are an
English rock band formed in London. They achieved international acclaim with
their progressive and psychedelic music. Distinguished by their use of
philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, and elaborate live shows, they are
one of the most commercially successful and musically influential groups in the
history of popular music. Founded in 1965, Pink Floyd originally
consisted of students Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, and Richard
Wright. They first gained popularity performing in London's underground music
scene during the late 1960s. In the middle of 1970s, their dominant songwriter,
devising the original concepts behind their critically and commercially
acclaimed albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975),
Animals (1977), The Wall (1979) and The Final Cut (1983). Wright left
Pink Floyd in 1979, followed by Waters in 1985. Gilmour and Mason continued as
Pink Floyd and Wright subsequently joined them as a paid musician and later
once again a full member. They continued to record and tour through 1994; two
more albums followed A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell
(1994). Inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and the UK
Music Hall of Fame in 2005, by 2013 they had sold more than 250 million records
worldwide, including 74.5 million certified units in the United States. After
nearly two decades of acrimony, Pink Floyd reunited in 2005 for a performance
at the global awareness event Live 8. On July 5, 2014, multiple individuals,
including Gilmour's spouse, announced that a new studio album based around
recordings made in 1994, said to be the "swan song" of Wright and
titled The Endless River, was scheduled for release in October of that year.
Considered one
of the UK's first psychedelic music groups, Pink Floyd began their career at
the vanguard of London's underground music scene. Some categorise their work
from that era as a space rock. According to Rolling Stone magazine: "By
1967, they had developed an unmistakably psychedelic sound, performing long,
loud suitelike compositions that touched on hard rock, blues, country, folk,
and electronic music." Released in 1968, the song "Careful with That
Axe, Eugene" helped galvanise their reputation as an art rock group. Critics
also describe them as an acid rock band. By the late 1960s, the press had begun
to label their music progressive rock. Pink Floyd were innovators of
progressive rock during the 1970s and ambient music during the 1980s.
Discography:
