The Complete History of Pink Floyd Glenn Povey
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF PINK FLOYD GLENN POVEY remember when you were streaming through the set the controls for the heart the sound of music in my ears playing different tunes running over the same old young 1962– starlit skies 1966–1967 of the sun 1968–1969 1970–1971 1972–1973 ground 1974–1975 10 30 76 116 152 180 a certain unease in the air the show must go on a new machine 1986–1993 the nights of wonder 1994–2006 solo careers 288 syd barrett 290 1976–1977 1978–1985 238 258 david gilmour 296 nick mason 316 198 218 roger waters 320 richard wright 340 pink floyd discography 342 Meanwhile the band continued to perform in the locality, Bo Diddley numbers on his white Fender guitar. He’d do put it, if they had opted for the other combination – bootleg market – a studio acetate having been unearthed notably The Woodman and The Winchester pubs on “No Money Down” and I would sing Jimmy Witherspoon, Anderson Council – it would have sounded like a local in the late Eighties - albeit of poor quality, and whilst it is REMEMBER WHEN Y 65 Archway Road, Highgate. Mason remembers at that time Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry stuff along with Lazy authority. clearly Barrett on lead vocals, the R&B style 9 they learned their repertoire from a clutch of albums, Lester’s “I’m A Lover Not A Fighter” and “I Got Love If By the end of January 1965, Dennis had received a performances are distinctly average. As Klose later 62-1 (11) 9 ‘Authentic R&B Volumes 1-3 and Syd’s collection of Bo You Want It” by Slim Harpo.’ posting to the Persian Gulf, leaving Barrett, as the most recalled, ‘We recorded a few numbers... I can’t remember Diddley.’(10) (Note: There was only ever one Authentic R&B It is also during this period that the band started to charismatic member, to take on what was for him the exactly where we did them… it was some place where a release – an LP in 1964 on Stateside. Mason is probably use the name The Tea Set - a pun on the technical unnatural role of lead singer. Something of an introvert, friend of Rick Wright’s worked as an engineer. I think OUNG 1 thinking of the Pye International R&B LP series.) drawing instrument. The name wasn’t in constant use but he may have been a far The band then apparently adopted the name was certainly adopted for many bookings in the coming more disciplined musician OU WERE Y Spectrum Five, although this appears to have been a very months and indeed right through to early 1966 - even and indeed of greater DAVID GILMOUR << The thing with Syd was that his brief flirtation – and then maybe only for a single gig at after they had found their new and more permanent ability, but he lacked OU WERE Y Camberwell School of Art. Significantly, it soon became name of “Pink Floyd”. Accounts vary considerably but it Barrett’s spontaneity and guitar playing wasn’t his strongest feature. His apparent that the band lacked a front man of any has been said that the new name was adopted mid-way raw talent. As Gilmour style was very stiff. I always thought I was the OUNG 1 substance. Barrett and Klose fumbled through the vocals through a dance at RAF Uxbridge where, and it does reflected, ‘The thing with better guitar player. But he was very clever, very as best they could, but neither had the confidence or seem highly unlikely that two bands would be booked, Syd was that his guitar 9 vocal range to carry it off effectively in the style that the another band was also performing under the name The playing wasn’t his strongest intelligent, an artist in every way. >> 62-1 band was aiming for. Therefore, during the autumn break Tea Set. As improbable as this story may seem, there was feature. His style was very 9 of 1964, Barrett was dispatched to Cambridge to try to indeed another north London based band with that name, stiff. I always thought I 65 REMEMBER WHEN Y convince his former band mate Geoff Mott to join them in and they went on to perform across the city throughout was the better guitar player. But he was very clever, very they were recorded on two-track. It was definitely a London. But there was hardly any incentive for Mott to the coming year. intelligent, an artist in every way. And he was a professional set-up. The songs themselves were mainly join a group that had very few gigs, no agency, no The name-change was all very spur-of-the-moment frightening talent when it came to words, and lyrics. They group compositions, although I think Syd wrote “Lucy manager and, on the face of it, no prospects. stuff and in the absence of any better ideas this just used to pour out.’