49 Fun Facts About Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd took their name from two musicians in which genre?

Pink Anderson and Floyd Council were both Piedmont blues players from the Carolinas; the band's founder combined their first names after spotting them in his record collection.

In which city was Pink Floyd formed in 1965?

Pink Floyd formed in London in 1965, growing out of student bands at the Regent Street Polytechnic, although several members had grown up in Cambridge.

Which of these was NOT one of the four founding members of Pink Floyd?

Gilmour joined at the end of 1967, initially as a fifth member to cover for the increasingly erratic Barrett.

What was Pink Floyd's first single, released in March 1967?

Arnold Layne, released in March 1967, tells of a man who steals women's clothes from washing lines; one pirate radio station refused to play it, yet it reached number 20 in the UK.

The album title The Piper at the Gates of Dawn comes from a chapter of which children's book?

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, in which Rat and Mole encounter the god Pan.

Recording their 1967 debut at Abbey Road, Pink Floyd worked down the hall from which band making a landmark album?

Sgt. Pepper was being finished at the same time; producer Norman Smith had been the Beatles' engineer.

In which month and year did the band announce the departure of their original frontman?

Syd Barrett's mental health had collapsed amid heavy LSD use; he made two solo albums in 1970 and then retreated to Cambridge to paint and garden.

What is on the cover of the band's 1970 album Atom Heart Mother?

The cover shows a cow in a field, a Holstein-Friesian named Lulubelle III, with no text at all; the album was the band's first UK number one.

The title Atom Heart Mother was taken from a newspaper story about what?

The title came from an Evening Standard story about a woman with a nuclear-powered pacemaker, headlined 'Atom Heart Mother Named'; the band needed a name in a hurry for a BBC radio session.

"Echoes", the 23-minute track that fills side two of Meddle, is on an album whose cover shows what?

Meddle's cover is a close-up of an ear underwater, rippled by sound waves; designer Storm Thorgerson later said the album was far better than his sleeve.

The Meddle track "Seamus" features what unusual guest performer?

The dog belonged to Steve Marriott and Gilmour was dog-sitting; "Fearless" on the same album ends with Liverpool fans singing.

The 1972 concert film shot in a Roman amphitheatre shows the band playing in front of how many people?

Audience: none. The film was shot in October 1971 in an empty Roman amphitheatre with only the crew present; director Adrian Maben had the idea after losing his passport in the ruins.

Which EMI staff engineer engineered The Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road?

Alan Parsons, an EMI staff engineer, engineered The Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road between May 1972 and early 1973, earning a Grammy nomination for his work.

The famous prism on the cover of The Dark Side of the Moon was drawn by which designer at Hipgnosis?

George Hardie drew the prism artwork for Hipgnosis; Storm Thorgerson's team took the idea from a physics textbook photograph of light passing through a prism.

"Money" is written in which unusual time signature?

Money runs in 7/4 over a tape loop of coins and cash registers, switching to 4/4 for the guitar solo.

How much was Clare Torry originally paid for her vocal on "The Great Gig in the Sky"?

Clare Torry received a £30 session fee for her wordless vocal in January 1973; she sued in 2004 and settled for a co-writing credit and a share of royalties.

Which track opens The Dark Side of the Moon?

Speak to Me, a collage of heartbeat, clocks, cash registers and voices credited to the band's drummer, opens The Dark Side of the Moon and runs straight into Breathe.

"Dark Side of the Rainbow" is the fan claim that the album synchronises with which film?

Fans claim The Dark Side of the Moon lines up with The Wizard of Oz when started on the MGM lion's third roar; the band have dismissed it as coincidence.

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" from Wish You Were Here is a tribute to which former bandmate?

Syd Barrett, the band's founder, is its subject; by eerie chance he wandered into Abbey Road on 5 June 1975 while the song was being mixed, so changed that nobody recognised him.

Who sang lead vocals on "Have a Cigar", the song that asks "which one's Pink?"

The folk singer was recording next door; the lyric mocks a record executive who thought Pink was a person.

On the Wish You Were Here cover, what is happening to one handshaking businessman?

He is on fire: stuntman Ronnie Rondell Jr. really was set alight on a Warner Bros. lot and suffered minor burns when the wind blew the flames into his face.

The 1977 album Animals is loosely based on which book?

Animals borrows the idea of George Orwell's Animal Farm, casting people as dogs, pigs and sheep, with the two parts of 'Pigs on the Wing' as bookends.

The inflatable pig photographed over Battersea Power Station for Animals was nicknamed what?

The pig, nicknamed Algie, broke loose in December 1976, drifted into Heathrow's flight path and came down in a Kent field, alarming a farmer's cows.

An incident at a 1977 concert in which city, when Waters spat at a fan, inspired The Wall?

At Montreal's Olympic Stadium in July 1977 he spat at a fan climbing the stage netting; feeling walled off from his audience, he began to conceive The Wall.

