a chilled-out baby. The influence of these songs really will help them drift away.’

Pink Floyd songs which are reflected in the lullaby include Wish You Were Here, which starts with white noise.

The lullaby contains a warmer version of this sound, which may be reminiscent of the womb.

A soundscape similar to that of the lullaby can also be heard in the first few minutes of the Pink Floyd song Shine on You Crazy Diamond, which features chimes and rich droning sounds like those in their lullaby. [extract from dailymail.co.uk]

The lullaby is five minutes and 18 seconds long, because research shows five minutes is the amount of time it takes the average baby to relax, based on tracking infants’ decelerating heartbeats.

The rhythm of the lullaby, called Drift, is set at 50 beats per minute, which is just a bit slower than a normal resting heart rate, so it may remind a baby of their mother’s heartbeat in the womb without being too fast to stop them falling asleep.

There are no vocals in the lullaby, because evidence suggest babies relax more quickly when there are no words played for them to focus on. The song, has repetitive chords and pulsating keyboards, and is titled "Drift".   I have included Drift in this WOCK post as a bonus track for added enjoyment.

When I first saw the title of this CD I thought it was going to be another Crazy & Korny rendition of Pink Floyd songs sung with 'baby' voices (in the same vain as another earlier WOCK posting called the Beatle Barkers) but this is not the case. Rather, this month's WOCK on Vinyl post ticks boxes but not for the usual categories. The W in this post is for Womb while the C is for Cradle. Songs are in MP3 (320) format (thanks to Mr Weird & Wacky for the RIP)

Warning: Do not play the bonus track "Drift" while driving - for fear of falling asleep at the wheel.  

Track List

01. Wish You Were Here

02. Time

03. On The Turning Away

04. Another Brick In The wall

05. Money

06. Learning To Fly

07. Echoes

08. Hey You

09. Comfortably Numb

10. A Great Day For Freedom

11. Sorrow

12. Us And Them

13. Shine On You Crazy Diamond

14. High Hopes

15. Drift (Bonus Lullaby Inspired By Pink Floyd Sounds)

Babies Go Pink Floyd Link (75Mb) New Link 02/09/2023

Pink Floyd - Live Unapproved 'Dogs Of War' (1993) Bootleg

(U.K 1965 - 1996, 2005)

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"Why Pink Floyd?" was the rather clever marketing catchphrase that EMI created in 2011 in order to re-launch the back catalogue, perhaps for the last time, of one of rock music's most enigmatic of bands. Being a fan, 'why not?' would be the most obvious answer but it's actually a very thought-provoking question.

Pink Floyd was one of those rare breed of bands that by the mid-Seventies was enjoying colossal album sales, without actually having to do very much at all to sell them. They didn't release many singles, rarely gave interviews, didn't much like the press attending their shows, hid behind banks of special effects on stage, were never regarded as celebrities in their own right, and restricted their touring largely to the UK, northern Europe and North America. The cult of their original front-man Syd Barren also perpetuated a sense of mystique about the band.

By rights their success should never have happened. Were it not for the universal appeal of their 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon they may very well have remained as obscure as their former leader.

Pink Floyd Madison Square Gardens 1987

Certainly Pink Floyd is a band that falls into three distinct phases beginning with the original Barrett-era Floyd in 1966; the mid-Seventies band that saw Roger Waters excel as its creative force in the delivery of several complex 'concept' albums, or those

who viewed David Gilmour's control of the band in its final years as the definitive article. Indeed many fans remain fiercely loyal to those particular phases.

It is also safe to say that Pink Floyd's career has been inactive far longer than it's been active, in part stunted by a rift between David Gilmour and Roger Waters, that has now, fortunately, been healed. Therefore, when Pink Floyd did release an album or tour it became a major event.

It was only under Gilmour's leadership the band reached our to a much wider audience and became the huge commercial success it is today. This has also been bolstered by the remarkable reunion concert with Waters in 2005 at Live 8 coupled with Waters' own relentless touring since leaving Pink Floyd. In fact the success of touring his best known works, The Dark Side Of The Moon and more recently The Wall, has now surpassed even that of his former band.

