by Nick Mason
21 February 1972
Richard Nixon travels to China to meet premier Zhou Enlai
15 March 1972
Film premiere of The Godfather
1 June 1972
The Dark Side Of The Moon recording sessions start at EMI Abbey Road
3 June 1972
OBSCURED BY CLOUDS released
1 September 1972
Bobby Fisher becomes world chess champion, beating Boris Spassky
September 1972
Olga Korbut captivates the Munich Olympics
November 1972
Live At Pompeii film premieres. Roland Petit Ballet de Marseille performances at end of European tour
1973
1 January 1973
The United Kingdom, with Ireland and Denmark, joins the EEC
24 March 1973
THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON released (US release date: 10 March 1973)
18–19 May 1973
Earls Court shows
23 November 1973
Uri Geller, spoonbender extraordinaire, appears on the BBC’s Dimbleby Talk-In show
15 December 1973
A NICE PAIR released
1974
4 February 1974
Patty Hearst kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army
13 February 1974
Singer Robbie Williams born
6 April 1974
Abba win the Eurovision Song Contest with ‘Waterloo’
26 July 1974
Robert Wyatt’s Rock Bottom released
9 August 1974
President Richard Nixon resigns following the Watergate affair
1 October 1974
First UK franchise of McDonald’s opens in Woolwich, South London
4 November 1974
British Winter 1974 Tour opens at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh
1975
24 March 1975
Holly Mason born
8 April 1975
Wish You Were Here tour opens in Vancouver
30 April 1975
The Vietnam War formally ends as Saigon falls
20 June 1975
The pyramid balloon breaks free in Pittsburgh
5 July 1975
Knebworth Festival
17 July 1975
Soyuz 19 and Apollo 18 dock. The end of the space race
20 July 1975
Voyager I probe lands on Mars
5 September 1975
WISH YOU WERE HERE released
1 October 1975
‘The Thriller in Manila’: Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier
20 December 1975
Video for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ shown on Top Of The Pops
1976
18 February 1976
Controversy over Carl Andre’s bricks at the Tate Gallery, London
3 December 1976
Algie the pig escapes at Battersea
November 1976
The Sex Pistols’ ‘Anarchy In The UK’ released
1977
1977
Nick Mason buys Ferrari 250GTO with ‘250 GTO’ numberplate
28 January 1977
ANIMALS released. Animals world tour opens in Westfalenhalle, Dortmund
19 May 1977
The Sex Pistols appear on the Bill Grundy Show
25 May 1977
First Star Wars film, Episode IV: A New Hope, goes on release
2–7 June 1977
Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee celebration
18 June 1977
The Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save The Queen’ reaches UK Number One
6 July 1977
Olympic Stadium, Montreal show on the Animals tour
16 August 1977
Elvis Presley dies
16 September 1977
Marc Bolan dies
November 1977
The Damned’s Music For Pleasure released
16 December 1977
Release of Saturday Night Fever
1978
1978
‘Space Invaders’ launched
January 1978
Kate Bush’s debut single ‘Wuthering Heights’ released, goes to Number One in the UK
25 July 1978
Louise Brown, world’s first ‘test tube’ baby, born
7 September 1978
Keith Moon dies
27 December 1978
Forty years of military dictatorship in Spain end
1979
1979
Sony Walkman released
2 February 1979
Sid Vicious dies
April 1979
The Wall recording sessions begin in France
4 May 1979
Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first woman prime minister
9–10 June 1979
Nick Mason’s first drive at the Le Mans 24-Hour
12 June 1979
First man-powered flight across the English Channel by Bryan Allen in ‘Gossamer Albatross’
30 November 1979
THE WALL released
22 December 1979
‘Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2’ becomes Number One in the UK
1980
5 February 1980
US launch party for Rubik’s Cube
7 February 1980
The Wall tour opens at LA Sports Arena
22 March 1980
The Dark Side Of The Moon has the longest run of a contemporary album on US charts, after 303 weeks
17 July 1980
Saddam Hussein becomes president of Iraq
21 November 1980
‘Who Shot J.R.?’ episode of Dallas airs
8 December 1980
John Lennon shot dead in New York City
1981
1981
‘Pac-Man’ video game released
9 February 1981
Bill Haley dies
12 April 1981
First space shuttle launched
13–17 June 1981
Five performances of The Wall at Earls Court – the last live performance by David, Nick, Roger and Rick for 24 years
29 July 1981
Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
7 September 1981
Shooting for The Wall movie begins
23 November 1981
A COLLECTION OF GREAT DANCE SONGS released
1982
1982
Trivial Pursuit launched
January 1982
Erika Roe streaks at Twickenham during an International rugby match
April 1982
Sinclair ZX Spectrum released
