Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock ^{Rock music} band who earned recognition for their psychedelic ^{psychedelic rock} music in the late 1960s, and as they evolved in the 1970s, for their progressive rock music. Pink Floyd's work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation ^Acoustics , innovative album cover art ^{album art} , and elaborate live shows ^{Pink Floyd live performances} . One of rock music's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful acts, the group has sold over 200 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million certified units in the United States.

Pink Floyd were formed in 1965, and originally consisted of university students Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright ^{Richard Wright (musician)} , and Syd Barrett. The group were a popular fixture on London's underground music scene, and under Barrett's leadership released two charting singles, "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", and a commercially and critically successful debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. In 1968, guitarist and singer David Gilmour joined the line-up, and Barrett was removed due to his increasingly erratic behaviour. Following Barrett's departure, bass player and singer Roger Waters became the lyricist and dominant figure in the band, which thereafter achieved worldwide critical and commercial success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here ^{Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album)} , Animals ^{Animals (album)} , and rock opera The Wall.

Wright left the band in 1979, and Waters in 1985, but Gilmour and Mason (joined by Wright) continued recording and touring under the name Pink Floyd. Waters used legal means to try to keep them from using the name, declaring Pink Floyd a spent force, but the parties reached an out-of-court settlement allowing Gilmour, Mason and Wright to continue as Pink Floyd. The band again enjoyed worldwide success with A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994), and Waters continued as a solo musician, releasing three studio albums. Although for some years relations between Waters and the remaining three members were sour, the band reformed in 2005 for what would be a final one-off performance at Live 8.

 
Early years (1963–1967)


Formation

Nick Mason and Roger Waters met at the Regent Street Polytechnic ^{University of Westminster} in London, where both were studying architecture.
David Gilmour was already acquainted with Barrett, having studied modern language in the early 1960s at Cambridge Tech while Barrett studied art. Gilmour had started playing guitar aged thirteen, On the same day the album was released the band performed at the first free Hyde Park concert ^{List of concerts in Hyde Park} (organised by Blackhill Enterprises), with Roy Harper and Jethro Tull ^{Jethro Tull (band)} . Bryan Morrison later sold his business to NEMS Enterprises, and Steve O'Rourke became Pink Floyd's personal manager.

, shortly after its release in 1973. (l-r) David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Dick Parry, Roger Waters
The Dark Side of the Moon was released in March 1973, and became an instant chart success in Britain and throughout Western Europe. today), while in Britain and Europe they continued to be represented by Harvest Records.

After several weeks, however, Waters began to visualise another concept. and had performed them at a series of concerts in Europe. reminded Waters of the lingering ghost of former band-member Syd Barrett. The songs also contained barely-veiled attacks on the music business, and provided an apt summary of the rise and fall of their former bandmate; "Because I wanted to get as close as possible to what I felt ... that sort of indefinable, inevitable melancholy about the disappearance of Syd."

, visiting Abbey Road Studios on 5 June 1975
While the band were working on the album, Barrett made an impromptu visit to the studio, during which, Thorgerson recalled, he "sat round and talked for a bit but he wasn't really there." He had changed in appearance, and the band did not initially realise it was him. Waters was reportedly deeply upset by the experience. Barrett eventually left without saying goodbye, and none of the band members ever saw him again.

Storm Thorgerson concealed the album artwork with a dark-coloured shrink-wrap. Inside, the cover image was inspired by the idea that people tend to conceal their true feelings, for fear of "getting burned", and thus two businessmen were pictured shaking hands, one man on fire. Much of Wish You Were Here was premièred on 5 July 1975 at an open-air music festival at Knebworth, before being released in September that year. It reached number one in Britain and the US, along with positive reviews; Robert Christgau wrote: "... the music is not only simple and attractive, with the synthesiser used mostly for texture and the guitar breaks for comment, but it actually achieves some of the symphonic dignity (and cross-referencing) that The Dark Side of the Moon simulated so ponderously."