Pink Floyd Madison Square Gardens 1987

So, whilst there may not be a Pink Floyd in existence today, they continue to attract a curious and growing fan-base who, either through back catalogue releases or the solo works of its chief protagonists, or indeed books such as the one you are now reading, continue to find Pink Floyd's history compelling and their music as relevant now as the day it was recorded. That's probably why Pink Floyd. [extract from The Treasures Of Pink Floyd, by Glenn Povey, Hertfordshire, 2012  p5]

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Bootleg Review

This bootleg features Rick Wright, Nick Mason and David Gilmour recorded live from 1987, in either the U.S or Canada. That's right folks - no Roger Waters. If I was going to guess the venue, I'd say the concert was recorded in Chicago, Rosemont Horizon, on 28th Sept, 1987. Although the exact concert source is unknown the track listing most certainly comes from their "A Momentary  Lapse of Reason Tour" (1987 to 1989) in support of their album 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason'. The tour was the band's first since The Wall Tour in 1981, and also the first without the band's original bassist Roger Waters. 

Pink Floyd On Stage 1987

Initially, there was a great deal of uncertainty around the tour. Pink Floyd had not played live since 1981, and had not embarked on a full-fledged tour since 1977. Roger Waters left the band in 1985, believing the band would not continue. However, Gilmour and Mason decided to continue as Pink Floyd. Waters threatened legal action against Gilmour and Mason, as well as any promoters who promoted shows as "Pink Floyd." However, by the end of 1987, with the success of the album and first stages of the tour, the new lineup had established itself commercially, and the band reached a settlement with Waters in December.

Tour Program from their Momentary Lapse Of Reason World Tour

Having the success of The Wall shows to live up to, the concerts' special effects were more impressive than ever. The initial "promotional tour" was extended, and finally lasted almost two years, ending in 1989 after playing around 197 concerts to about 5.5 million people in total, including 3 dates at Madison Square Garden (5–7 October 1987) and 2 nights at Wembley Stadium (5–6 August 1988). The tour took Pink Floyd to various exotic locations they had never played before such as shows in the forecourt of the Palace of Versailles, Moscow's Olympic Stadium, and Venice, despite fears and protests that the sound would damage the latter city's foundations. The tour marked the first time that the band played in Russia, Norway, Spain and New Zealand, and was the first time they had played in Australia since 1971 and Japan since 1972.

Typical Stage Setup For Momentary Lapse Of Reason Tour

Pink Floyd was the second highest grossing act of 1987 and the highest grossing of 1988 in the U.S.. Financially, Pink Floyd was the biggest act of these two years combined, grossing almost US$60 million from touring, about the same as U2 and Michael Jackson, their closest rivals, combined. Worldwide, the band grossed around US$135 million, making A Momentary Lapse of Reason the highest-grossing tour of the 1980s. [extract from wikipedia]

Pipeline Release

This CD is different to "Dogs Of War" released by Pipeline reference PPL 551. However, it has also been released by MOJO with the title of "Pink Floyd Live". What is even more confusing is that MOJO has released another "Pink Floyd Live" reference MOJO-060 with the same artwork but different live tracks from 1973.

At the top in red writing there is the disclaimer: This is an unapproved recording. In the middle of the cover is the words Pink Floyd Live UNAPPROVED. Beneath all this is a crappy picture of a blue and white concert ticket which, (wait for it!) says; Pink Floyd Live in Concert. Finally beneath everything is the crowd and a stage.

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This post consists of MP3 (320kps) ripped from my MOJO CD bootleg and I would rate the quality of the recording as excellent - probably 8/10. 

Full artwork is included, the usual red and white cover with fake concert tickets on the front to imply authenticity, when in fact they are nothing like the original tickets.  Nevertheless, this bootleg is worth grabbing and will not disappoint.

