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__TOC__ SPECIAL EFFECTS Besides the music, arguably the most important and certainly the most elaborate part to any Pink Floyd live show is the special effects. The light show Pink Floyd were among the first bands to use a dedicated travelling light show in conjunction with their performances, as during their early days, dynamic psychedelic patterns were projected behind the band while they played. They developed many of these techniques due to their fortuitous early association with light artist Mike Leonard. When psychedelia fell out of fashion from about 1970 onwards, elevated platforms of the type conventionally used for roof maintenance in high buildings were brought on tour and filled with lighting equipment to be raised and lowered during performances. Following , 2006 '' in 1974. Light packed "Genies" stand either side of the stage.]] A large circular projection panel dubbed "Mr Screen" first made an appearance during performances of ''Dark Side of the Moon'' in 1973 and became a staple thereafter. Specially recorded films and animations were projected onto it, and on subsequent tours, coloured spotlights were fixed around the rim, an effect which reached its zenith with the dancing patterns of multi-coloured lights in the '' A Momentary Lapse Of Reason '' and '' Division Bell '' tours. In the latter, the screen could be retracted behind the stage when not required, and was tilted with its peripheral lights focused onto the stage into a single spotlight during the final Guitar Solo in " Comfortably Numb ". Several generations of giant Glitter Balls began with the ''Dark Side of the Moon'' tour. By the ''Division Bell'' tour, the ball had evolved into a globe 4.9 metres in diameter, which rose from the Mixing Station to a height of 21.3 metres before opening into an array of Petal s 7.3 metres wide during the final guitar solo of "Comfortably Numb", revealing a 12 Kilowatt Phobeus HMI lamp inside. Props and pyrotechnics Thanks to stage architect/designer Mark Fisher, Pink Floyd's tours became a staple in the industry due to their outstanding special and scenic effects. Pyrotechnics (such as exploding flashpots, an exploding Gong and Fireworks ) and dry ice were used extensively throughout the Floyd's career. In 1973's tour to promote '' Dark Side Of The Moon '', a large scale model plane flew over the audience and crashed onto the stage with a spectacular explosion, an effect repeated at the start of '' The Wall '' and the '' Division Bell '' shows. During shows to promote '' A Momentary Lapse Of Reason '', a similar effect was achieved with a flying bed. Over-sized was brought in for '' Animals '' in 1977, floating over the audience, as well as a grotesque 'Nuclear Family', a refrigerator filled with snakes, a television and a Cadillac . In some shows, an envelope of Propane gas was put inside the pig, causing it to explode. The inflatables reached their peak in 1980–1981 during '' The Wall '' shows, in which several of the characters from the album were brought to life in the form of fully mobile, giant string Puppets with menacing spotlights for eyes, taking the traditional balloons to a new level. The characters were designed by the notable satirical artist, Gerald Scarfe .Schaffner, p. 241 Special effects reached a new and outrageous level during these ''Wall'' shows. For example, a 160-foot long, 35-foot high wall made from 340 white bricks was built between the audience and the band during the first half of the show. The final brick was placed as Roger Waters sang "goodbye" at the end of the song "Goodbye Cruel World". For the second half of the show, the band was largely invisible, except for a hole in the wall that simulated a hotel room where Roger Waters "acted out" the story of Pink, and an appearance by ''). At the finale of the concert, the wall was demolished amidst sound effects and a spectacular light show. PERFORMANCE HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS Syd's era The earliest shows for what is considered to be "Pink Floyd" occurred in 1965 and included Bob Klose as a member of the band, which at the time played mainly R&B covers. Klose left the band after 1965. The remaining four members played very small (generally no more than 50 people), mostly unadvertised shows at the Marquee Club , London through June 1966. The set list continued to include R&B, but some Psychedelia was also being introduced. On 30 September 1966 , the Floyd were invited to play All Saint's Church Hall to raise money for the nascent International Times newspaper, and quickly became the "house band". At these shows, the band began its use of visual effects