Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band formed in London in 1965.

The original lineup included Syd Barrett (guitar, vocals), Nick Mason (drums), Roger Waters (bass, vocals) and Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals). Guitarist and singer David Gilmour joined in late 1967.

The band’s name paid tribute to two American blues musicians: Pink Anderson and Floyd "Dipper Boy" Council.

With Barrett as the principal songwriter, the group released the singles Arnold Layne and See Emily Play and their debut studio album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” (1967). Barrett’s departure in 1968 led Waters to become the main lyricist and conceptual leader.

He developed the ideas behind landmark albums such as “The Dark Side of the Moon” (1973), “Wish You Were Here” (1975), “Animals” (1977) and “The Wall” (1979). The film “Pink Floyd The Wall” (1982) won two BAFTA Awards.

Internal tensions contributed to Wright leaving in 1981 and Waters in 1985. Gilmour and Mason continued under the Pink Floyd name; Wright later rejoined, and the band recorded “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” (1987) and “The Division Bell” (1994).

In 2005, Gilmour, Mason and Wright reunited with Waters for a performance at Live 8. The final studio album, “The Endless River” (2014), was assembled from unreleased recordings from the “The Division Bell” sessions. In 2022, the band released the song Hey, Hey, Rise Up! in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Pink Floyd have sold more than 250 million records worldwide. Albums such as “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall” are among the best-selling in history and were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and received the Polar Music Prize in 2008 for their long-term influence on integrating art and music in popular culture.