Animals


Following the Knebworth concert, the band bought a three-storey block of church halls at 35 Britannia Row ^{Britannia Row Studios} in Islington. Their deal with EMI for unlimited studio time in return for a reduced percentage of sales had expired, and they set about converting the building into a recording studio, and storage facility. The studio would be on the ground floor, with the storage facility above, necessitating the installation of a hoist to move the band's equipment in and out of the building. The top floor became an office, equipped with a pool table. The band also envisaged hiring their equipment out, but the hire business was unsuccessful and would later be taken over by Brian Grant and Robbie Williams. The studio, however, was more successful. Its construction took up most of 1975, and in 1976 the band recorded their eighth studio album, Animals ^{Animals (album)} , at the new facility.

was the subject for the cover image for the band's 1977 album, Animals ^{Animals (album)} .
Animals was born from another Waters concept, borrowed from George Orwell's Animal Farm, where the human race was reduced to dogs, pigs, and sheep. Brian Humphries was again called upon to engineer the album, Shooting continued for a third day, but the image of the pig was later superimposed onto the cover photograph as the early photographs of the power station were considered to be better.


The division of royalties became a sore topic, during production of the album. Royalties were accorded on a per-song basis, and although Gilmour was largely responsible for "Dogs"—which took up almost the entire first side of the album—he received less than Waters, who also contributed the two-part "Pigs on the Wing", which contains references to Waters' romantic involvement with Carolyne Anne Christie. Gilmour was also distracted by the birth of his first child, and contributed little else toward the album. Similarly, neither Mason nor Wright contributed much toward Animals (the first Pink Floyd album not to contain a writing credit for Wright); Wright had marital problems, and his relationship with Waters was also suffering:



stadium in Chicago. The band played here during their 1977 In the Flesh ^{In the Flesh Tour} tour.
Animals was released on 23 January 1977, and Melody Maker's Karl Dallas wrote "… [an] uncomfortable taste of reality in a medium that has become in recent years, increasingly soporific …" and the end of the tour was a low point for Gilmour, who felt that the band had by now achieved the success they sought, and that there was nothing else to look forward to.


The Wall


The In the Flesh tour was Pink Floyd's first playing in large stadiums, and at one venue a small group of noisy and excited fans in the front row of the audience irritated Waters so much that he spat at one of them. Waters was not the only person who felt depressed about playing in such large venues, as that same night Gilmour refused to perform the band's usual twelve-bar blues encore. About this time, Gilmour and Wright released their début solo albums, David Gilmour ^{David Gilmour (album)} , and Wet Dream ^{Wet Dream (album)} . Both albums sold poorly, a situation only exacerbated by the loss of much of the band's accumulated wealth. In 1976, the band had become involved with financial advisers Norton Warburg Group (NWG). NWG became the band's collecting agents and handled all financial planning, for an annual fee of about £300,000. Between £1.6M and £3.3M of the band's money was invested in high-risk venture capital schemes, primarily to reduce the band's exposure to high UK taxes. It soon became obvious that the band were still losing money. Not only did NWG invest in failing businesses, they also left the band liable for tax bills as high as 83% of their income. They eventually terminated their relationship with NWG, demanding the return of any cash not yet invested, which at that time amounted to £860,000 (they received £740,000).
The album was promoted by a rare Pink Floyd single—"Another Brick in the Wall (Part II) ^{Another Brick in the Wall#Part II} ", which topped the charts in the US and the UK. A National Endowment for the Arts and RIAA poll named "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II) ^{Another Brick in the Wall#Part II} " one of the 365 Songs of the Century in 2001. The Wall was released on 30 November 1979, and topped the Billboard charts for fifteen weeks. The Wall ranks #4 all time on RIAA's list of the Top 100 albums, with 23 million certifed units sold in the US alone. It remains one of the band's best-selling albums. The cover is one of their most minimal designs, with a simple white brick wall, and no logo or band name. It was also their first album cover since The Piper at the Gates of Dawn not designed by Hipgnosis. Gerald Scarfe was employed to produce a series of animations for the subsequent The Wall Tour, including a series of nightmarish visions of the future such as a dove of peace exploding to reveal an eagle. Large inflatable puppets were also created for the live shows. On tour, relationships within the band were at an all-time low. Their four Winnebago ^{Winnebago Industries} s were parked in a circle, with the doors facing away from the centre. Waters used his own vehicle to arrive at the venue, and stayed in separate hotels from the rest of the band. Wright returned as a paid musician, and was the only 'member' of the band to profit from the venture, which lost about $600,000. He was eventually won over by the prospect of being involved in a major film and receiving a large payment for his work. Waters took a six-week holiday during filming and returned to find that Parker had used his creative licence to change parts of the film to his liking. Waters was irate, the two fought, and Parker threatened to walk out. Gilmour pleaded with Waters to reconsider his stance, reminding the bassist that he and the other band members were shareholders and directors and could out-vote him on such decisions. A modified soundtrack was also created for some of the film's songs. The Wall was released in July 1982.


