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The Pink Floyd Time-Line

1943- 1945- 1946- 1947- 1962- 1964- 1965- 1966- 1967- 1968- 1969- 1970- 1971-

1972- 1973- 1974- 1975- 1976- 1977- 1978- 1979- 1980- 1981- 1982- 1983- 1984-

1985- 1986- 1987- 1988- 1989- 1990- 1991- 1992- 1993- 1994- 1995-


1943

9th September Roger Waters born George Roger Waters in Great Bookham, Surrey.

1945

27th January Nick Mason born Nicholas Beverley Mason in Birmingham.
28th July Rick Wright born Richard William Wright in London.

1946

6th January Syd Barrett born Roger Keith Barrett in Cambridge.

1947

4th March David Gilmour born in Cambridge.

1962

September Having given up a position as an apprentice at a firm of architects, Roger Waters enrols at the Regents Street Polytechnic.

1964

August Syd moves to London to go to Camberwell Art College. He moves into a house sharing with Roger Waters and Mike Leonard. Syd and Roger meet Nick Mason and form a band. They play two pub gigs under the name Leonard's Lodgers but soon re-name themselves after bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

1965

August Syd Barrett goes busking in the South of France with school friend, Dave Gilmour. They get arrested.
September Syd takes his first acid trip in Cambridge.

1966

January Pink Floyd make their debut appearance using that name with the line-up of Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Rick Wright. The venue is the Countdown Club in London's Palace Gate. They play for five hours with only a 20 minute break. Their fee is £ 15.
13th March Pink Floyd gets its first billing at London's Marquee Club.
14th October The band play their first real "underground" set at All Saints Hall, Powis Gardens in London having dumped all their r&b material.
15th October Band performs at the International Times "All Night Rave" at London's Roundhouse.
31st October Pink Floyd sign a management contract with Peter Jenner and Andrew King.
18th November A "philadelic" music event is staged at Hornsey Colege Of Art featuring Pink Floyd and light show.
November Peter Jenner and Andrew King take the band into Thompson Private Recorders in Hemel Hempstead to record a demo tape. Four tracks are cut, "Interstellar Overdrive", "Lucy Leave", "Stoned Alone" and "Silas Lane".
12th December Band plays for the first time at the Royal Albert Hall.
18th December Pink Floyd play The Blarney Club in Tottenham Court Road. The next week it changes its name to the UFO Club.

1967

11th January Two days of recording at Sound Techniques studio in Chelsea with Joe Boyd. The tracks recorded are "Interstellar Overdrive", "Arnold Layne", "Let's Roll Another One" (later to be called "Candy And A Currant Bun") and "Nicks Boogie".
20th January Granada TV film part of a TV documentary at London's UFO Club, featuring the "house band", Pink Floyd.
1st February Pink Floyd turn professional.
7th February Granada's TV documentary on the UFO club and underground scene is broadcast.
27th February The band go into Sound Techniques studios to record with Joe Boyd. The tracks will become the band's first single.
Early March Pink Floyd sign to EMI records with an advance of £ 5,000.
11th March "Arnold Layne" is released backed by "Candy And A Currant Bun".
16th March Sessions start at EMI's Abbey Road Studios for the first album.
24th April Roger Waters is hurt when a coin is thrown from the audience.
29th April The "14 Hour Technicolour Dream" is staged London's Alexandra Palace. 10,000 watch Pink Floyd play at sunrise.
12th May A "musical and visual exploration" is staged at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Titled "Games For May" it features a song composed for the event, which is soon re-named "See Emily Play". The concert features the most complex light show seen in London and the first use of a quadrophonic sound in the U.K.
23rd May After several days abortive work at Abbey Road Studios, the band moves to Sound Technique studios to record "See Emily Play" and "Scarecrow". They'd been unable to re-create the sound achieved on "Arnold Layne" without returning to the same studio.
16th June "See Emily Play" is released backed by "Scarecrow".
24th June First appearance on Top Of The Pops to promote "See Emily Play". Syd is immaculate in velvet and satin.
31st June Top Of The Pops again. Syd is still wearing he same, now crumpled, clothes.
6th July Top Of The Pops. This time Syd arrives in all his psychedelic finery but changes into dirty rags before going in front of the cameras.
5th August "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" is released.
7th August Danish tour starts.
11th August Sessions at Abbey Road Studios for "Apples And Oranges".
21st August German tour is abandoned when Syd vanishes.
24th October First U.S. tour.
26th October First of three nights at the Fillmore in San Francisco.
29th October The band appear on Dick Clark's American Bandstand lyp-synching to "See Emily Play". Syd doesn't open his mouth.
30th October The Pat Boone Show. The band are interviewed but Syd doesn't react when questioned.
2nd November Recording sessions at Abbey Road Studios for "Paintbox".
14th November Start of U.K. tour supporting the Jimi Hendrix Experience. David O'List of The Nice (also on the tour) stands in on dates when Syd doesn't show up or cannot play
18th November "Apples And Oranges" is released backed by "Paintbox".
5th December The Hendrix tour ends at Green's Playhouse in Glasgow.
22nd December "Christmas On Earth Revisited" is staged at Olympia. Syd seems incapable of playing, standing staring at the audience.

