History Trivia / PinkFloyd

** In the U.K., the band were initially signed to Creator/EMIColumbiaRecords before moving to Creator/HarvestRecords for ''Music/{{Ummagumma}}'', staying there for over a decade and a half. Following the departure of Music/RogerWaters in 1985, the band moved over to Creator/{{EMI}} in the U.K., later releasing ''Music/TheEndlessRiver'' through Creator/ParlophoneRecords after EMI went under during the two-decade interim between it and ''Music/TheDivisionBell''.
** In the U.S., the band were first signed to Tower Records (the label, not the store), before switching to Harvest under distribution from Creator/CapitolRecords. For the release of ''Music/WishYouWereHere'', the band moved over to Creator/ColumbiaRecords due to dissatisfaction with Capitol's distribution, staying there until the rights to the band's post-''Dark Side'' albums transferred back to Capitol in 2000. The U.S. rights to the band's back catalog transferred back to Sony ''again'' in 2016 under the band's Pink Floyd Records imprint in the wake of the sale of EMI.

* FanNickname:
** The Gilmour-led band has been called the "dehydrated" ([[{{Main/Pun}} without Waters]]) band.
** Unauthorized releases of live shows [[InsistentTerminology aren't bootlegs]], they're Recordings of Indeterminate Origin ([=ROIOs=]).
** For the individual members, "Rog" for Roger Waters, and "Gilmie" for David Gilmour.

** Gilmour also produced The Dream Academy's debut album, including their hit "Life in a Northern Town".

** Gilmour hated ''Music/TheFinalCut'', partly because some of the tracks on that album were rejected songs from ''Music/TheWall'', though he admitted that he liked one or two songs from that album, one of them being "The Fletcher Memorial Home", which has appeared on the band's greatest hits albums ''Echoes'' and ''A Foot in the Door''.

--->'''David Gilmour regarding ''Atom Heart Mother'' and ''Ummagumma''''': "I think both are pretty horrible. Well, the live disc of Ummagumma might be all right, but even that isn't recorded well."

--->'''David Gilmour, asked about ''Atom Heart Mother'' in 2001''': "I listened to that album recently: God, it's shit, possibly our lowest point artistically. Atom Heart Mother sounds like we didn't have any idea between us, but we became much more prolific after it."

* CreatorBreakdown: The band was infamous for this, the only recurring member to arguably not have one was Nick Mason.

** Gilmour suffered his own marital breakup, stress from Waters' lawsuit over the rights to the band name, and problems with his relationships with his girlfriend, children and band members by the late Eighties/early Nineties, all while conquering issues with promiscuity, a nasty cocaine habit and over eating. He and his girlfriend/soon-to-be-wife, journalist Polly Samson, wrote ''Music/TheDivisionBell'' based on Gilmour's breakdowns, under themes of miscommunication and discord.

* HeAlsoDid: At some point between ''Music/WishYouWereHere'' and ''Music/{{Animals}}'', Gilmour took a break from being completely awesome in Pink Floyd to help Music/KateBush [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Bush jump-start her career]].
** Also, that approaching helicopter sound at the start of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives"? Reused in Music/KateBush's song "Experiment IV". Supposedly, her engineers just couldn't duplicate the overwhelming sound so she asked Roger if she could use the original effect. He said yes, just as long as he was thanked in the credits.

** There's a three-minute version of "Pigs on the Wing" that was only available on the eight-track tape of ''Music/{{Animals}}'' - it combined "Pigs on the Wing 1" and "Pigs on the Wing 2" as two verses of the same song, bridged together by a short solo by guest musician Snowy White. Interestingly, this was the way the song was originally written - the only reason Snowy White had to add a guitar solo was that David Gilmour's was accidentally erased. Of course, now that the eight-track is a dead format, this version is more easily heard on bootleg recordings.

* ChannelHop: The band switched to Creator/ColumbiaRecords in the U.S. for the release of ''Music/WishYouWereHere'' and stayed there until the rights to the band's post-''Dark Side'' albums transferred back to Capitol in 2000. The band's back catalog transferred back to Sony ''again'' in 2016 under the band's Pink Floyd Records imprint in the wake of the sale of Creator/{{EMI}}, while Creator/ParlophoneRecords handles distribution in the U.K. and Europe.

* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: Waters fired Rick Wright in 1979 because he refused to cut short his vacation when the sessions for ''Music/TheWall'' fell behind schedule, and also for working on his own solo album instead of contributing.
** Some sources have also stated that his cocaine addiction at the time was a contributing factor to his dismissal.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
** "Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert" references several geopolitical hotspots in the early '80s: The UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan, [[UsefulNotes/ArabIsraeliConflict the war in Lebanon]] and UsefulNotes/TheFalklandsWar.
** "The Fletcher Memorial Home" namedrops several politicians who have now all passed away: Reagan, Thatcher, Ian Paisley, Leonid Breznhev, Menachem Begin,...
** Pink Floyd was always about using the latest and greatest recording technologies of the time. But 80's production has not aged well at all, giving ''A Momentary Lapse of Reason'' a very dated sound today.

** Music/RogerWaters suffered from the band’s mainstream success following ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'', especially during the 1977 ''In The Flesh'' tour. The audiences became much bigger, and a lot noisier – the old psychedelic fans tended to keep quiet during the numbers, but the mainstream fans often spent the whole gig baying for "Money". It all culminated in a 6 July 1977 show in UsefulNotes/{{Montreal}}, where Waters stopped during "Pigs on the Wing (Part II)" to deliver a [[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Waters#Miscellaneous blistering]] [[ClusterFBomb tirade]] and ultimately spat on a rowdy fan that'd annoyed him--the whole incident inspired ''Music/TheWall'', and the "In the Flesh?" sequence in TheMovie was mostly based on Roger's experiences touring the US. Much of his later material, in fact, exposed his grudges at such types as bureaucrats in the music industry ("Welcome to the Machine", "Have a Cigar"), leaders who send men overseas to die in wars (''Music/TheFinalCut'') and despair at society in general.[[note]]in a late 1970s interview he said that the seventies had been "a very baleful decade", and was worried about what the eighties would be like (in retrospect we know that the spirit of the eighties turned out to be even less in line with his world-view) -- the "knuckles white upon the slippery reins" line on ''Music/TheFinalCut'' sounds like it's quite apt for Waters himself[[/note]] Ultimately, it drove him to leave Pink Floyd. He’s now much less unhappy working a solo career and playing to more specialised audiences.

** Most of ''Music/WishYouWereHere'' was inspired by the record label's pressure on a follow-up... which led to the scathing songs "Have a Cigar" and "Welcome to the Machine".

** Also around the time of the recording of ''Music/TheWall'', Richard Wright was going trough his own marital crisis. This combined with being under constant pressure from both Waters and the label meant he started slipping into depression, and failed to dedicate the time necessary for the band. He was eventually fired by Waters following a dispute over workload and wouldn't officially return until Wright himself left and Gilmour took over

* ProductionPosse: The band was well known for their association with the Creator/{{Hipgnosis}} studio, who designed many of their iconic album covers, including ''Music/Ummagumma'', ''Music/DarkSideOfTheMoon'', ''Music/WishYouWereHere'' and ''Music/{{Animals}}''.

* BigNameFan:
** Music/DavidBowie considered the Barrett-led incarnation of Pink Floyd a crucial band in the 1960's British rock movement, and admired them so much that he performed a cover of "See Emily Play" for his CoverAlbum ''Pin Ups''. Bowie would also cover "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb" (a piece from the Waters-led Floyd, indicating that Bowie seemed to enjoy that version of the band as well) as a guest vocalist on David Gilmour's ''On an Island'' tour in 2006.
** Another GlamRock icon, Music/MarcBolan, cited Barrett as a key influence.
** Contrary to popular legend, Music/JohnLydon of the Music/SexPistols and Music/PublicImageLtd ([=PiL=]) was an ardent fan of Pink Floyd; his stint wearing a T-shirt denouncing the band was simply an effort to {{troll}} people. [=PiL's=] early extended pieces were in fact a good indicator of their Pink Floyd influences.
** None other than Music/WesleyWillis paid tribute to the band on his album ''Rock 'N' Roll Will Never Die'' with the track "Pink Floyd" after catching a show at Chicago's Soldier Field, describing the show as a jam session that "whupped a polar bear's ass."
** Music/AliceCooper has been a fan since the Barrett era, hosting them when the Alice Cooper band lived in San Francisco.
** In [[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-pink-floyd-the-wall-1982 a retrospective review]] of the film version of ''Music/TheWall'', Creator/RogerEbert said that only one specific audience could really appreciate the film: "one familiar with filmmaking techniques, alert to directorial styles, and familiar with Roger Waters and Pink Floyd." Since he gave the film a favorable review, one might infer that Ebert himself was one of them.
** Music/BrianEno is a fan of the band, particularly of the Barrett era. He also happened to be Bowie collaborator in the late '70s. Richard Wright was also a fan of Eno in turn.