Waters-led era (1982–85)


The Final Cut


Spare Bricks was to have been the soundtrack album for Pink Floyd The Wall, but with the onset of the Falklands Conflict Waters changed direction, and began writing new material. A socialist at heart, Waters saw Margaret Thatcher's response to the invasion of the islands as jingoistic and unnecessary, and he dedicated the new album—then provisionally titled Requiem for a Post-War Dream—to his dead father. Immediately, there were arguments between Waters and Gilmour, who felt that the album should contain all new material, rather than songs not considered good enough for The Wall. Waters felt that, lately, Gilmour had contributed little to the band's lyrical repertoire.


Michael Kamen (a contributor to the orchestral sections of The Wall) mediated between the two, and also performed the role traditionally occupied by the now absent Richard Wright. James Guthrie was the studio engineer, and surprisingly, Mason was aided by two session drummers. Recording took place in an unprecedented eight studios, including Gilmour's home studio at Hookend Manor ^{Outside Studios} and Waters' home studio at East Sheen. Still, the tension within the band grew worse. Waters and Gilmour worked separately (itself not unusual) but Gilmour began to feel the strain, sometimes barely maintaining his composure. Waters lost his temper, ranting at Kamen, who in boredom during one recording session, had started writing "I Must Not *** Sheep" repeatedly on a notepad in the studio's control room. After a final confrontation, Gilmour's name as producer was removed from the credit list, reflecting what Waters felt was his lack of song writing contributions.


Hipgnosis had by this time disbanded, but again Thorgerson was passed over for the cover design, Waters choosing to design it himself. His brother-in-law, Willie Christie, was commissioned to take pictures for the album.


"Spent force"

in 1984, on his About Face ^{About Face (album)} tour
Gilmour recorded his second solo album About Face ^{About Face (album)} in 1984, and used it to express his feelings about a range of topics, from the murder of musician John Lennon, to his relationship with Waters. He has since admitted that he also used the album to distance himself from Pink Floyd. Soon after, Waters began touring his new solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. Richard Wright meanwhile formed Zee with Dave Harris, and recorded Identity ^{Identity (album)} , which went almost unnoticed upon its release. Wright was also in the midst of a difficult divorce, and has since admitted that it was "… made at a time in my life when I was lost." Mason released his second solo album Profiles in August 1985, which featured a contribution from Gilmour on "Lie for a Lie".

Waters now believed that Pink Floyd was a spent force, and contacted O'Rourke with a view to settling future royalty payments. O'Rourke felt obliged to inform Mason and Gilmour, and as a result Waters tried to dismiss him. Waters then went to the High Court ^{High Court of Justice} to prevent the Pink Floyd name from ever being used again.

Waters wrote to EMI and Columbia and declared his intention to leave the group, and asked them to release him from his contractual obligations. Gilmour believed that Waters left to hasten the demise of Pink Floyd, however, Waters later stated that by not making new albums, Pink Floyd would be in breach of contract—which would mean that royalty payments would be suspended—and that he was effectively forced from the band as the other members threatened to sue him. With the case still pending, Waters dispensed with O'Rourke's services and employed Peter Rudge to manage his affairs. as well as a second solo album, Radio K.A.O.S..


Gilmour-led era (1985–1994)


A Momentary Lapse of Reason



Radio K.A.O.S. was released in June 1987, Gilmour was also contacted by Wright's new wife. She had heard that he was working on new material and asked if Wright could contribute. Gilmour considered the request; there were several legal obstacles to Wright's re-admittance to the band, but after a meeting in Hampstead he was brought back in. Gilmour later admitted in an interview with author Karl Dallas that Wright's presence "would make us stronger legally and musically". He was therefore employed as a paid musician, on a weekly wage of $11,000.