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Track Listing:

01. Welcome to the Machine    7:08

02. Yet Another Movie    7:33

03. Dogs of War     7:47

04. On the Turning Away    8:50

05. Wish You Where Here    5:20

06. Us and Them   7:12

07. Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)  5:23

08. Comfortably Numb   9:18

Tour Band:

David Gilmour – lead vocals, guitars

Nick Mason – drums, percussion

Richard Wright – keyboards, vocals

Additional musicians:

Jon Carin – keyboards, sound effects, vocals

Scott Page – saxophones, additional guitars

Guy Pratt – bass guitar, vocals

Tim Renwick – guitars, backing vocals

Gary Wallis – percussion, keyboards, vocals

Rachel Fury - backing vocals

Durga McBroom – backing vocals

Margaret Taylor – backing vocals

Pink Floyd Live Dogs Of War (120Mb) New Link 30/12/2023

W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Pink Floyd - What If It's Just Green Cheese (1969)

Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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The landing of Apollo 11 on the moon easily qualifies as one of the truly epochal moments of the twentieth century. The three American astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, spent about 21 hours on the moon, during which time countless thousands of people surely looked up and thought, “Wow, there are human beings up there.” In fact, we know for sure that David Gilmour of Pink Floyd was one of those people (see his thoughts below).

With some assistance from its colleagues in the Netherlands and Germany, the BBC mounted programming to celebrate the great event. One of the shows featured a live jam by Pink Floyd. The program was a one-hour BBC1 TV Omnibus special with the whimsical title of "So What If It’s Just Green Cheese?". It was broadcast on July 20, 1969, at 10 p.m. Interestingly, the program featured two actors who would become much more famous about three decades later—Ian McKellan and Judi Dench. Dudley Moore and the Dudley Moore Trio were also on hand.

The Floyd jam session eventually came to be called “Moonhead.” Pink Floyd performed live in the studio, providing suitably spacey music throughout 

the programme. Collector have had audio tapes of this for several years and refer to the music as  "Moonhead". 

The band claim they improvised the entire six-minute instrumental from scratch. It’s included in Pink Floyd’s massive new box set The "Early Years 1965-1972", which was released in 2016.   [Extracts from the book "Pink Floyd: In The Flesh - The Complete Performance History, by Povey & Russell, 1998" ]

David Gilmour reminisced about the appearance in an article he wrote for the Guardian in 2009:

We were in a BBC TV studio jamming to the landing. It was a live broadcast, and there was a panel of scientists on one side of the studio, with us on the other. I was 23.

The programming was a little looser in those days, and if a producer of a late-night programme felt like it, they would do something a bit off the wall. ... They were broadcasting the moon landing and they thought that to provide a bit of a break they would show us jamming. It was only about five minutes long. The song was called “Moonhead”—it’s a nice, atmospheric, spacey, 12-bar blues.

I also remember at the time being in my flat in London, gazing up at the moon, and thinking, “There are actually people standing up there right now.” It brought it home to me powerfully, that you could be looking up at the moon and there would be people standing on it. [extract from dangerousminds.net]

Thanks to Mr. Weird & Wacky for the rip included here for this month's WOCK on Vinyl post. This rarity from Pink Floyd certainly fits both the Weird and Obscure categories, but perhaps gives us some insight into their early fascination with anything Stellar and maybe was the impetus for their master piece 'Dark Side Of The Moon', released several years later.

What If It's Just Green Cheese (MP3/256kps)  New Link 16/11/2024

Various Artists - BBC Live in Concert 1967-69 (Bootleg)

(Various Artists 1967-1969)
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During the late 60's, the BBC started to devote some of their prime time T.V to cash in on the quickly growing pop culture that was taking place in England and the US at the time.  This resulted in some wonderful audio and video archives of popular music artists at that time, recorded during the many Pop TV Shows that started to appear on the BBC. This bootleg is a sample of some of these recordings plus several one off documentary/ films, and features some classic names like Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Cream. The quality of the recordings is pretty damn good considering most were made 50 years ago.
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All Of My Loving (A Film Of Pop Music 1968)
U.K. TV documentary. Oct-1-68. Excellent quality. 16:9 widescreen. A very interesting documentary about how pop music has changed the world and how the world has changed pop music. Drugs, the Beatles, sex, fashion, the media, love, war and financial profit are all examined. Fantastic vintage footage assembled in a collage form creates a TV program as "mod" and "pop" as the music it describes.