1968

January Dave Gilmour steps in to play guitar when Syd is unable to play at Brighton.
11th February Pink Floyd record a session for John Peel's Top Gear show.
13th February "It Would be So Nice" and "Julia Dream" are recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
2nd March During a meeting at their Ladbroke Road offices, Syd is asked to stop touring and contributing material.
6th April A statement is issued to the press announcing that Syd has left the band.
26th May The band play the Oz benefit at Middle Earth.
May The band are asked to record the soundtrack for the film, "The Commitment" by director Peter Sykes.
29th June Pink Floyd play the first Hyde Park Free Festival.
"A Saucerful Of Secrets" is released.
4th November "Point Me At The Sky" and "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" are recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
17th December "Point Me At The Sky" is released. It is to be their last U.K. single for eleven years.

1969

March Studio sessions for the soundtrack of "More".
14th April "More Furious Madness From The Massed Gadgets Of Auximenes (The Man And The Journey)" is held at The Royal Festival Hall.
27th April Performance at Mothers Club in Birmingham is taped for the album "Ummagumma".
2nd May Performance at Manchester Chamber Of Comerce is taped for the album "Ummagumma".
28th June Studio sessions for "Embryo", released the following year on the Harvest sampler "Picnic". Sessions are completed the following day.
July "More" is released.
November "Ummagumma" is released.
December Studio sessions in Rome for the soundtrack of "Zabriskie Point".
Syd Barrett releases his first solo single, "Octopus".

1970

January Syd Barrett's first solo album, "The Madcap Laughs" is released.
18th January "The Amazing Pudding" is performed live for the first time.
February Sessions begin for "Atom Heart Mother" at Abbey Road Studios.
6th June Syd Barret plays his first gig since leaving Pink Floyd. The occasion is "Extraveganza '70", staged at London's Olympia. He is assisted by Dave Gilmour and Jerry Shirley.
27th June "Atom Heart Mother" is premiered at the Bath Festival.
June The Harvest sampler, "Picnic", is released bearing the only recorded version of "Embryo".
18th July Pink Floyd play to 20,000 people at a free concert in London's Hyde Park.
12th September $ 40,000 worth of equipment is stolen in New Orleans while the band are on a U.S. tour.
10th October "Atom Heart Mother" is released.
October Billboards on Sunset Strip are adorned with 40 foot high pictures of Lullubelle III, the cow featured on the cover of "Atom Heart Mother".
November Syd Barret releases his second solo album, "Barrett".

1971

4th January Sessions begin at Abbey Road for the follow up to "Atom Heart Mother".
January Stanley Kubrick asks for permission to use parts of "Atom Heart Mother" in "A Clockwork Orange". He is turned down.
22nd April "Return Of The Son Of Nothing" is played live for the first time. Its name is soon shortened to "Echoes".
May "Relics" is released.
31st July The band leaves for its first tour of Japan, Australia and Hong Kong.
23rd August The first of three days of final sessions for "Meddle". They continue on the 25th and 27th.
21st September Quadrophonic mix of "Meddle" at Command Studios.
26th September Quadrophonic mix of "Meddle" is completed.
15th October U.S. tour opens in San Francisco.
November "Meddle" is released.

1972

2nd January Syd plays an unannounced gig at King's College Cellar, Cambridge. With him are Twink and Eddie "Guitar" Burns. This line up becomes Stars.
17th February "Eclipse" gets its first public performance at London's Rainbow Theatre.
February Syd plays the Corn Exchange in Cambridge with Stars but leaves the stage after badly cutting his hand.
23rd February Recording starts at Chateau d'Herouville outside Paris for the soundtrack of "Obscured By Clouds". The album is finished by the 29th.
3rd March Japanese tour starts.
23rd March Eight days of recording and filming starts in a Roman amphitheatre for "Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii".
3rd June "Obscured By Clouds" is released.
4th June Sessions start at Studio 2 in Abbey Road on "Eclipse", the original title of "Dark Side Of The Moon".
September "Pink Floyd Live In Pompeii" premieres in Edinburgh. The band, meanwhile, start a U.S. tour.
November At the end of a French tour, the band record the music for a Roland Petit ballet in Marseilles.