The children's chorus on "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" came from where?

The chorus was recorded by pupils from Islington Green School, close to the band's own studio; the single became the UK Christmas number one of 1979.

Which band member was fired during The Wall, then rehired as a salaried player for the tour?

The tour lost about £400,000, so the man on a wage was the only one who made money from it.

For how many weeks did The Wall sit at number one on the US Billboard chart?

The Wall held number one on the Billboard 200 for 15 weeks in early 1980 and finished as the top-selling album of 1980 in the US.

Who played Pink in the 1982 film Pink Floyd – The Wall?

Bob Geldof, singer of the Boomtown Rats, made his film debut as Pink; director Alan Parker called the shoot one of the most miserable experiences of his life.

Who created the animation for The Wall film and its marching hammers?

Gerald Scarfe, the cartoonist who drew the album's artwork, created the film's animation including the marching hammers; the film won two BAFTAs, for sound and original song.

Who wrote all of the words and music on the 1983 album The Final Cut?

Roger Waters wrote every word and note of The Final Cut, which is dedicated to his father, killed at Anzio in 1944 when Roger was five months old.

Going to court in 1986 to stop the others using the Pink Floyd name, Roger Waters called the band what?

Waters, who had declared the band 'a spent force creatively', settled in December 1987: he kept The Wall and the pig, while the others kept the name.

What was the first Pink Floyd album released after the bassist's departure, in September 1987?

A Momentary Lapse of Reason, released in September 1987, reached number three in both the UK and the US and was followed by a hugely successful world tour.

Which author suggested the title of Pink Floyd's 1994 album?

Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and a friend of the band, suggested the title in return for a donation to a charity of his choice.

Whose synthesised voice appears on "Keep Talking" from the 1994 album?

Stephen Hawking's synthesised voice came from a BT television advert; the band asked the advertising agency for the recording and built 'Keep Talking' around it.

The two giant metal heads on the 1994 album cover were photographed in a field near which cathedral city?

The 25-foot sculptures were later shown at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the V&A.

The classic four-man line-up reunited for the last time at Live 8 in Hyde Park on which date?

On 2 July 2005 at Live 8 the four played together for the first time in 24 years, performing Breathe, Money, Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb.

Which 1969 double album paired a live disc with solo studio pieces by each member?

Ummagumma (1969) is a double album: one disc was recorded live in Birmingham and Manchester, the other holds studio pieces composed separately by each of the four members.

The 2014 album The Endless River was built from unused sessions for which earlier album?

The Endless River was assembled from material recorded during the 1993-94 sessions for The Division Bell, framed as a tribute to the band's late keyboardist, and topped the UK chart.

The 2022 single "Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" features the singer of which Ukrainian band?

Andriy Khlyvnyuk of BoomBox sings 'Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow', a 1914 patriotic song, over the band's backing; proceeds went to Ukrainian humanitarian relief.

In what year was Pink Floyd inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Pink Floyd were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 1996, with Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins giving the induction speech.

Which former member staged a huge Potsdamer Platz concert in July 1990, marking what?

Waters staged The Wall – Live in Berlin on Potsdamer Platz on 21 July 1990, eight months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, before a crowd put at 350,000 or more.

Which Italian town made the band's guitarist an honorary citizen after he returned to play there in 2016?

Pompeii made the guitarist an honorary citizen after his July 2016 concerts in its amphitheatre, 45 years after the band had filmed there.

The one lyric Nick Mason sings on a Pink Floyd record, on "One of These Days", threatens to do what?

Mason's only Floyd vocal, 'One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces', was recorded at double speed in falsetto and then slowed down to sound menacing.

Which orchestral collaborator co-composed the 23-minute Atom Heart Mother suite with the band?

Ron Geesin, a Scottish composer and friend of the band, wrote the brass and choir arrangements that turn the 23-minute Atom Heart Mother suite into an orchestral piece.

Waters and Mason met in 1962 studying which subject at the Regent Street Polytechnic?

Richard Wright was a fellow architecture student; their early sextet was called Sigma 6.

Which London School of Economics lecturer spotted the band at the Marquee Club in 1966 and became their manager?

Peter Jenner, then lecturing at the LSE, formed Blackhill Enterprises with partner Andrew King to manage the band and suggested dropping 'Sound' from their name.

How much was the advance Pink Floyd received on signing with EMI in 1967?

EMI signed the band in early 1967 for a £5,000 advance, unusually large for a new act, and released their records on its Columbia label.

In 1975 the band bought a group of church halls in Islington to build their own studio on which street?

The band converted church halls at 35 Britannia Row into a 24-track studio; Animals, recorded there in 1976, was the first album made in it.

In 2024 Pink Floyd sold their recordings catalogue to which company for about $400 million?

Sony Music bought Pink Floyd's recorded-music catalogue and name-and-likeness rights in October 2024 for about $400 million; the songwriting rights were not included.