(12) These changes also gave the Leave”. “Double-O-Bo” was a Bo Diddley tribute of sorts - Although he couldn’t persuade Mott to join, by suggestion was immediately adopted, although initially band their opportunity to finally nudge Leonard out in a pun on the James Bond 007 thing. The title was the extreme good fortune, Waters and Klose bumped into a and according to Keith Noble, they called themselves “The favour of Wright, who was invited back on board. main lyric! I think we had one verse written out, and then 18 face they vaguely knew from Cambridge in a West End Pink Floyd Blues Band”. Far from coming to him in a Confident that they now had a stable line-up the dreamt up a second whilst we were in the studio. I can’t 19 music store: Chris Dennis. At that time he was serving blinding flash while in an LSD induced trance or being band attempted to record some of their repertoire remember the title of the last number… it was a shuffle with the Royal Air Force at its Uxbridge base in west beamed to him by passing aliens from space, as some including the tracks ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Lucy Leave’, both type thing in E as far as I can recall. Nick Mason played London and had, until recently, been the lead vocalist in a might have it, the name’s true origins lay in Barrett’s Barrett originals; ‘I’m A King Bee’, the Slim Harpo blues them to me during a visit a couple of years after they not long disbanded but quite successful Cambridge group record collection. It is the amalgamation of the first standard, and ‘Double-O-Bo’, a group composition. ‘Lucy were recorded. Very embarrassing!’(13) called The Redcaps. He was looking for another band and names of two old Carolina bluesmen whose work was Leave’ and ‘I’m A King Bee’ was then pressed as an Although the band had picked up a short-lived accepted the offer immediately. ‘At this stage we were very familiar to him: Pink Anderson (1900-1974) and acetate single to send out to clubs in order to obtain live residency at The Countdown Club in Kensington, in reality like a lot of other bands, doing R&B stuff. Syd did a lot of Floyd ‘Dipper Boy’ Council (1911-1976). As Waters once bookings. Copies have since found their way onto the a private members club, where at least one show was BELOW: PINK FLOYD PHOTOGRAPHED IN HIGHGATE, LONDON IN EARLY 1965. PICTURED WITH ROGER ‘SYD’ BARRETT, NICK MASON, ROGER WATERS AND RICHARD WRIGHT IS RADO ‘BOB’ CLOSE SHORTLY BEFORE HE LEFT THE BAND. MIND HEAD PUBLISHING > march 1967 S 7 TRE 6 Tuesday 28 March Monday 3 April 9 CONCERT RADIO SHOW AMING THR -1 Chinese R&B Jazz Club, Corn Exchange, Bristol, BBC Playhouse Theatre, Charing Cross, London, 66 9 England England Pink Floyd performed ‘Arnold Layne’ and ‘Candy And Wednesday 29 March A Currant Bun’ live for the BBC Radio Light RECORDING SESSION Programme’s Monday, Monday! broadcast at 1.00pm. OUGH THE S EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood, London, Curiously at this time the BBC had a policy of England auditioning all bands for live appearance by playing ARLIT SKIES 1 Mixing for the album The Piper At The Gates Of the recordings to a committee for approval for T Dawn. transmission. However, in Pink Floyd’s case the BBC archives indicate that their tracks were transmitted T Wednesday 29 March and considered a ‘live audition’ in view of the fact the ARLIT SKIES 1 CONCERT single was already charting. The Dance Hall, Eel Pie Island Hotel, Twickenham, OUGH THE S England Thursday 6 April CONCERT Thursday 30 March City Hall, Salisbury, England 9 CANCELLED TV SHOW Supported by The Nite Shift. 66 -1 AMING THR BBC Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd’s Bush, London, The set list included: Untitled Instrumental / ‘Arnold England Layne’ / ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ / ‘Matilda Mother’. 9 6 TRE Pink Floyd were filmed for the UK’s most watched 7 S pop music show, BBC TV’s Top Of The Pops, Friday 7 April performing ‘Arnold Layne’ on this date, but its CONCERT intended broadcast the following week (Thursday 6 Floral Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland April) was cancelled. A statement was issued by the Supported by The Jimmy Johnston Showband. show’s producer, Stanley Dorfman, to Melody Maker, Rick Wright commented in Melody Maker that, ‘The (published week ending Saturday 8 April), explaining best reaction so far to the Floyd’s lights and sounds Saturday 8 April “psychedelic” tag it has been branded with.