Just two months after the release of the legendary "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," in August of '67 a band emerged that would leave its own mark on world music, blazing new trails and influencing generations and generations of musicians. "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was the first "child" of Pink Floyd who had Syd Barrett at their "helm". The album was recorded at the Abbey Road studio, in a "parallel" conversation with the Beatles.
Barrett's personality influenced the entire psychedelic scene of the time and in particular, the rest of the band members who, although they became independent after his "disappearance", always referred to him. The formidable Waters / Gilmour duo went their separate ways, reaching great lyrical and musical heights. "Dark Side of the Moon" is rightly considered the band's magnum opus, with Wall regarded as their grandest work.
Floyd's rock opera, released today, is ranked No. 43 of the 500 greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine and is a largely experiential record for Waters himself. Below we remember five little-known facts about a record that accompanied the fall of the Berlin Wall and symbolizes the fall of many different walls, personal and non-personal.
The hidden messages in Empty Spaces
In the middle of the track, some voices can be heard in the "background". If the excerpt is played backwards, we have the message:"Hello, Luka… Congratulations. You have just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the Funny Farm, Chalfont – Roger! Carolyne's on the phone! – Okay ". This is a message - tribute to Syd Barrett (Old Pink).
When Pink Floyd met Prince
It was April 24, 2016 when David Gilmour honored the memory of Prince by "marrying" Comfortably Numb on stage with the "purple rain" that wrote its own history on the music scene. The concert was for the charity Teenage Cancer Trust:
It is noted that while most of the songs on "The Wall" were written by Roger Waters, most of the music on "Comfortably Numb" was written by David Gilmour. Roger Waters wrote the lyrics and some additional notes tentatively titled "The Doctor" which was later changed to "Comfortably Numb". The lyrics describe the relationship between the doctor and Pink, the main character of the story. Roger Waters has stated that the lyrics convey his personal experiences. One comes from the time when he was a child and particularly affectionate. The second experience is connected to a Floyd live at the Spectrum in Philadelphia as part of the In The Flesh tour, when Waters had stomach cramps but had to play. The backstage doctor gave him a pill, so he can't play well live. Nevertheless, as he recalled in an interview, no one in the audience understood, even though he himself felt "beautifully numb".
The recording of "Comfortably Numb", produced by Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour, James Guthrie and Roger Waters, lasted from April to November 1979. The second side of the single featured "Hey You". "Comfortably Numb" was included on the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning film "The Departed" (2006), performed by Roger Waters, Van Morrison and Band, while the same performance was heard in an episode of The Sopranos (2007) .
Waters' "wall"
The inspiration for the album's title came to Roger Waters' mind during the band's concert in Montreal, Canada. While playing an acoustic version of "Pigs on the wing" and being irritated by a spectator who had lit a flare, Waters spat at him and since then, he has thought he wished there was a wall between him and the spectators who didn't they were interested in the band in front of them. The incident took place on July 6, 1977 at the Olympic Stadium, with Waters referring to the event that inspired him for the album's name, speaking to Howard Stern.
For the record, the viewer was most irritated by Waters' behavior, setting off flares and fireworks, with the Floyd singer shouting "For f--k's sake, stop letting off fireworks and shouting and screaming. I'm trying to sing this song!".
The reunion
The Wall is rumored to have been a peak moment for the band, but it was also the occasion for Gilmour and Waters to "break" them, who had been in conflict since previous years over the way the band was recording. Pink Floyd continued without Waters, who performed "The Wall" alone in front of the Berlin Wall in July 1990.
Waters himself had stated that he had invited the other members of the band to play with him, but they refused. 15 years later, in the summer of 2005, they were all together again on the Live 8 stage set up in London's Hyde Park, reliving, in just 23 minutes, the most emblematic moments of a great career. Their performance closed with "Comfortably numb".
The film and the relationship with Scarfe
The movie "The Wall" was released in 1982. Alan Parker directed the venture and Bob Geldof (singer of the Boomtown Rats) embodied Pink, the main character of the concept album. The screenplay was written by Waters himself. The film had minimal dialogue, emphasizing Pink Floyd songs and the use of Gerard Scarfe's great and timeless animation effects, such as marching hammers.
It is worth noting that Gerald Scarfe's signature painting "The Scream" sold in 2017 for $1.85 million, making it the most expensive item in rock history (excluding musical instruments). Scarfe then decided to sell his entire archive related to "The Wall":3,000 items, including sketches, paintings, storyboards, memorabilia and more
His association with Pink Floyd began when the band approached him after a 1974 BBC screening of his cartoon "A Long Drawn Out Trip".
Among their credits is the "Welcome to the Machine" video for the In The Flesh Tour in 1977. "I've been asked 'is this Roger's vision or yours?' And the answer is that it's mine, because it came out of my head," the cartoonist said of the visual part of "The Wall." "It's my interpretation of Roger's thoughts. Undoubtedly, Roger is the creator of the idea because the story is his, but the visuals came from my mind and my experiences".
Tracklist
In The Flesh?
The Thin Ice
Another Brick In The Wall (Part 1)
The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)
Mother
Goodbye Blue Sky
Empty Spaces
Young Lust
One Of My Turns
Don't Leave Me Now
Another Brick In The Wall Part 3
Goodbye Cruel World
Hey You
Is There Anybody Out There?
Nobody Home
Vera
Bring The Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb
The Show Must Go On
In The Flesh
Run Like Hell
Waiting For The Worms
Stop
The Trial
Outside The Wall
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