50 Fun Facts About Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd took their name from two musicians in which genre?

Syd Barrett had records by Pink Anderson and Floyd Council in his collection.

In which city was Pink Floyd formed in 1965?

Barrett, Waters and Gilmour had all grown up in Cambridge, but the band came together at architecture school in London.

Which of these was NOT one of the four founding members of Pink Floyd?

Gilmour joined at the end of 1967, initially as a fifth member to cover for the increasingly erratic Barrett.

What was Pink Floyd's first single, released in March 1967?

The song about a clothes-stealing transvestite was banned by Radio London.

The album title The Piper at the Gates of Dawn comes from a chapter of which children's book?

The chapter features the god Pan; the album is the only one made under Barrett's leadership.

Recording their 1967 debut at Abbey Road, Pink Floyd worked down the hall from which band making a landmark album?

Sgt. Pepper was being finished at the same time; producer Norman Smith had been the Beatles' engineer.

In which month and year did the band announce the departure of their original frontman?

Syd Barrett's mental health had collapsed amid heavy LSD use; he made two solo albums in 1970 and then retreated to Cambridge to paint and garden.

The 1970 album Atom Heart Mother was the band's first UK number one. What is on its cover?

The Holstein-Friesian was called Lulubelle III, and there is no text on the sleeve at all.

The title Atom Heart Mother was taken from a newspaper story about what?

The headline read "Atom Heart Mother Named"; Waters later said he would refuse a million pounds to play the piece again.

"Echoes", the 23-minute track that fills side two of Meddle, is on an album whose cover shows what?

Designer Storm Thorgerson later said the album was much better than his cover.

The Meddle track "Seamus" features what unusual guest performer?

The dog belonged to Steve Marriott and Gilmour was dog-sitting; "Fearless" on the same album ends with Liverpool fans singing.

The 1972 concert film shot in a Roman amphitheatre shows the band playing in front of how many people?

Director Adrian Maben got the idea after losing his passport in the ruins; power came by a 750-metre cable from the town hall.

Which EMI staff engineer worked on The Dark Side of the Moon before forming his own Project?

The sessions ran at Abbey Road from May 1972 to early 1973.

The famous prism on the cover of The Dark Side of the Moon was drawn by which designer at Hipgnosis?

Storm Thorgerson's team took the idea from a physics textbook photograph.

"Money" is written in which unusual time signature?

The rhythm track is a tape loop of coins and cash registers; the song shifts to 4/4 for the guitar solo.

How much was Clare Torry originally paid for her vocal on "The Great Gig in the Sky"?

She later sued and settled for a share of the royalties and a co-writing credit.

Roughly how many copies has The Dark Side of the Moon, the world's third best-selling album, sold?

It stayed on the Billboard chart for more than fourteen years the first time round.

"Dark Side of the Rainbow" is the fan claim that the album synchronises with which film?

The band has always called it a coincidence.

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" from Wish You Were Here is a tribute to which former bandmate?

By eerie chance Barrett wandered into Abbey Road while it was being mixed on 5 June 1975, so changed that nobody recognised him.

Who sang lead vocals on "Have a Cigar", the song that asks "which one's Pink?"

The folk singer was recording next door; the lyric mocks a record executive who thought Pink was a person.

The Wish You Were Here cover shows two businessmen shaking hands. What is happening to one of them?

Stuntman Ronnie Rondell Jr. really was set alight on a Warner Bros. lot and got minor burns for his trouble.

The 1977 album Animals is loosely based on which book?

Its songs are Dogs, Pigs and Sheep, bookended by two parts of "Pigs on the Wing".

The inflatable pig photographed over Battersea Power Station for Animals was nicknamed what?

It broke loose in December 1976, drifted into Heathrow's airspace and came down in a Kent field, alarming a farmer's cows.

An incident at a 1977 concert in which city, when Waters spat at a fan, inspired The Wall?

He told producer Bob Ezrin he felt cut off from the audience by a wall, and a rock opera followed.

The children's chorus on "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" came from where?