and gradually stopped covering R&B. Word of these shows quickly spread in the London underground culture and soon the band became very well-attended and developed a cult following. On 23 December 1966 , the first of the " International Times " associated gigs to be held at the legendary UFO Club was performed. Mainstream interest about the counter-culture was increasing and a very small portion of their 20 January 1967 show at the UFO Club was broadcast as part of Granada TV 's documentary entitled ''It's So Far Out, It's Straight Down'', which this constitutes the first audial or visual record of the band live. Pink Floyd were among the 30 bands that played " The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream " benefit gig organised for the "International Times" legal defence fund and held at the Alexandra Palace , London between 29 April 1967 and 30 April 1967 . Some of the other bands who played were The Who , The Move , The Pretty Things , Soft Machine , Tomorrow & The Creation . Notables in attendance included musician John Lennon , artist John Dunbar , actor Michael Caine , artist and musician Yoko Ono , actress Julie Christie , musician Mick Jagger and artist David Hockney . Although both the BBC and filmmaker Peter Whitehead filmed portions of the event, there is no known footage of Pink Floyd. On 12 May 1967 , Pink Floyd performed at Queen Elizabeth Hall , London, a concert entitled Games For May . At this show, they debuted a multi-speaker pan pot system controlled by joystick from the stage that allowed them to move sound to anywhere a speaker had been set up. This precursor to their later " Azimuth Coordinator " unfortunately was stolen after the show. After their debut single, " Arnold Layne ", charted well in the UK , the band was invited to perform on the BBC2 music show ''The Look of the Week'' on 14 May 1967 . The setlist for the broadcast consisted of " Pow R. Toc H. " and " Astronomy Domine ". This was their first British television appearance. The Floyd were invited to appear on the BBC2 music show '''', March 27 , 1971 Consequently, their management company, Blackhill Enterprises , convinced the band to cancel all of their August shows and go to Spain to recuperate. Increasingly, throughout the summer and into the fall of 1967, Barrett became erratic in his on-stage behaviour. Often he'd not play at all. By the time of the band's first tour of the US in early November 1967, his mental state was plainly showing. He seemed to stare off into a void on their 4 November '' American Bandstand '' performance and managed to mime the vocals to "Apples and Oranges". On 5 November, things got worse, they appeared on ''The Pat Boone Show'' and Syd sat in silence, refusing to answer any question put to him and refused to mime to "See Emily Play" causing Waters to mime the track (Waters confirmed this on the '' VH1 Legends : Pink Floyd'' episode). After the 22 December show, the rest of band put out word that they were in need of a guitarist. Although both Jeff Beck and Davy O'List were considered, it was David Gilmour , then unobligated, who was brought on to replace Syd as need arose during shows. For the first four shows of 1968, Pink Floyd was a five-man live act again. When they were on the way to their show at Southampton University on 26 January 1968 , they decided not to pick up Syd. Transition and experimentation Although their management company Blackhill Enterprises parted ways with them over their decision about Syd Barrett on 29 June 1968 , Pink Floyd headlined the first free Hyde Park concert organized by Blackhill. Others performing were Tyrannosaurus Rex , Roy Harper and Jethro Tull . A second tour of the US during July and August of 1968 was launched to tie into the release of their second album, '' A Saucerful Of Secrets ''. Increasingly throughout 1968 and 1969, shows consisted of post-Barrett compositions, with notable exceptions being " Astronomy Domine " and " Interstellar Overdrive ", both of which were performed into the 1970s. Their audiences changed during this time as well, drawing a more "intellectual" crowd who would remain quiet until the last note of a song was played.Povey and Russell p. 55-57 By early 1969, most of their excess earnings were funneled into upgrading their sound equipment rather than maintaining a permanent light show. If visuals were to be used at all, they had to be provided by the venue or the local promoter. The shows at Mothers , Birmingham on 27 April 1969 and the College of Commerce, Manchester on 2 May 1969 were recorded for the live part of the Ummagumma album. One source also claims that the show at Bromley Technical College, Kent England on 26 April 