The album was recorded along the River Thames, on Gilmour's houseboat Astoria ^{Astoria (recording studio)} . Andy Jackson ^{Andrew Jackson (recording engineer)} (a colleague of Guthrie) was brought in as engineer. Gilmour experimented with various songwriters such as Eric Stewart and Roger McGough, but eventually settled on Anthony Moore as a lyricist. Gilmour would later admit that the new project was difficult without Waters' presence. Nick Mason was concerned that he was too out of practice to perform on the album, and was replaced on occasion by session musicians. He instead busied himself with the album's sound effects. In a marked change from previous Floyd albums, A Momentary Lapse was recorded onto a 32-channel Mitsubishi digital recorder, and used MIDI synchronisation with the aid of an Apple Macintosh computer.


Waters on one occasion visited Astoria to see Ezrin, along with Christie, by then his wife. As he was still a shareholder and director of Pink Floyd music, he was able to block any decisions made by his former bandmates. Recording moved to Mayfair and Audio International Studios ^{Mayfair Studios} , and then to Los Angeles—"It was fantastic because … the lawyers couldn't call in the middle of recording unless they were calling in the middle of the night." Waters tried to block a proposed Pink Floyd tour, by contacting every promoter in the US, threatening to sue if they used the Pink Floyd name. Gilmour and Mason funded the startup costs (Mason, separated from his wife, used his Ferrari 250 GTO as collateral). Some promoters were offended by Waters' threat, and several months later, tickets went on sale in Toronto (and were sold out within hours).

Storm Thorgerson, whose creative input was absent from The Wall and The Final Cut, was employed to design the cover. The album was released in September 1987, and in order to drive home the message that Waters had left the band, a group photograph was, for the first time since Meddle, included on the inside of the cover. The album went straight to number three in the UK and US—held from the top spot by Michael Jackson's Bad ^{Bad (album)} , and Whitesnake's 1987. Although Gilmour initially viewed the album as a return to the band's best form, Wright would later disagree, admitting "Roger's criticisms are fair. It's not a band album at all." Q Magazine's view was that the album was primarily a Gilmour solo effort.


Early rehearsals for the upcoming tour were chaotic, with Mason and Wright completely out of practice, and realising he'd taken on too much work Gilmour asked Bob Ezrin to take charge. As the new band toured throughout North America, Waters' Radio K.A.O.S. tour was, on occasion, close by. The bassist had forbidden any members of Pink Floyd from attending his concerts, which were generally in smaller venues than those housing his former band's performances. Waters issued a writ for copyright fees for the band's use of the flying pig ^{Pink Floyd pigs} , and Pink Floyd responded by attaching a huge set of male genitalia to its underside to distinguish it from his design. However, by November 1987 Waters appeared to admit defeat, and on 23 December a legal settlement was finally reached. Mason and Gilmour were allowed use of the Pink Floyd name in perpetuity, and Waters would be granted, amongst other things, The Wall. The bickering continued, however, with Waters issuing the occasional slight against his former friends, and Gilmour and Mason responding by making light of Waters claims that they would fail without him. The Sun ^{The Sun (newspaper)} printed a story about Waters, who it claimed had paid an artist to create 150 toilet rolls with Gilmour's face on every sheet. Waters later rubbished this story, but it serves to illustrate how deeply divided the two parties had now become.


The Division Bell


For several years thereafter the three members of Pink Floyd busied themselves with personal pursuits, such as filming and competing in the Carrera Panamericana (where Gilmour and O'Rourke crashed), and later recording a soundtrack for the film. Gilmour divorced Ginger, and Mason married actress Annette Lynton. In January 1993 the band began working on a new album. They returned to a now remodelled Britannia Row Studios, where for several days Gilmour, Mason and Wright worked collaboratively, ad-libbing new material. After about two weeks the band had enough ideas to start creating new songs. Bob Ezrin returned to work on the album, and production moved to Astoria where from February to May 1993 the band worked on about twenty-five ideas. Contractually, Wright was still not a full member of the band: "It came very close to a point where I wasn't going to do the album", a situation which clearly upset the keyboardist. However, he was given his first songwriting credit on a Pink Floyd album since 1975's Wish You Were Here. Another songwriter credited on the album was Gilmour's new girlfriend, Polly Samson. She helped write "High Hopes ^{High Hopes (Pink Floyd song)} " with Gilmour—along with several other tracks—a situation which, though initially tense, according to Ezrin "pulled the whole album together". She also helped Gilmour, who, following his divorce, had developed a cocaine habit. Michael Kamen was brought in work on the album's various string arrangements,


