Pink Floyd Bio
Pink Floyd was formed in 1964 by Regent Street Polytechnic student Roger Waters (bassist/songwriter), along with Nick Mason (drummer) and Richard Wright (keyboardist). The group went by various names, including The Meggadeaths, Sigma 6, The Abdabs (Juliette Gale who married Richard Wright was part of the Abdabs), Leonard's Lodgers and The T-Set, before Syd Barrett joined the group and suggested the name The Pink Floyd Sound, a name taken from his favorite bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Barrett became the driving force of the group, writing their two hit singles Arnold Layne and See Emily Play, and most of the songs on their first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Piper has been called the greatest British psychedelic album with the possible exception of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's. While touring the US, problems with Barrett started to surface. Mental problems marked by a fragile hold on reality combined with frequent LSD use, had taken a heavy toll on Syd. On stage he would either stop playing completely or play notes that had nothing to do with what the group was playing.¹
¹ Ace's Bio-Farm.
Pink Floyd Quotes
"It was great when Syd joined. Before him, we'd play the R&B classics, because that's what all groups were supposed to then. But I never liked R&B very much. I was actually more of a jazz fan. With Syd, the direction changed. It became more improvised around the guitar and keyboards. Roger started playing the bass as a lead instrument and I started to introduce more of my classical feel." ~ Richard Wright
"Their choice of material was always very much to do with what they were thinking as architecture students. Rather unexciting people I would've thought..." ~ Syd Barrett
"I could have been an architect, but I don't think I'd have been very happy. Nearly all modern architecture is a silly game as far as I can see." Roger Waters
"Our music has depth, and attempts philosophical thought and meaning with discussions of infinity, eternity and mortality. There is a line which people cross that turns it into some magical, mystical realm, for which I don't claim responsibility and don't hold any great truck with." David Gilmour