1973

13th January The first of two days of studio sessions in France, continuing work on the Roland Petit ballet.
24th March "Dark Side Of The Moon" Released.
18th March "Dark Side Of The Moon" performed at Earl's Court, London.
28th March "Dark Side Of The Moon" hits number 1 in the Billboard album chart.
June U.S. tour.
1st October Recording sessions start for the "Household Objects" album. They continue until the 4th, re-start on the 8th until 10th, then 22nd to 26th and 29th to 31st.
12th November More "Household Objects" sessions until the 14th, then 19th to 21st and 26th to 28th.
3rd December Final sessions for the "Household Objects" album until 5th December. The project is abandoned after only three tracks are recorded.
December "A Nice Pair" is released. W.R. Phang, the dentist complains after his shop is featured on the cover. It is removed from later pressings.

1974

July "Raving And Drooling" is performed live during a brief French tour.
October Nick Mason produces Robert Wyatt at CBS Studios in London. Several tracks are recorded but only a single, "I'm A Believer", is released.
November Syd Barrett returns to the studio, prompted by the success of "The Madcap Laughs" in the U.S. The project is shelved.

1975

6th January Sessions start at Abbey Road Studios for "Wish You Were Here".
May Syd is seen shopping at Harrods. Trying to get away from the journalist following him he drops a carrier bag full of confectionary.
5th June During the final mix of "Wish You Were Here", Syd turns up at Abbey Road. He is bald, fat and unrecognised.
Dave Gilmour marries Ginger. The reception is held in the cafeteria at Abbey Road. Syd attends.
6th June The band leaves London for the U.S. tour.
28th June Roger Waters pre-empts Punk by spitting at the audience. Stunned by his own actions, he starts to think of building a polythene wall between himself and his audience.
5th July Knebworth Festival. Pink Floyd premiere "Wish You Were Here" with the help of Spitfires, pyrotechnics and an exploding plane which flies into the stage. Probably the most spectacular gig of the decade.
September Wish You Were Here is released; black, shrink-wrapped, anonymous.

1976

1st April Dave Gilmour's house is broken into. Thieves take guitars valued at £ 7,000.
April Dave Gilmour is producer for Unicorn's "Too Many Cooks" album.
May Britannia Row is set up as the Floyd's new studio.
2nd August Peter "Puddy" Watts, road manager and one of the voices on "Dark Side Of The Moon", dies of a heroin overdose.
2nd December Hipgnosis photo shoot for "Animals" at Battersea Power Station in London. An inflatable pig breaks free and (depending on which story you believe) is shot down by a marksman or eventually comes to earth in a field in Kent.

1977

19th January Press launch for "Animals" at Battersea Power Station.
20th January "Animals" gets a world exclusive airing on the John Peel Show, Radio One.
23rd January "Animals" is released. The world tour starts.

1978

January The Damned want Syd Barrett to produce their new album. They make do with Nick Mason instead.
Dave Gilmour and Rick Wright both start work on their solo albums in different studios in France.
14th February Rick Wright finishes his solo album at Superbear Studios.
June "David Gilmour", the guitarist's first solo album is released.
July Roger Waters convenes a meeting of the band to decide on their next album concept. He has two 90 minute demo tapes. One is "Bricks In The Wall', the other, "The Pros And Cons Of Hitch-Hiking". Dave Gilmour takes the tapes home and returns with his verdict two days later. Although he feels "Bricks" is weak in that form, he likes the basic idea. That will be the basis of their next album.
September Rick Wright releases "Wet Dream", his first solo album.

1979

January The band start work on their follow up to Animals. For tax reasons they record in Paris and Los Angeles.
June EMI are given tapes of what could be either a single or a double album. The band are told to continue work on it.
October Rick Wright is dropped from the Pink Floyd Partnership during final sessions for "The Wall". The move is Waters idea but he is backed by Gilmour.
16th November "Another Brick In The Wall Part II" is released. It goes straight to number one in the U.K. chart. It is the band's only number one.
30th November "The Wall" is finally released.

