Pink Floyd facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pink Floyd
Top: Roger Waters, David Gilmour Bottom: Nick Mason, Richard Wright.
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Progressive rock, space rock, psychedelic rock, art rock
Years active	1965–1994, 2014 (One-off reunions and single song performances: 2003–2007)
Labels	EMI, Harvest, Capitol, Tower, Columbia
Associated acts	Sigma 6, Joker's Wild, Zee, Deep End
Past members	Syd Barrett Nick Mason

Pink Floyd was a famous English rock band. They became very popular in the 1960s and 1970s. The band played music for over 30 years. They have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide.

Pink Floyd is known for their amazing live shows and deep, thoughtful music. Many of their albums are "concept albums." This means all the songs on an album are connected by a main idea or story.

Their first album was The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, released in 1967. Their most recent album, The Endless River, came out in November 2014. The band's name came from two blues artists, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Syd Barrett, one of the band's first members, chose the name.

In 2005, the band played at a concert called Live 8. This was special because they had not played together for 24 years. The members who played were David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright. Pink Floyd made many popular albums, including The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. After Richard Wright passed away in 2008, David Gilmour said he did not want to reunite. Even though Roger Waters thought about it, a full reunion has not happened. David Gilmour and Roger Waters, who had disagreements for a long time, are now thought to be friends.

How Pink Floyd Started

Syd Barrett helped start the group. He played guitar and sang for the band. He left in early 1968 because of health problems that made it hard for him to continue.

The other members of the band were Roger Waters (who played bass guitar and sang), David Gilmour (who played lead guitar and sang), Richard Wright (who played keyboards and sang), and Nick Mason (who played drums). David Gilmour joined the band in 1968. Roger Waters left the band in 1985.

For most of their time together, Pink Floyd played a type of rock music called progressive rock. This style often has long, complex songs.

Pink Floyd's Music and Shows

The original members of Pink Floyd met while studying architecture at college. The band first started as a blues band. Later, with Syd Barrett, they played music that was psychedelic. This style often used strange sounds and ideas.

After Barrett left, the band began to play longer and more complex songs. They became famous for experimenting with music in the studio. On their 1970 album Atom Heart Mother, they even used a brass band and a choir.

Pink Floyd made their concerts amazing to watch. They used a round movie screen on stage to show videos. They also used special lighting and lasers in very creative ways. They even had big balloon puppets. The most famous puppet is a giant pig. This pig first appeared on the cover of their album Animals. The pig has become a symbol for Pink Floyd.

Another symbol that reminds people of Pink Floyd is a prism with light shining through it. This image was on the cover of Dark Side of the Moon. This album, released in 1973, is one of their most popular. It stayed on music charts for a very long time, and millions of people bought it.

The album The Wall, recorded in 1979, was also very famous. It was even made into a movie in 1982, directed by Alan Parker. This album is important because it talks about the distance the band felt from their fans. It was the last album where all the main members worked closely together before they started to have disagreements.

Roger Waters asked Richard Wright to leave the band in 1979. However, Wright came back in 1987 after Waters quit. Waters tried to sue the other members so they could not use the name Pink Floyd without him. But he did not win. Because of this, there were many disagreements between Waters and the other band members, especially Gilmour.

Pink Floyd After Roger Waters

The last album of new songs from Pink Floyd was The Division Bell. It was made in 1994, which was also when Pink Floyd had their last concert tour. The very last time Pink Floyd played together was in 2005. This was part of the Live 8 concerts, which raised money for charity. Roger Waters sang with the band for the first time since he left. This was a big surprise to many people.

Syd Barrett passed away in 2006. Richard Wright passed away in 2008.

In 2014, Pink Floyd released their first album in over 20 years. It was called The Endless River.

Discography

Pink Floyd, 1973

• The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
• A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
• More (1969)
• Ummagumma (1969)
• Atom Heart Mother (1970)
• Meddle (1971)
• Obscured by Clouds (1972)
• Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
• Wish You Were Here (1975)
• Animals (1977)
• The Wall (1979)
• The Final Cut (1983)
• A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987)
• The Division Bell (1994)
• The Endless River (2014)

Images for kids

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  The psychedelic artwork for A Saucerful of Secrets was the first of many Pink Floyd covers designed by Hipgnosis

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  Pink Floyd in 1971, after Barrett left. From left to right: Waters, Mason, Gilmour, Wright.

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  Waters performing with Pink Floyd at Leeds University in 1970

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  The iconic artwork for The Dark Side of the Moon was designed by Hipgnosis and George Hardie.

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  Pink Floyd performing on their early 1973 US tour, shortly before the release of The Dark Side of the Moon

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  Battersea Power Station is featured in the cover image for Animals

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  The Astoria recording studio

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  Pink Floyd in 1989 on the Momentary Lapse of Reason tour

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  The album artwork for The Division Bell, designed by Storm Thorgerson, was intended to show that Barrett and Waters were not in the band.

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  Waters (right) rejoined his former bandmates at Live 8 in Hyde Park, London on 2 July 2005

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  Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Boombox (pictured in 2015), whose vocals are featured in "Hey, Hey, Rise Up!"

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  Pink Floyd's The Wall exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

See also

In Spanish: Pink Floyd para niños