Keen to avoid competing against other album releases (as had happened with A Momentary Lapse) the band set a deadline of April 1994, at which point they would begin touring again. The album title was chosen by writer Douglas Adams, and Storm Thorgerson once again provided the cover artwork. Thorgerson also provided six new pieces of film for the upcoming tour. The band spent three weeks rehearsing in a hangar at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California before opening on 29 March 1994 in Miami with an almost identical crew to that used for their Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. They played a mixture of Pink Floyd favourites, but later changed their setlist to include The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. The band also renewed their acquaintance with Peter Wynne Willson.

Waters was invited to join the band as the tour reached Europe, but declined, later expressing his annoyance that some Floyd songs were being performed again in large venues. On the first night of the European leg, a 1,200 capacity stand collapsed, but there were no serious injuries and the performance was rescheduled. The tour ended at Earls Court on 20 October 1994 and was the group's final appearance, other than their one-off reunion in 2005 for Live 8 and their performance of "Fat Old Sun" and "The Great Gig in the Sky" in Chichester Cathedral at the funeral of their manager Steve O'Rourke who died on 30 October 2003. A live album of the tour Pulse ^{Pulse (album)} , and a concert video Pulse ^{Pulse (1995 film)} , were released in 1995.


Post-breakup and Live 8 reunion (since 2005)




On Saturday 2 July 2005 at the Live 8 concert, at about eleven o'clock in the evening, the classic lineup of Pink Floyd performed together on stage—for the first time in over 24 years. The reunion had been arranged by Live 8 organiser Bob Geldof who had called Mason earlier in the year to discuss the band reuniting for Live 8. Geldof had already asked Gilmour, who had turned down the offer, and asked Mason to intercede on his behalf. Mason declined, but contacted Waters, who was immediately enthusiastic. Waters then called Geldof to discuss the event, which was at that time only a month away. About two weeks later, Waters called Gilmour—their first conversation for about two years—and the next day the latter agreed. Wright was contacted, and immediately agreed. Statements were issued to the press which stressed the lack of import of the band's problems, compared to the context of the Live 8 event. The setlist was planned at the Connaught Hotel in London, followed by three days of rehearsals at Black Island Studios. The sessions were troublesome, with minor disagreements over the style and pace of the songs they were practising. Waters wanted to use the occasion to expand the concepts he had designed, whereas Gilmour wanted to perform the songs in exactly the way the audience would expect. The final setlist and running order was decided on the eve of the concert.

The band performed a four-song set beginning with "Speak to Me/Breathe ^{Breathe (Pink Floyd song)} /Breathe (Reprise)", "Money ^{Money (Pink Floyd song)} ", "Wish You Were Here ^{Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd song)} ", and ending with "Comfortably Numb". Gilmour and Waters shared lead vocals. Onstage, at the start of "Wish You Were Here," Waters told the audience: "It's actually quite emotional, standing up here with these three guys after all these years, standing to be counted with the rest of you. Anyway, we're doing this for everyone who's not here, and particularly of course for Syd." At the end of their performance Gilmour thanked the audience, and started to walk off the stage, but Waters called him back and the band shared a group hug that became one of the more notable images from Live 8.



In the week following their performance there was a revival of interest in Pink Floyd. According to HMV, in the week following sales of Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd rose by 1343%, while Amazon.com reported a significant increase in sales of The Wall. Gilmour subsequently declared that he would donate his share of profits from this sales boom to charity, and urged other artists and record companies ^{Record industry} profiting from Live 8 to do the same.

After the show Gilmour confirmed that he and Waters were on "pretty amicable terms". A £136 million (then about $250 million) deal for a final tour was offered, but turned down. Waters did not rule out further performances, but only for a special occasion. In a 2006 interview with La Repubblica, Gilmour stated that he wished to focus on solo projects, and his family, and that his appearance at Live 8 was to help reconcile his differences with Waters. However, in a 2006 interview Mason stated that Pink Floyd would be willing to perform for a concert that would support peace between Israel and Palestine. Speaking in 2006, speaking of Pink Floyd's future, Gilmour stated "who knows".