1980

24th January A billboard is erected on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles for "The Wall". Every day workmen add another brick to the wall until it is finished.
7th February "The Wall" tour opens at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. The show is held up for a while after fireworks set fire to some curtains.
22nd March "Dark Side Of The Moon" breaks the record for the longest stay on the Billboard Top 100. The previous record holder was Carole King's "Tapestry".
March A New York radio DJ breaks the story that a backwards message can be heard before "Empty Spaces". The message says, "Congratulations, you have discovered the secret message. Please send your answers to Old Pink, care of The Funny Farm, Chalfont.
4th August Pink Floyd open their "residency" at London's Earls Court.
9th August Ten original Gerald Scarfe drawings for "The Wall" are stolen from the foyer of Earls Court where they are being exhibited.
9th August Last performance of Earls Court "residency".

1981

March Pink Floyd issue a writ against accountants, Norton Warburg. Their chairman, Andrew Warburg flies to Spain.
May Nick Mason releases his solo album, "Fictitious Sports" with help from Carla Bley and Robert Wyatt.
13th June Pink Floyd play Earls Court. The performance is filmed for inclusion in the film of "The Wall"

1982

13th June Sessions start at Britannia Row for "The Final Cut".
14th July The world premiere of "the Wall" takes place at The Empire, Leicester Square.

1983

20th March Roger Receives a B.A.F.T.A. award for "Another Brick In The Wall Part II".
21st March "The Final Cut" is released.

1984

5th March Dave Gilmour releases his second solo album, "About Face". It is co-written with Pete Townshend with whom Gilmour has been playing.
9th April Rick Wright releases a self-titled album of his collaboration with Dave Harris, "Zee".
April Roger Waters releases his first solo single, "5.01 a.m. (The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking)".
May Roger Waters releases his first solo album, "The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking".
Rehearsals begin for "The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking" world tour. Guitarist for the tour is Eric Clapton who played on every track of the album.
16th July "The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking" world tour starts in Stockholm.
31st July Eric Clapton quits Roger Waters tour band in Canada.

1985

13th July Dave Gilmour appears at Live Aid as part of Bryan Ferry's band.
19th August Nick Mason and Rick Fenn release their album, "Profiles".

1986

June Recording starts on Astoria, Dave Gilmour's house-boat studio at Hampton for "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason".
11th October Dave Gilmour appears on The Tube to help promote Pete Townshend's Double O charity.
October Roger Waters performs on the sountrack to the film, "When The Wind Blows" which is screened on television.
11th November A press statement is issued stating that Pink Floyd intend to continue using the name without Roger Waters and are recording their next album.

1987

6th April Roger Waters' lawyers issue a statement that Roger believes himself to be the creative driving force behind Pink Floyd and therefore he will contest the use of the name by anyone else.
15th June 30 hired hands move 800 rented NHS beds onto Saunton Sands in North Devon for Storm Thorgerson to shoot what will be the cover of "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason". He had tried in Los Angeles but could not get the right sort of bed he wanted.
June Roger Waters releases his second solo album, "Radio Chaos".
14th August The "Radio Chaos" world tour starts.
7th September Dave Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright release "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" as Pink Floyd.
9th September The "Momentary Lapse Of Reason" tour begins. Originally scheduled for 11 weeks, it lasts 22 months.
23rd December Dave Gilmour and Roger Waters sign an agreement ending the years of dispute. From this date on, Waters will receive a royalty payment every time that any images created during his time with the band are used. Reproductions of the "Dark Side Of The Moon" ecg image, videos and flying pigs are all included.

1988

28th January To promote the new tour, a giant inflatable bed is floated down the Thames past parliament.
16th June Pink Floyd play Berlin. The concert is very close to The Wall and 2,000 East German fans gather at their side to listen.
21st June The band plays Versailles. The show is filmed for the "Delicate Sound Of Thunder" video.
August More shows are filmed during the US leg of the tour.
17th October A collection of out-takes and unheard tracks by Syd is released under the title, "Opel".
October Syd returns to the spotlight when a "journalist" from "The News Of The World" tracks him down to his home. Syd is described as "a lunatic who barks like a dog".
21st November Pink Floyd release "Delicate Sound Of Thunder".
26th November A copy of "Delicate Sound Of Thunder" travels into space with Russian cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 7.

1989

3rd June Pink Floyd play Moscow.
15th July The band plays Venice on a floating stage. 200,000 people are there but the damage they and the group's music do, causes incredible damage. Marble crumbles from buildings and fans damage some of the bridges.
September Roger Waters issues a High Court writ against the band for breach of copyright. He claims $ 35,000 compensation for illegal use of the inflatable pig, one of his concepts, which has been used on their latest tour.
5th November Nick Mason finishes his fourth London to Brighton (vintage car) Rally. This time he is driving his 1901 Panhard-Levassor.
.