Cool footage includes: the Beatles in the studio, 60s London, Liverpool, psychedelic imagery, Cream, Hendrix, the Who, Pink Floyd and more. Terrific footage of the Who performing in Peoria, Illinois and smashing their equipment to bits! Interviews of Paul McCartney (in his "Yellow Submarine-look" period) discussing the meaning of Beatle lyrics and Ringo Starr talking about studio tricks.
[extract from beatlevid.blogspot.com]

The featured BBC recording of Pink Floyd, performing "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" in 1968, was filmed on the balcony of The Tabernacle, a community hall close to All Saints Church Hall, in Notting Hill, London, is part of a program called "All My Loving".

Other artists included are The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and many others, across a 55 minute film by Tony Palmer. First broadcast in November 1968 in black and white, the following year saw a colour broadcast, and one destined to put strain on the red guns of television tubes!

Anyone who is familiar with the three minute performance, knows that, with the exception of the very beginning, the recording was electronically treated to bathe the band in vivid red. A very interesting and effective trick, it complements the short but sweet performance well. [extract from brain-damage.co.uk]

Pop Goes The Sixties
Pop Go The 60s! was a one-off, 75-minute TV special originally broadcast in colour on 31 December 1969, to celebrate the major pop hits of the 1960s. The show was a co-production between the United

Kingdom's BBC and West Germany's ZDF broadcasters. It was shown on both stations on the same day, with other European stations broadcasting the programme either the same day or later. Although a co-production, it was primarily produced by the BBC and recorded at the BBC's Television Centre in London, in late 1969, featuring largely only British pop acts and hits.

The show (which went out at 10:35pm) was presented by Jimmy Saville and Elfi Von Kalckreuth. The two presenters introduced each act  but neither was present in the studio recording with the artists, their links being added later. Saville spoke English, whereas Elfi Von Kalckreuth speaks in German throughout.
The Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter" was the only track included in the show that had not been a hit single but instead an extremely popular album track.

Fleetwood Mac on Monster Music Mash

Monster Music Mash
BBC1 Monster Music Mash (1969) was a dedicated music series. "Pop. Blues, Folk and Whoopee!" - was introduced in front of a young-adult audience by ex-Animal Alan Price, supported by comedy jazz from Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band. Refreshingly, the weekly guests had the freedom to perform a few numbers and not just their latest hit. First up were Fleetwood Mac, playing "Oh Well", followed by, among others, Pentangle and the Moody Blues. There was also an early sighting of Slade playing their latest single "Martha My Dear". It was serious stuff to follow Wacky Races during children's hour but regrettably just one short series was produced. [extract from Rock & Pop On British TV by Jeff Evans]

Happening for Lulu Show
One common feature of all BBC shows was their strict rules on what artists could or could not do when performing live on BBC TV. Artists were told exactly what to play and for how long so improvisations were unheard of, well, that's until the Jimi Hendrix Experience were asked to perform on Lulu's popular evening show.
After a blistering performance of Voodoo Chile, on the Happening for Lulu show in January 1969, The Jimi Hendrix Experience stop midway through a half-hearted attempt at their first hit "Hey Joe". The trio break into Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love", in tribute to the recently disbanded group, until producers bring the song to a premature end.

According to the memoir of bassist Noel Redding, Lulu had been due to join Hendrix on stage to sing the final lines of Hey Joe, but the band wasn't too keen on the idea. The stunt (according to rock and roll legend) earned The Jimi Hendrix Experience a ban from performing on BBC television. Hendrix died the following year on 18th September 1970. [extract from www.bbc.co.uk]

Top Of The Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television program, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1 January 1964 and 30 July 2006. It was traditionally shown every Thursday evening on BBC1, except for a short period on Fridays in mid-1973 before being again moved to Fridays in 1996, and then to Sundays on BBC Two in 2005.

Each weekly program consisted of performances from some of that week's best-selling popular music artists, with a rundown of that week's singles chart. Additionally, there was a special edition of the program on Christmas Day (and usually, until 1984, a second such edition a few days after Christmas), featuring some of the best-selling singles of the year. With its high viewing figures the show became a significant part of British popular culture.