David Gilmour released his third solo record, On an Island, on 6 March 2006. He began a tour of small concert venues in Europe, Canada and the US, with contributions from Wright and other musicians from the post-Waters Pink Floyd tours. Mason joined Gilmour and Wright for the final night of the tour, but was otherwise engaged in playing for Waters 2006 Europe/U.S. tour ^{Roger Waters - The Dark Side of the Moon Live (2006 tour)} . Gilmour, Wright, and Mason's encore performances of "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb" marked the first performance by Pink Floyd since Live 8.

Syd Barrett died on 7 July 2006, aged 60, at his home in Cambridgeshire. He was interred at Cambridge Crematorium on 18 July 2006. No Pink Floyd members attended. Although Barrett had faded into obscurity over the previous 35 years, he was lauded in the national press for his contributions to music. He left over £1.25M in his will, to be divided between his immediate family, and some of his possessions and artwork were auctioned.

{{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=center |width=30em |quote = The band are very naturally upset and sad to hear of Syd Barrett's death. Syd was the guiding light of the early band line-up and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire.|source = Richard Wright Rolling Stone wrote "the opera does reflect some of the man's long-term obsessions with war and peace, love and loss". 2007 saw the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd's signing to EMI, and the 40th anniversary of the release of their début album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. This was marked by the release of Oh, by the Way, a limited edition box set containing mono and stereo mixes of their albums, plus tracks from the singles and other rare recordings.

On 10 May 2007 Waters and Pink Floyd performed separately at the Syd Barrett tribute concert at the Barbican Centre in London. The event, organised by Joe Boyd and Nick Laird-Clowes, saw the band perform some of Barrett's hits, such as "Bike ^{Bike (song)} ", and "Arnold Layne". In a January 2007 interview Waters suggested he had become more open to a Pink Floyd reunion: “I would have no problem if the rest of them wanted to get together. It wouldn’t even have to be to save the world. It could be just because it would be fun. And people would love it.” Later that year Gilmour stated: "I can’t see why I would want to be going back to that old thing. It’s very retrogressive. I want to look forward, and looking back isn’t my joy." In a May 2008 interview for BBC 6Music, David Gilmour hinted that he would be in favour of another one-off show, but ruled out a full tour. Speaking to Associated Press to promote the release of his new live album, David Gilmour stated that a reunion would not happen. Gilmour said: "The rehearsals were less enjoyable. The rehearsals convinced me it wasn't something I wanted to be doing a lot of … There have been all sorts of farewell moments in people's lives and careers which they have then rescinded, but I think I can fairly categorically say that there won't be a tour or an album again that I take part in. It isn't to do with animosity or anything like that. It's just that I've done that. I've been there, I've done it."

Just over two years after the death of Barrett, on 15 September 2008 Richard Wright ^{Richard Wright (musician)} died of cancer, aged 65. He was lauded by his surviving bandmates, Gilmour in particular, for his influence on the overall sound of Pink Floyd.

In April 2009 it was revealed that the band had initiated legal action against EMI for an alleged failure to pay royalties. The dispute is reportedly connected to an ongoing disagreement with Terra Firma Capital Partners, the private equity firm who took ownership of EMI in 2007. The band won the subsequent court case in March 2010.Pink Floyd have been nominated for and won several awards, including a Grammy in 1995 for "Rock Instrumental Performance" on "Marooned ^{Marooned (song)} "; inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (17 January 1996) and UK Music Hall of Fame (16 November 2005), and the Polar Music Prize for their contribution to contemporary music in 2008 when Waters and Mason received the prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Technical awards include a "Best Engineered Non-Classical Album" Grammy in 1980 for The Wall; and a BAFTA for sound in 1982 for the film ^{Pink Floyd The Wall (film)} .

The group has sold over 200 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million certified units in the United States. The Sunday Times Rich List 2009 ranks Waters at No. 657 with an estimated wealth of £85m, Gilmour at No. 742 with £78m, and Mason at No. 1077 with £50m.