1990

10th April Dave Gilmour and Ginger, his wife of 15 years break-up.
23rd May Nick Mason marries Annette Lynton at Chelsea Registry Office
30th June Pink Floyd are one of the supergroups to play Knebworth Festival in aid of Nordorf Robbins music therapy. Their short set is preceded by a twenty minute film by Storm Thorgerson including old promo clips.
21st July 400,000 people watch Roger Waters stage "The Wall" in Berlin's Potsdamerplatz with a variety of guests.
5th August The Kebworth album is released featuring three Pink Floyd tracks, "Comfortably Numb", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Run Like Hell".
17th September "The Wall - Live In Berlin" is released.

1991

18th October Roger Waters appears at the Guitar Legends festival in Seville, Spain. He includes "Brain Damage" and "Comfortably Numb" in his set. His is the only performance by any past or present member of the band. The others content themselves with their cars, planes and yachts.

1992

April Atlantic Records offer Syd's family £ 75,000 for any new recordings. The family turn them down.
30th April Roger Waters announces his engagement to Priscilla Phillips.
22nd June David Gilmour plays guitar for Tom Jones at London's Town & Country Club.
June Pink Floyd return to the studio to start recording their next album.
28th July David Gilmour plays Roger Waters original acoustic demo for "Money" on Nicky Horne's show on Radio One.
7th September Roger Waters releases his new album, "Amused To Death".
9th November The "Shine On" box set is released.

1993

23rd February Channel 4's documentary series, "Without Walls" broadcast "The Art Of Tripping". The programme is conceived by Storm Thorgerson with a soundtrack provided by Dave Gilmour.
February Dave Gilmour announces the band have started work on their new album.
24th March To mark the 20th anniversary of the release of "Dark Side Of The Moon", the album is re-mastered, re-packaged and re-released.
26th April EMI release "Crazy Diamond - The Complete Syd Barrett" as a box set.
April Vinyl Experience Films release a 12 minute video tape made-up of footage of Syd taking magic mushrooms in the hills near Cambridge and Pink Floyd outside Abbey Road studios.
6th May The Newbury bi-election. Colin Palmer, the 21st Century Party candidate, announces that his political beliefs are based on Pink Floyd's work.
28th July Roger Waters marries Priscilla Phillips at Romsey Registry Office.
1st December A press conference is held to announce the 1994 world tour dates.

1994

February The band start rehearsals for a world tour. Their location is a disused aircraft hanger near Palm Springs in California.
30th March "The Division Bell" is released. In keeping with the album's theme - a lack of communication, the band don't give any press conferences or interviews.
16th May "Take It Back" is released as a single backed by a recent live version of "Astronomy Domine" as a tribute to Syd (and boost to his bank balance).
June George Harrison turns up back-stage at Pasedena and spends ten minutes chatting with someone he thinks is Steve O'Rourke. It is in fact Nick Mason.
15th July Detroit and the first complete performance of "Dark Side Of The Moon" for nearly 20 years.
22nd July First date of the European leg of the tour which is sponsored by Volkswagen for £ 9,000,000. To celebrate, they release a limited edition "Pink Floyd" Golf cabriolet, available to a select few for £ 17,000.
25th July Digitally re-mastered versions of "A Saucerful Of Secrets", "Wish You Were Here" and "Animals".
29th July Dave Gilmour marries Polly Samson at Marylebone Registry Office.
7th August "The News Of The World" reports that Rick Wright's accountant, Martin Stainton, has vanished with £ 3,000,000 of Wright's money. He was also accountant for Rod Stewart, Tina Turner and Simple Minds amongst others.
7th September Pink Floyd play Prague in the Czech Republic. After the gig, Dave Gilmour and Czech president Vaclav Havel stay up half the night talking.
September Roger Waters announces that he wants to turn "The Wall" into a stage musical!
14th October The first of 14 nights "residency" at London's Earls Court. The evening is marred by a section of seating collapsing and injuring several people.
December Pink Floyd are officially announced as the biggest grossing act in rock history. The "Division Bell" tour played to 5,500,000 people in 68 cities and grossed £ 150,000,000.

1995

August A double album of "The Division Bell" tour is released. Titled, "Pulse", the first 2,000,000 copies come in a "limited edition" box with a flashing light on the spine.
September Nick Mason's biography of the band is stopped by Dave Gilmour who wants an official biography which involves all three members.
December Pink Floyd are inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
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