2 April 1982
Start of the Falklands war, as Argentina and Great Britain fight over ownership of the Falkland Islands/las Malvinas
23 May 1982
The Wall film premieres at Cannes
1983
1 January 1983
The Internet created
21 March 1983
THE FINAL CUT released
29 October 1983
The Dark Side Of the Moon becomes the longest running chart LP of all time after 491 weeks
1984
1984
Nick Mason joins the Rothmans Porsche team for the filming of Life Could Be A Dream
January 1984
The now-classic 128K Apple Macintosh launched
30 April 1984
Roger Waters’ The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking released
June 1984
Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy published
16 September 1984
First broadcast of Miami Vice
November 1984
Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ released
1985
1985
19 February 1985
First BBC broadcast of EastEnders
March 1985
Mikhail Gorbachev succeeds Chernenko as Soviet President
May 1985
The Groucho Club
in London’s Soho opens
13 July 1985
Live Aid concerts at Wembley Stadium, London and the JFK Stadium, Philadelphia. David Gilmour plays with the Bryan Ferry band at the Wembley show
19 August 1985
Nick Mason and Rick Fenn’s Profiles released
1 September 1985
Wreck of the Titanic located
1986
23 January 1986
First inductions to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Chuck Berry, James Brown and Elvis Presley
30 April 1986
Chernobyl fire
16 May 1986
Top Gun released
22 June 1986
Diego Maradona scores his ‘hand of god’ goal for Argentina vs England in the World Cup
1987
January 1987
Mikhail Gorbachev launches glasnost followed by perestroika
1 February 1987
DAT tapes launched by Aiwa
April 1987
Roger Waters press release confirms his departure from Pink Floyd
29 May 1987
Matthias Rust lands his Cessna plane in Moscow’s Red Square
15 June 1987
Roger Waters’ Radio KAOS released
August 1987
Pink Floyd rehearsals for Momentary Lapse tour start in Toronto
8 September 1987
A MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON released
9 September 1987
A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour opens in Ottawa
1988
23 January 1988
A Momentary Lapse of Reason world tour opens in Western Springs, New Zealand and runs through to 23 August 1988 at Nassau Coliseum, Long Island
30 April 1988
The Dark Side Of The Moon drops out of the US album charts after 724 weeks in Top 200
21–22 June 1988
Chateau de Versailles shows
10 November 1988
Lockheed’s F-117A stealth bomber unveiled
22 November 1988
DELICATE SOUND OF THUNDER live album released
1989
14 February 1989
Fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie for writing The Satanic Verses
13 May 1989
Another Lapse tour starts in Werchter Park, Belgium
June 1989
The Tiananmen Square student demonstration is put down in Beijing, China
3–4 & 6–7 June 1989
Olympic Stadium, Moscow, shows
15 July 1989
Venice show
18 July 1989
Another Lapse tour ends in Marseilles
26 July 1989
First prosecution for releasing a computer virus in the US
2 November 1989
The Berlin Wall falls
1990
1990
Nintendo launch the Game Boy
11 February 1990
Nelson Mandela released from captivity
31 March 1990
Guy Mason born
24 April 1990
Hubble space telescope launched
21 May 1990
Nick Mason marries Annette Lynton
30 June 1990
Knebworth Festival
21 July 1990
Roger Waters’ The Wall performance in Berlin
28 November 1990
Margaret Thatcher resigns as prime minister
1 December 1990
French and British workers make final breakthrough for the Channel Tunnel
1991
5 September 1991
Soviet parliament votes to dissolve the USSR
24 September 1991
Cary Mason born
October 1991
Carrera PanAmericana race
1992
1992
The World Wide Web released
13 April 1992
Video of La Carrera Panamericana released
1993
23 June 1993
John Wayne Bobbitt bobbitted
13 September 1993
Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin shake hands, standing on the White House lawn with Bill Clinton
1994
30 March 1994
THE DIVISION BELL released. The Division Bell tour opens at Robbie Stadium, Miami
29 October 1994
Final Earls Court show ends Division Bell tour
1995
30 May 1995
PULSE live album released
2005
2 July 2005
Nick, Roger, David and Rick reform for Live 8 at Hyde Park
2006
7 July 2006
Syd Barrett dies
2008
15 September 2008
Rick Wright dies
PICTURE CREDITS
The publishers would like to thank the following sources for their kind permission to reproduce the photographs in this book. We are particularly grateful to Nick Mason for access to his picture archive (NMA = Nick Mason Archive). Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders but should there be any omissions or errors we would be happy to correct them in future editions of the book.
SECTION 1
Page 1 NMA Page 2 NMA (both pics) Page 3 (top) Clive Metcalfe; (bottom) NMA Page 4 Mike Leonard (both pics) Page 5 NMA Page 6 NMA (both pics) Page 7 (top left) Peter and Sumi Jenner/Graham Keen; (top right) NMA; (bottom) NMA Page 8 Graham Keen Page 9 (top) Adam Ritchie; (bottom left) NMA/Wendy Gair; (bottom right) Adam Ritchie Page 10 (top) Dave Mills; (bottom) Redferns/Andrew Whittuck Page 11 (top) Rex Features; (bottom) NMA Page 12 (top) NMA; (bottom) Colin Prime/www.rocharchive.com Page 13 NMA (all pics) Page 14 NMA (both pics) Page 15 NMA (both pics) Page 16 Peter and Sumi Jenner
SECTION 2
Page 1 Storm Thorgerson Page 2 Strange Things Archive Page 3 (top) Jill Furmanovsky’s Archive; (bottom) NMA Page 4 NMA Page 5 NMA (both pics) Page 6 Pictorial Press/Jeffrey Mayer Page 7 (top) NMA; (bottom) The Collection of Steve O’Rourke Page 8 Mick Rock Page 9 Ron Geesin/Richard Stanley Page 10 (top) Juliet Wright/Gerard Bousquet; (bottom) NMA Page 11 Rex Features/Crollanza Page 12 NMA Page 13 Repfoto/Robert Ellis Page 14 (top) Jill Furmanovsky; (bottom) NMA Page 15 NMA (both pics) Page 16 Rex Features/Everett Collection
SECTION 3
Page 1 NMA Page 2 NMA (both pics) Page 3 NMA (both pics) Pages 4 and 5 pyramids, Hipgnosis; band, Jill Furmanovsky Page 6 (top) The Collection of Steve O’Rourke; (bottom) NMA/Jill Furmanovsky Page 7 (top and middle) NMA/Jill Furmanovsky; (bottom) NMA Page 8 Phil Taylor (both pics) Page 9 (top) Phil Taylor; (bottom) NMA Page 10 (top) Jill Furmanovsky; (bottom) NMA/Jean Cazals Page 11 Robbie Williams Page 12 Phil Taylor Page 13 NMA (both pics) Pages 14 and 15 (both pics) NMA Page 16 NMA/Bob Jenkins
SECTION 4
Page 1 NMA/Mark Fisher Page 2 NMA Page 3 (top) Jill Furmanovsky; (bottom) NMA/Bob Jenkins Page 4 (top) NMA; (bottom) MGM/UA courtesy The Kobal Collection Page 5 LAT (all pics) Page 6 (top) NMA/David Bailey; (bottom) Jill Furmanovsky Page 7 (top) Rex Features/Nils Jorgensen; (bottom) NMA/Dimo Safari Page 8 (top) Robbie Williams; (bottom) NMA Page 9 (top) NMA; (bottom) NMA/Dimo Safari Page 10 NMA (all pics) Page 11 (top) NMA/Dimo Safari; (top) Holly Mason Page 12 NMA (all pics) Page 13 NMA/Dimo Safari all pics except bottom left, which is Rex Features Page 14 NMA (both pics) Page 15 (top) Jill Furmanovsky; (bottom) Brian Rasic/Rex Features Page 16 Brian Rasic/Rex Features
CREDITS FOR PART TITLES