A number of notable musicians and bands from diverse genres have been influenced by Pink Floyd's music. These include David Bowie, Blur ^{Blur (band)} , Tangerine Dream, Nine Inch Nails, Dream Theater, My Chemical Romance, The Mars Volta, Phish, Radiohead, Marillion, Porcupine Tree, and The Smashing Pumpkins. Italian composer and conductor Martino Traversa listened to the group as a teenager. U2's The Edge, well known for his use of guitar effects, especially delay, bought his first delay pedal as a teenager after hearing the opening to Animals. The Pet Shop Boys paid homage to The Wall during a performance in Boston.Pink Floyd are regarded as pioneers in the live music ^Concert experience, and were renowned for their lavish stage shows, in which the performers themselves were almost secondary. Pink Floyd also set high standards in sound quality, and made use of innovative sound effects and quadraphonic speaker systems. From their earliest days they were well known for their use of visual effects, which accompanied the psychedelic rock pieces performed at venues such as the UFO Club in London. The album had been composed and refined mostly while the band toured the UK, Japan, North America, and Europe. Animals was the centrepiece for their In the Flesh ^{In the Flesh Tour} tour, which began in Dortmund, and continued through Europe to the UK, and then the US. A inflatable floating pig named Algie became the inspiration for a number of pig themes used throughout the tour.

Although Pink Floyd were experienced live performers, the behaviour of the audience on their In the Flesh tour, and the sizes of the venues they played, were a powerful influence on their rock opera album, The Wall. The subsequent The Wall Tour featured a high wall, built from cardboard bricks, constructed between the band and the audience. Animations were projected onto the wall, and gaps allowed the audience to view various scenes in the story. Several characters from the story were realised as giant inflatables. One of the more notable elements of the tour was the performance of "Comfortably Numb". While Waters sang his opening verse, Gilmour waited in darkness, for his cue, on top of the wall. When it came, bright blue and white lights would suddenly illuminate him, astonishing the audience. Gilmour stood on a flight case on castors, a dangerous set-up supported from behind by a technician, both supported by a tall hydraulic platform.

Two years after the departure of Waters the band embarked on their A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour. Starting in Ottawa on 9 September they spent about two years touring the US, Japan, Europe, and Central Asia. In Venice, the band played to an audience of 200,000 fans at the Piazza San Marco. The resulting storm of protest over the city's lack of toilet provision, first aid, and accommodation, resulted in the resignation of Mayor Antonio Casellati and his government. At the end of the tour Pink Floyd released Delicate Sound of Thunder, and in 1989 a concert video—Delicate Sound of Thunder ^{Delicate Sound of Thunder (film)} .

During the band's Division Bell tour, an anonymous person named Publius ^{Publius Enigma} posted a message on an internet newsgroup, inviting fans to solve a riddle supposedly concealed in the new album. The veracity of the user was demonstrated when white lights in front of the stage at the Pink Floyd concert in East Rutherford spelled out the words Enigma Publius. During a televised concert at Earls Court in October 1994, the word enigma was projected in large letters on to the backdrop of the stage. Mason later acknowledged that the Publius Enigma did exist, and that it had been instigated by the record company rather than the band. As of the puzzle remains unsolved.* The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
* A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
* Soundtrack from the Film More (1969)
* Ummagumma (1969)
* Atom Heart Mother (1970)
* Meddle (1971)
* Obscured by Clouds (1972)
* The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
* Wish You Were Here ^{Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album)} (1975)
* Animals ^{Animals (album)} (1977)
* The Wall (1979)
* The Final Cut ^{The Final Cut (album)} (1983)
* A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987)
* The Division Bell (1994);Former members

* Syd Barrett (b.1946, d.2006) - lead vocals ^Singer , lead guitars ^{Electric guitar} (1965–1968)
* David Gilmour (b.1946) - lead vocals ^Singer , lead guitars ^{Electric guitar} , bass guitar, special effects (1968–1996)
* Bob Klose (b.1945) - bass guitar, guitars ^{Electric guitar} (1965)
* Nick Mason (b.1944) - drums ^{Drum kit} , percussion ^{Percussion instrument} , programming (1965–1996)
* Roger Waters (b.1943) - lead vocals ^Singer , bass guitar, guitars ^{Electric guitar} , percussion ^{Percussion instrument} , programming (1965–1985)
* Richard Wright ^{Richard Wright (musician)} (b.1943, d.2008) - keyboards ^{Keyboard instrument} , organ ^{Organ (music)} , piano, synthesizers, mellotron, backing vocals ^{Backing vocalist} (1965–1979, 1993–1996)