* CreatorBreakdown:
** Music/SydBarrett, referenced in the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". In a truly ironic coincidence, he actually showed up at its recording session, more insane than his former band-mates had ever remembered. He had become obese over the years, shaved off his hair and eyebrows and become even more secluded. He had to leave the studio when both Waters and Richard Wright [[TearJerker broke down in tears.]]

** Music/TheBeachBoys were originally scheduled to add backing vocals to "The Show Must Go On", but they cancelled the session at the last possible minute. Waters had to settle for just one Beach Boy (Bruce Johnston) and Toni Tennille.

** They couldn't perform at UsefulNotes/LiveAid because they were in the midst of bitter disputes between Roger Waters and the rest of the band. However, David Gilmour played guitar for Music/BryanFerry at Wembley. Gilmour's name was not announced as a performer.

** Contrary to popular legend, Music/JohnLydon of [[Music/SexPistols The Sex Pistols]] and Music/PublicImageLtd was an ardent fan of Pink Floyd; his stint wearing a shirt denouncing the band was simply an effort to {{troll}} people.

* CreatorBacklash[=/=]OldShame: Gilmour hated ''Music/TheFinalCut'', partly because some of the tracks on that album were rejected songs from ''Music/TheWall'', though he admitted that he liked one or two songs from that album, one of them being "The Fletcher Memorial Home", which has appeared on the band's greatest hits albums ''Echoes'' and ''A Foot in the Door''.

-->'''David Gilmour regarding ''Atom Heart Mother'' and ''Ummagumma''''': "I think both are pretty horrible. Well, the live disc of Ummagumma might be all right, but even that isn't recorded well."
-->'''Roger Waters''': "''Atom Heart Mother'' is a good case, I think, for being thrown into the dustbin and never listened to by anyone ever again!... It was pretty kind of pompous, it wasn't really about anything."
-->'''David Gilmour, asked about ''Atom Heart Mother'' in 2001''': "I listened to that album recently: God, it's shit, possibly our lowest point artistically. Atom Heart Mother sounds like we didn't have any idea between us, but we became much more prolific after it."

** They couldn't perform at Live Aid because they were in the midst of bitter disputes between Roger Waters and the rest of the band. However, David Gilmour played guitar for Music/BryanFerry at Wembley. Gilmour's name was not announced as a performer.

** Another possible follow-up to ''Dark Side'' was the soundtrack to the Alejandro Jodorowsky directed ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' film, which was originally going to be in collaboration with the bands Music/{{Magma}} and Music/HenryCow before it was decided that the Floyd would have done all the music. There's also a bit of CoconutEffect going on as well since the Creator/DavidLynch [[Film/Dune1984 version]] not only got Music/{{Toto}} and Music/BrianEno (not too many degrees of separation from Floyd) to do the soundtrack for the 1984 movie, but independent composers have attempted to extrapolate what Floyd might have done (the film project was axed before Floyd attempted to compose anything). Music inspired by ''Dune'' is now almost always associated with a pastiche of NewAge and SpaceRock, and neither the [[Music/JohnWilliams formulaic sci-fi thematic style]], nor the pseudo-Middle Eastern themes that you would expect, given the setting. In a possible nod to this, the first trailer to Creator/DenisVilleneuve's ''Film/{{Dune|2020}}'' is set to a moody cover of "Eclipse", from ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon''.

** Another possible follow-up to ''Dark Side'' was the soundtrack to the Alejandro Jodorowsky directed ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' film, which was originally going to be in collaboration with the bands Music/{{Magma}} and Music/HenryCow before it was decided that the Floyd would have done all the music. There's also a bit of CoconutEffect going on as well since the Creator/DavidLynch [[Film/{{Dune}} version]] not only got Music/{{Toto}} and Music/BrianEno (not too many degrees of separation from Floyd) to do the soundtrack for the 1984 movie, but independent composers have attempted to extrapolate what Floyd might have done (the film project was axed before Floyd attempted to compose anything). Music inspired by ''Dune'' is now almost always associated with a pastiche of NewAge and SpaceRock, and neither the [[Music/JohnWilliams formulaic sci-fi thematic style]], nor the pseudo-Middle Eastern themes that you would expect, given the setting. In a possible nod to this, the first trailer to Creator/DenisVilleneuve's ''Film/{{Dune|2020}}'' is set to a moody cover of "Eclipse", from ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon''.