Chapter 1 NMA Chapter 2 Redferns/Andrew Whittuck Chapter 4 NMA Chapter 5 Ron Geesin/Richard Stanley Chapter 6 NMA Chapter 9 NMA Chapter 10 NMA Chapter 11 NMA/Dimo Safari Chapter 12 NMA/Dimo Safari
INDEX
A&M Studios, Los Angeles, 288
Aachen, 148
Abbey Road Studios, 85, 87, 88, 89–93, 116, 123–4, 127, 146, 157, 170–1, 174–5, 193, 202–3, 207–8, 307
Adams, Douglas, 320, 332–3
Adamson, Chris, 176, 194–5, 205
Adler, Peter, 17
AIR studios, 88, 157
<
br /> Aldiss, John, 142, 147
Alexandra Palace: ‘14-Hour Technicolour Dream’, 81–2, 95
All Saints church hall, 47–9, 54, 78
America see United States
American Forces Network, 19
Antibes Jazz Festival, 149
Antonioni, Michelangelo, 51, 137–8, 143
Appice, Carmine, 288
Asher, Dick, 245, 249
Asher, Peter, 45, 209
Astoria (houseboat), 285–7, 294, 300–1, 317–18
Australia, 157, 159, 301
Avram, Marcel, 226
Ayers, Kevin, 148, 195–6
Baker, Ginger, 58–9
Ballet de Marseille, 149, 168, 181–3, 185
Band, The: Music From Big Pink, 152
Bannister, Freddie, 142
Barnes, Peter, 162, 203, 222, 243
Barrett, Syd, 12, 19, 24, 26, 65, 78, 98–9, 344
family background, 27–8
early musical activities, 23, 27–8, 110
character and appearance, 27, 28, 87, 90–1, 206–7
joins emerging Floyd, 27–37
songwriting of, 29, 49, 59, 83, 91, 97, 104, 111, 116, 123–4
creates Pink Floyd name, 33–4, 47
acid-taking habit, 81, 82, 95
mental disturbance of, 95–7, 100–2, 103, 105, 208
dropped from band, 105, 109–13, 114–15, 117, 123, 167
becomes a recluse, 136–7
Barrett (album), 136, 207
The Madcap Laughs (album), 136, 207
Bath Festival of Blues & Progressive Music, 141–3
Battersea Power Station, 223
BBC, 84, 85, 86
Beatles, 28, 44, 63, 88, 89, 92–3
Abbey Road, 171
Let It Be, 171
‘Lovely Rita’, 93
Rubber Soul, 88
White Album, 177
Beck, Jeff, 29
Begelman, David, 258, 259
Belgium, 120, 121–2
Bereza, Andy, 202
Big Brother & The Holding Company, 100
Billiard Room studio, 267, 268
Black Island studios, 325, 341
Blackhill Enterprises, 42–3, 51–2, 72, 78, 112–13, 116, 128, 148
Blake, John, 148
Bley, Carla, 249
Bo Diddley, 49
Bolan, Marc, 52
Boone, Pat, 102
Boston Gardens, 205
Bown, Andy, 251
Bown, Peter, 89
Bowyer, Peter, 180–1
Boyd, Joe, 55–6, 60, 62–3, 66, 85, 94
Boyle, Mark, 57
Bracelin, Jack, 57
Branson, Richard, 117
Brickman, Marc, 253, 292–3, 297, 298, 307, 322, 323
Britannia Row, Islington, 215–23, 237, 239–40, 247–8, 314
Bron, Gerry, 23
Brooker, Gary, 87
Brooks, Clive, 254, 323
Broughton, Edgar, 148
Brown, Sam, 308
Brown, Vicki, 308
Bryan Morrison Agency, 80, 110, 128–9