The song was Pink Floyd's only number one single in both the UK and the US, and the UK Christmas number one of 1979.

Which band member was fired during The Wall, then rehired as a salaried player for the tour?

The tour lost about £400,000, so the man on a wage was the only one who made money from it.

For how many weeks did The Wall sit at number one on the US Billboard chart?

It has sold more than 30 million copies, second only to Dark Side in the band's catalogue.

Who played Pink in the 1982 film Pink Floyd – The Wall?

It was the Boomtown Rats singer's film debut; director Alan Parker called the shoot one of the most miserable experiences of his life.

Who created the animation for The Wall film and its marching hammers?

The film won two BAFTAs, for Best Sound and Best Original Song.

The Final Cut (1983) went straight to number one in the UK. Who wrote all of its words and music?

It is dedicated to Waters' father, killed at Anzio in 1944 when Roger was five months old.

Going to court in 1986 to stop the others using the Pink Floyd name, Roger Waters called the band what?

The dispute settled in December 1987: Roger Waters kept The Wall and the pig, the others kept the name.

What was the first Pink Floyd album released after the bassist's departure, in September 1987?

It reached number three in the UK and US and brought Richard Wright back, initially as a hired hand.

Which author suggested the title of the band's 1994 album, named after the bell that summons MPs to vote?

The Hitchhiker's Guide writer Douglas Adams was a friend of Gilmour; the album is The Division Bell.

Whose synthesised voice appears on "Keep Talking" from the 1994 album?

Gilmour got the tape from an advertising company that had recorded it for a BT commercial.

The two giant metal heads on the 1994 album cover were photographed in a field near which cathedral city?

The 25-foot sculptures were later shown at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the V&A.

The classic four-man line-up reunited for the last time at Live 8 in Hyde Park on which date?

It was their first performance together in 24 years; they played Breathe, Money, Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb.

Which member of Pink Floyd died in September 2008?

The keyboardist, who wrote the music for "Us and Them" and "The Great Gig in the Sky", was 65; Barrett had died in 2006.

The 2014 album The Endless River was built from unused sessions for which earlier album?

It was framed as a tribute to Wright and topped the UK chart.

The 2022 single "Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" features the singer of which Ukrainian band?

Andriy Khlyvnyuk's vocal is a 1914 patriotic song; all proceeds went to Ukrainian humanitarian relief and Waters was not involved.

In what year was Pink Floyd inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

The band's total sales are put at more than 250 million records.

Which former member staged a huge Potsdamer Platz concert in July 1990, marking what?

The crowd was put at 350,000 or more, and his 2010-13 The Wall Live became the highest-grossing tour by a solo artist up to that time.

Which Italian town made the band's guitarist an honorary citizen after he returned to play there in 2016?

The 1971 film had been shot there to an empty amphitheatre; David Gilmour returned 45 years later.

The one lyric Nick Mason sings on a Pink Floyd record, on "One of These Days", threatens to do what?

It was recorded at double speed in falsetto and slowed down.

Which orchestral collaborator co-composed the 23-minute Atom Heart Mother suite with the band?

The piece used a full brass section and the 16-voice John Alldis Choir.

The 2008 Polar Music Prize honoured Pink Floyd for fusing music and what?

The citation praised their "monumental contribution over the decades".

Waters and Mason met in 1962 studying which subject at the Regent Street Polytechnic?

Richard Wright was a fellow architecture student; their early sextet was called Sigma 6.

Which London School of Economics lecturer spotted the band at the Marquee Club in 1966 and became their manager?

With partner Andrew King he formed Blackhill Enterprises and suggested dropping 'Sound' from the band's name.

How much was the advance Pink Floyd received on signing with EMI in 1967?

Their first single 'Arnold Layne' followed on EMI's Columbia label in March 1967.

In 1975 the band bought a group of church halls in Islington to build their own studio on which street?

Animals was the first album recorded in the new 24-track studio there.

In 2024 Pink Floyd sold their recordings catalogue to which company for about $400 million?

The deal covered recordings, merchandise and spin-offs but not the songwriting rights.