** Another possible follow-up to ''Dark Side'' was the soundtrack to the Alejandro Jodorowsky directed ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' film, which was originally going to be in collaboration with the bands Music/{{Magma}} and Music/HenryCow before it was decided that the Floyd would have done all the music. There's also a bit of CoconutEffect going on as well since the Creator/DavidLynch [[Film/{{Dune}} version]] not only got Music/{{Toto}} and Music/BrianEno (not too many degrees of separation from Floyd) to do the soundtrack for the 1984 movie, but independent composers have attempted to extrapolate what Floyd might have done (the film project was axed before Floyd attempted to compose anything). Music inspired by ''Dune'' is now almost always associated with a pastiche of NewAge and SpaceRock, and neither the [[Music/JohnWilliams formulaic sci-fi thematic style]], nor the pseudo-Middle Eastern themes that you would expect, given the setting. Also, amusingly, the first trailer to Creator/DenisVilleneuve's ''Film/{{Dune|2020}}'' is set to a moody cover of "Eclipse", from ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon''.

** Another possible follow-up to ''Dark Side'' was the soundtrack to the Alejandro Jodorowsky directed ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' film, which was originally going to be in collaboration with the bands Music/{{Magma}} and Music/HenryCow before it was decided that the Floyd would have done all the music. There's also a bit of CoconutEffect going on as well since the Creator/DavidLyunch [[Film/{{Dune}} version]] not only got Toto and Music/BrianEno (not too many degrees of separation from Floyd) to do the soundtrack for the 1984 movie, but independent composers have attempted to extrapolate what Floyd might have done (the film project was axed before Floyd attempted to compose anything). Music inspired by ''Dune'' is now almost always associated with a pastiche of NewAge and SpaceRock, and neither the [[Music/JohnWilliams formulaic sci-fi thematic style]], nor the pseudo-Middle Eastern themes that you would expect, given the setting. Also, amusingly, the first trailer to Creator/DenisVilleneuve's ''Film/{{Dune|2020}}'' is set to a moody cover of "Eclipse", from ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon''.

** Another possible follow-up to ''Dark Side'' was the soundtrack to the Alejandro Jodorowsky directed ''Film/{{Dune}}'' film, which was originally going to be in collaboration with the bands Music/{{Magma}} and Music/HenryCow before it was decided that the Floyd would have done all the music. There's also a bit of CoconutEffect going on as well since the David Lynch version not only got Toto and Music/BrianEno (not too many degrees of separation from Floyd) to do the soundtrack for the 1984 movie, but independent composers have attempted to extrapolate what Floyd might have done (the film project was axed before Floyd attempted to compose anything). Music inspired by Dune is now almost always associated with a pastiche of NewAge and SpaceRock, and neither the [[Music/JohnWilliams formulaic sci-fi thematic style]], nor the pseudo-Middle Eastern themes that you would expect, given the setting.

* TroubledProduction: ''Wish You Were Here'', ''The Wall'', ''The Final Cut'', and ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason''.
* SimilarlyNamedWorks: A band called Medicine Head coincidentally called an album ''Dark Side Of The Moon'' a year before ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'' was released. Pink Floyd considered calling their album ''Eclipse'' to avoid confusion, but the Medicine Head album turned out to be a commercial flop, so they could safely use the title again without it being heavily associated with another performer's album.

** None other than Music/WesleyWillis paid tribute to the band on his album ''Rock 'N' Roll Will Never Die'' with the track "Pink Floyd" after catching a show at Chicago's Soldier Field.

* SimilarlyNamedWorks: A band called Medicine Head coincidentally released an album called ''Dark Side Of The Moon'' a year before ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'' was released. Pink Floyd considered calling their album ''Eclipse'' to avoid confusion, but the Medicine Head album turned out to be a commercial flop, so they could safely use the title again without it being heavily associated with another performer's album.

* SimilarlyNamedWorks: A band called Medicine Head released an album called ''Dark Side Of The Moon'' a year before ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'' was released. Pink Floyd considered changing the title to ''Eclipse'', but the Medicine Head album turned out to be a commercial flop, so they could safely use the title without it being heavily associated with another performer's album.

** ''A Saucerful of Secrets'' exists in mono and stereo versions, but only the latter has been reissued since the initial LP print run. A modern mono release has never happened, supposedly due to a problem with the master tapes.
*** Averted: A remastered mono mix was released on vinyl for Record Store Day 2019.