The Cilla Show
Cilla was a BBC TV program hosted by British singer Cilla Black. It ran for eight series from 30 January 1968 to 17 April 1976.  The first series of the show started broadcasting on Tuesday, 30 January 1968, on the first show of which Black's guest was Tom Jones and the two music stars sang a duet together.
The UK's Eurovision Song Contest entry selection process was part of the Cilla show in both 1968 and 1973, when Black's close friend Cliff Richard was the featured artist performing all the songs shortlisted in the A Song For Europe segment

Cilla Black

Omnibus

Omnibus was an arts-based British documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The program was the successor to the long-running arts-based series Monitor. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings.

Omnibus - Cream, Albert Hall on November 26,1961, Some 5,000 fans packed out each show, and Clapton expressed surprise when they received a warm and emotional ovation; "We hadn't played in England for over a year and had no idea we were so popular, I was amazed we played to such full houses. I didn't think anybody would remember us."
He was almost tempted to carry on with Cream when he realized the strength of feeling among their supporters. But the die was cast: He had to stand by his decision, Cream's farewell at the Royal Albert Hall was filmed for BBC TV by director Tony Palmer, who had first met Clapton and Cream on the recommendation of Jimmy Page. His documentary on the group was screened as part of the BBC Omnibus arts show on January 5,1969, The footage was later re-edited as a full-length film, An earlier Palmer documentary, 'All My Loving', had helped introduce the serious side of rock to a wider audience and paved the way for Cream to be so heavily featured on TV.  Palmer was music critic for the Observer Sunday newspaper and recalls that John Lennon had encouraged him to make All My Loving, "That film was essentially John Lennon's idea, I'd first met him while I was at University and met him again when I begin working at the BBC. He told me the problem with rock music on BBC TV was it was restricted to shows like Top of the Popa and Jukebox Jury.

"These were highly successful pop shows but only reflected what was in the Top Twenty and not the more serious side. John said it was terrible because he knew a lot of musicians who wouldn't appear on either of those programs because they didn't want to play three-minute pop songs behind gyrating nubile dancers. Much as we liked gyrating nubiles, this was understandable. Lennon said. It's your duty to get these people onto television. [taken from Clapton - Updated Edition: The Ultimate Illustrated History By Chris Welch]

The Moody Blues (Color Me Pop)

Color Me Pop
Colour Me Pop was a British music TV program broadcast on BBC2 from 1968–1969. It was a spin-off from the BBC 2 arts magazine show Late Night Line-Up. Designed to celebrate the new introduction of colour to British television, it was directed by Steve Turner, and showcased half-hour sets by pop and rock groups of the period. The program was a pioneering precursor to the better remembered BBC music program The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–87). Unlike its successor, most of the editions of Colour Me Pop are lost.

Currently only the editions featuring The Small Faces, The Moody Blues, and The Move are held in the BBC archive, as well as the episode featuring The Chambers Brothers that was never broadcast. In addition, three songs from the Bonzo Dog Band edition survive. Most of the Small Faces edition was commercially released as part of the 'All Of Nothing 1965-1968 DVD' in 2009. The Moody Blues edition was released as part of their 'Timeless Flight' box set in 2013.

The Look Of The Week
Hans Keller was the resident music critic on 'The Look Of The Week', which was to all intents and purposes a spin-off from BBC2's proto-Parsons nightly critical chinwag Late Night Line-Up, aimed at bringing 'the arts' to an audience that might not normally have noticed them tucked away there. As such, Keller usually got to verbally joust with classical musicians, theatre impresarios and heavyweight jazzers, with The Look Of The Week's interactions with the pop scene - barely regarded even as a part of the 'arts' at that point - rarely venturing beyond the odd bit of opinionating from rent-a-viewpoint Russell Brand of his day Mick Jagger.
In an interview with a very early Pink Floyd, while holding a cigarette aloft, Keller presages their appearance on the show by saying:

“The Pink Floyd – you’re going to hear them in a minute and I do not want to prejudice you. Hear them and see them first and we’ll talk about them afterwards but four quick points I want to make before you hear them. The first is that what you heard at the beginning, that short bit, those few seconds, are really all I can hear in them, which is to say to my mind, there is continuous repetition and proportionally they are a bit boring. My second point is that they are terribly loud. You couldn’t quite hear because, of course, it isn’t as loud from your sets as it is here in the studio or as it was at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Friday" -  "I will ask them about that when we come to talk" he adds as if asking them if they'd mind stepping outside for a moment - "my third point is that perhaps I am a little bit too much of a musician to appreciate them. And the reason why that – why I say that – is that four, they have an audience, and people who have an audience ought to be heard. Perhaps it is my fault that I don’t appreciate them”.

And with a tilt of his head in the direction of the other end of the studio, it's over to some blobby amorphous light patterns and a spaceman voice intoning obscure intergalactic facts, and Pink Floyd delivering an astonishing performance of celestial travelogue "Astonomy Domine", then still some months from making its first public appearance on their debut album; to early fans of the band, this must have been one of the all time magic moments of the sixties. It's also the best surviving indication of what the original line-up sounded like live, the most accurate record of their famed but ephemeral light show (and yes, Barrett is playing his mirror-disc Telecaster, adding to the visual cacophony), and above all that it's simply a thrilling performance of a terrific song. And that's not all.

Syd Barrett

As they finish, Syd Barrett and Roger Waters politely set down their guitars and walk slowly over to some of those taller-sitting-down-than-standing-up stools as favoured by the likes of Bernard Levin, for a bit of a natter with Hans Keller. He opens by confronting the band members asking them why it all has to be so 'terribly loud', pointing out that he 'grew up with the string quartet' and as a consequence finds this kind of volume unbearable.

Waters and Barrett - both visibly cracking up - can only meekly offer that they like it that way, that they didn't grow up with the string quartet, and that it doesn't sound terribly loud to them, with Keller obliterating the latter two arguments but accepting that they see it as important to their art; often mistaken for a bit of stuffy pomposity, this is actually the prelude to a much longer interview. [extract from timworthington.blogspot.com.au]

Joe Cocker on How It Is

How It is
How It Is was a youth-orientated music and discussion program transmitted on BBC1 TV in 1968, on which John Peel was a co-host. The original series ran from July to December 1968; a short-lived follow-up, entitled How Late It Is to reflect its changed time slot, ran for ten episodes in spring and early summer of 1969. Both series were produced by Tony Palmer, who was also responsible for the 1968 TV films All My Loving and Cream Farewell Concert, which were shown in BBC1's arts series Omnibus, the former in particular provoking a controversy by linking the aggression of rock music to the violent political upheavals of the 1960s. Joe Cocker and his Greaseband performed on the How It Is in 1968, debuting his smash hit "With A Little Help From My Friends"

The Who

Twice A Fortnight
In 1967 a revolutionary comedy sketch show called Twice a Fortnight was broadcast on the BBC. It had sketches written and performed by (amongst other), pre-Monty Python Terry Jones and Michael Palin.  But it also featured performances from whoever was plugging their singles at the time. For example The Who, recorded for the pilot show 15th October 1967, a rather dizzy version of "I Can See For Miles".
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This post consists of MP3's (320kps) mostly ripped from YouTube Clips. Basic custom artwork only.
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Track listing
01. Pink Floyd - Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun - "All My Loving" (1968)
02. Donovan - The Lullaby Of Spring - "All My Loving" (1968)
03. The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter - "Pop Go The Sixties" (1969)
04. Fleetwood Mac - Oh Well - "Monster Music Mash" (1969)
05. Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe/Sunshine Of Your Love - "Happening For Lulu" (1969)
06. Cream - Sunshine Of Your Love - "Omnibus" (1968)
07. Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi - "BBC In Concert" (Jan 1970)
08. Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile - "Happening For Lulu" (1969)
09. The Equals - Baby Come Back - "Top Of The Pops" Show (1968)
10. The Hollies - I'm Sorry Suzanne - "Top Of The Pops" Show (1969)
11. Sandie Shaw - Long Live Love - "Top Of The Pops" Show (1965)
12. Lulu - Loves Loves To Love Love - "Top Of The Pops" Show (1967)
13. Tom Jones - Delilah - "Top Of The Pops" Show (1968)
14. Cliff Richard - Congratulations - "Cilla" Show (1968)
15. The Who - I Can See For Miles - "Twice A Fortnight" (1967)
16. Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine - "The Look Of The Week" (1967)
17. Joe Cocker & The Grease Band - With A Little Help From My Friends - "How It Is" (1968)
18. Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - Canyons Of Your Mind - "Color Me Pop" (1968)
19. The Mothers Of Invention - Oh, In The Sky - "Color Me Pop" (1968)
20. The Small Faces - Song Of A Baker - "Color Me Pop" (1968)
21. The Kinks - Days - "Pop Goes The Sixties" (1969)
22. The Moody Blues - Ride My See-Saw - "Color Me Pop" (1968)
23. Jimi Hendrix - Wild Thing - "All My Loving" (1968)
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BBC Recordings 1967-69 Link (209Mb)  New Link 02/09/2023

