It's a very sad day today, as one of the original members of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright, died of cancer at age 65. He follows Syd Barrett, another original member, who died in 2006.
That leaves us with David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Nick Mason.
Richard Wright contributed heavily to the earlier, classic work of Pink Floyd. The albums "The Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" feature a lot of his signature piano and keyboard, particularly "Us and Them," "The Great Gig in the Sky," "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," and "Welcome to the Machine." He also contributed some great harmonies with David Gilmour on "Echoes" and "Time."
By the time Pink Floyd recorded "The Wall" his work was pretty much marginalized by Roger Waters, and by "The Final Cut" he was fired. He did however, return for the later Pink Floyd albums "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" and "The Division Bell."
I think any possibilities of seeing a Pink Floyd reunion are pretty much dashed at this point. David Gilmour had ruled out any reunion even before Richard died. The best we have is the 2005 "Live 8" reunion, which was the last time the "classic" lineup of Waters/Gilmour/Mason/Wright appeared on stage together. I'm listening to that right now.
I've been to several Pink Floyd and Roger Waters concerts, but unfortunately I've never seen them all together. I saw Pink Floyd on their tours in 1987, 1988, and 1994. I've seen Roger on every tour except the last one (since I was in Taiwan at the time), and the "Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking" tour. It's not quite the same as the original lineup, but it's better than nothing.
Wright will be missed, but we should be thankful that we still have Gilmour and Waters out there making new music and (occasionally) touring. As long as we still have them, the spirit of Pink Floyd will live on.
(Picture: Pink Floyd at the "Live 8" reunion in 2005- from left to right - David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright)
That leaves us with David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Nick Mason.
Richard Wright contributed heavily to the earlier, classic work of Pink Floyd. The albums "The Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" feature a lot of his signature piano and keyboard, particularly "Us and Them," "The Great Gig in the Sky," "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," and "Welcome to the Machine." He also contributed some great harmonies with David Gilmour on "Echoes" and "Time."
By the time Pink Floyd recorded "The Wall" his work was pretty much marginalized by Roger Waters, and by "The Final Cut" he was fired. He did however, return for the later Pink Floyd albums "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" and "The Division Bell."
I think any possibilities of seeing a Pink Floyd reunion are pretty much dashed at this point. David Gilmour had ruled out any reunion even before Richard died. The best we have is the 2005 "Live 8" reunion, which was the last time the "classic" lineup of Waters/Gilmour/Mason/Wright appeared on stage together. I'm listening to that right now.
I've been to several Pink Floyd and Roger Waters concerts, but unfortunately I've never seen them all together. I saw Pink Floyd on their tours in 1987, 1988, and 1994. I've seen Roger on every tour except the last one (since I was in Taiwan at the time), and the "Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking" tour. It's not quite the same as the original lineup, but it's better than nothing.
Wright will be missed, but we should be thankful that we still have Gilmour and Waters out there making new music and (occasionally) touring. As long as we still have them, the spirit of Pink Floyd will live on.
(Picture: Pink Floyd at the "Live 8" reunion in 2005- from left to right - David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright)
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