Pink Floyd - Unlicensed Live Vol 2 (1993) Bootleg

(U.K 1965 - 1996, 2005)

Pink Floyd have always been synonymous with a sophisticated and elaborate stage show featuring state-of-the-art lighting and concert sound: but it wasn't always like that. The early days were as rudimentary as you could imagine, and their status has only been earned through years of constant refinement.

Their earliest known use of projections to accompany their music was at All Saints' Church Hall in west London in September 1966, but perhaps the most significant advance in Pink Floyd's use of light shows came from their former landlord. "The most important starting-point for the light show was Mike Leonard and Hornsey College of Art," recalled Mason. "That was the idea that the music could be improvised and the lighting could be improvised to go with it."

Pink Floyd's first touring light show was built the same year by managers Andrew King, Peter Jenner and his wife Sumi using closed-beam spotlights mounted on wooden boards, and activated by domestic light switches. "The result was these hugely dramatic shadows behind [the band], which I'm sure everyone thought was brilliant," mused Jenner. "Of course, it was a complete fuck-up, as all the best things are." Projectors and oil slides soon became a common feature of all their shows, and Pink Floyd employed a variety of operators who were often regarded as fifth members of the band.

Reunited Pink Floyd 1987

However, as the Sixties drew to a close so, too, did the pivotal role of the light shows. Instead, Pink Floyd began to concentrate on their sound production, as audiences would listen politely and intently. This in turn led to the development of the Azimuth Co-ordinator, a new 360-degree surround-sound system designed to throw effects and pre-recorded tracks around the room, which became a feature of all subsequent tours. It made its début in 1969, with a series of shows that incorporated Pink Floyd's increased sense of experimentalism and featured the band sawing wood to construct a table, and monsters roaming the audience.

Their appetite for spectacle grew through the early Seventies. In 1971 they played an open-air show at Crystal Palace in London that featured a huge inflatable octopus emerging from the lake in front of the stage.

David Gilmour 1989

By 1972 Pink Floyd were touring more than nine tons of equipment, transported by three trucks and requiring a crew of seven to assemble it for each performance. As Richard Wright remarked at tie time, "Sometimes, I look at our huge truck and tons of equipment and think: 'Christ, all I'm doing is playing an organ!'"

However, it was their shows at Earl's Court in May 1973 that provided a real foretaste of things to come. A Chinese gong burst into flames; a giant robot emerged from clouds of dry ice; a huge rocket soared over the heads of the audience; and a giant mirror ball reflected beams from two batteries of red lasers.

As the venues became bigger, so too did the production, and in June 1974 Pink Floyd employed for the first time their trademark circular screen, which was used to project specially-prepared film and animation sequences, including a remarkable flying clock sequence for 'Time' designed by lan Ernes.

But their shows didn't always go as planned. At a show in Pittsburgh on June 20, 1975, a specially built pyramid, designed to sail above the stage and radiate beams of light, became dislodged in a gust of wind. The helium balloon inside was never seen again; nor was the pyramid, which crashed into the stadium's car park, where it was promptly shredded by souvenir-hunters.

On Pink Floyd's 1977 tour several large-scale inflatables were made, symbolizing the typical 'nuclear-age' family and comprising a businessman, his wife, 2.5 children, a TV set, a Cadillac and a fridge full of worms. Appropriately, the tour motif and newly-acquired mascot, the giant inflatable pig, was also used, and in some cases detonated, to dramatic effect: but the most striking addition was the disturbing animated film designed by the satirical cartoonist Gerald Scarfe which accompanied 'Welcome To Machine'.

With the Wall shows in 1980 and 1981 Pink Floyd produced their most overwhelming spectacle to date as a huge wall was constructed across the stage during the show; a replica Stuka dive-bomber buzzed the audience, and both the wall and circular screen showed newly designed animations by Scarfe. In addition, three giant puppets, representing the villains of the piece, made appearances at key points.

However, it was for their final tour, in 1994, that Pink Floyd will always be remembered, having played to their largest attendances to date. A large semi-circular shell housed the screen and some 400 moving lights; lasers, a mirror ball and pigs on a vast scale accompanied spectacular new film sequences, and an IMAX projector recreated liquid-oil patterns to illuminate the revival of the Barren song Astronomy Domine'.

The production was transported by 49 trucks, with two Boeing 747s and a huge Russian Antonov military freight plane transferring the equipment from the US for : European tour.

It's hard to imagine it all began with a plank of wood, some domestic light switches and a few spotlights. [extract from 'The Treasures Of Pink Floyd', by Glenn Povey. Murdoch Books. 2012, p46]

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Concert Details

This is a bootleg recording of  Pink Floyd's concert held on the Grand Canal, Piazza San Marco, in Venice, Italy, on 15 July 1989.  Over 100 million viewers in 23 countries saw the the Italian TV broadcast.

During 1988-1989, Pink Floyd grossed $135 million on their Delicate Sound Of Thunder Tour - making it the most successful musical tour of all time. In Fobes magazine's chart of the world's highest paid entertainers, Pink Floyd ranked seventh, ahead of all other rock groups. Mason later called the tour "the most enjoyable ever".

Towards the end of their tour Floyd went to New Zealand and Australia - their first visit since 1971. Back in Europe again, Floyd played in Venice on July 15, 1989, over 200,000 fans swarmed St Marks Square for a free concert performed on a floating stage 24 meters high and towed by a barge 90m by 30m in size, in the Grand Canal.

This was probably the most controversial concert of Pink Floyd's career with Venetian locals protesting over noise levels and disruptions to their daily life.

To pacify critics Pink Floyd played at a reduced volume, but there were still claims of damage to marble cladding and lamp-posts were broken by fans climbing them for a better view.

The city authorities failed to provide facilities for the visiting fans, many of whom slept in St. Marks square. They left behind them 300 tons of litter, which had to be cleared by the Army.

Here's what David Gilmour of Pink Floyd said~

"We had a really good time, but the city authorities who had agreed to provide the services of security, toilets, food, completely reneged on everything they were supposed to do, and then tried to blame all the subsequent problems on us."

The City council apologised to Venice residents for the inconvenience, promising that no similar concert would ever be allowed. Disgusted with the lack of respect for the city and its inhabitants, locals staged a 7 hour sit-in at the City Hall shouting “Fools, scoundrels. Resign, Resign. You’ve turned Venice into a toilet!”  The Venetians wanted blood and in the end, the Mayor Casellati and the entire city council resigned. Therefore, this concert can be placed in the books as being truly unique.  [For more information, see ultimateclassicrock]

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This post consists on MP3's (320kps) ripped from my Aussie AMCOS CD Bootleg (released in 1993) and covers the second half of the concert. Full album artwork and concert photos are included, along with alternative bootleg release covers - namely 'Venetian Nights', 'Live In Venice', 'Laguna Di Venezia' and 'Piazza San Marco Venezia'

The quality of the recording is exceptional and comes close to their official Delicate Sound Of Thunder set.  Hope you enjoy this recording of Pink Floyd's most controversial concert.

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Track Listing

01. Time

02. The Great Gig in the Sky

03. Wish You Were Here

04. Money

05. Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two)

06. Comfortably Numb

07. Run Like Hell

Pink Floyd:

David Gilmour - Lead guitars and Lead vocals

Nick Mason - Drums and Percussion

Richard Wright - Keyboards and Vocals

with:

Tim Renwick - Guitars

Gary Wallis - Percussion

Jon Carin - Keyboards, Synthesizers and Vocals

Guy Pratt - Bass and Vocals

Scott Page - Saxophones

Rachel Fury, Durga McBroom and Lorelei McBroom - Backing Vocals 

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Pink Floyd Unlicensed Link (115Mb)  New Link 16/01/2025