1969 was also recorded for the album.Povey and Russell p. 72 On 14 April 1969 , at Royal Festival Hall , they debuted their new pan pot 360 degree sound system dubbed the "Azimuth Coordinator". This show, named "More Furious Madness from the Massed Gadgets of Auximenes", consisted of two experimental "suites", "The Man" and "The Journey". Most of the songs were either renamed earlier material or under a different name than they would eventually be released. A UK tour of " The Man/The Journey " occurred during May and June 1969 culminating in the show dubbed "The Final Lunacy" at Royal Albert Hall on 26 June 1969 . Considered one of the most experimental concerts by Pink Floyd, it featured a crew member dressed as a gorilla, a cannon that fired, and band members sawing wood on the stage. At the finale of "The Journey" suite the band was joined on stage by the brass section of the Royal Philharmonic and the ladies of the Ealing Central Amateur Choir, and at the very end a huge pink smoke bomb was let off.Povey and Russell p. 75 An additional complete performance of "The Man/The Journey" occurred at the Concertgebouw , Amsterdam on 17 September and was taped and later broadcast by Dutch radio station Hilversum 3. Portions of the suites were being performed as late as early 1970. The "Atom Heart Mother" era Early in 1970, Pink Floyd performed at gigs an outtake from their film soundtrack for Michelangelo Antonioni 's film '' Zabriskie Point '' referred to as "The Violent Sequence". This was the musical basis for " Us And Them ", from their '' Dark Side Of The Moon '' album. Lacking only the lyrics, it is identical to the final songUnofficial audience recordings and is the earliest part of the seminal album to have been performed live. The song " Embryo " was also a part of the live repertoire around this time, but was never to appear on a studio album, until the compilation album '' Works ''. On 7 February 1970 , the band began performing a then untitled instrumental piece, which would eventually become the title track to their next album '' Atom Heart Mother ''. At this point, it had no orchestra or choir accompaniment. This is the first time they performed a song live in an unfinished form as a work in progress, something they continued to do until 1975. The song officially debuted at the Bath Festival , Somerset England on 27 June 1970 under the title " The Amazing Pudding " (later the name of a Pink Floyd Fanzine ) and for the first time with orchestra and choir accompaniment. Announced as " The Atom Heart Mother " by legendary British broadcaster John Peel on his BBC Radio 1 show "Peel's Sunday Concert" on 16 July 1970 , a name suggested by him to the band,Povey and Russell p 83, it was also announced as "The Atomic Heart Mother" two days later at the Hyde Park free concert.Povey and Russell p. 95 Partly due to the difficulties of finding and hiring local orchestras and choirs, the band often played what is referred to as the "small band" version of the song when they performed it live. The Floyd also appeared at a Free festival In Canterbury on August 31st which was filmed. This was the end leg of the Medicine Ball Caravan tour organised by Warner Brothers , which was later made into a film of the same name . It appears that the Pink Floyd footage was not included in the movie but spectators report that Atom Heart Mother was part of the set that was recorded.alembic sound webpage history The audience must have been one of the smallest to see Floyd at this era, only 1500 were present as the festival was not widely promoted. In contrast, over 500,000 people witnessed their show at Fête de L'Humanité, Paris on 12 September 1970 , their largest crowd ever. Filmed by French TV, the show was never broadcast.Povey and Russell p. 96 Experimental on the album '' Atom Heart Mother '', the song " Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast " was performed at a few gigs in December 1970. "Breakfast" being made was part of the song. The first part of this lasted around four minutes. The second part of "breakfast" preparation was around a minute followed by a 3 minute tape of British DJ Jimmy Young , whom the band disliked. The song lasted a little over 24 minutes. Early performances of "Echoes" January 1971 saw the band working on a track in the studio of then unconnected parts whose working title was either "Nothing - Parts 1 to 24"Povey and Russell p. 85 or "Nothing Parts 1-36".Fitch p. 93 This song made its live debut under the working title "Return of the Son of Nothing" on April 22 1971 at Norwich , England and as " Atom Heart Mother " before it, it was a work in progress. This was later to be released as " Echoes " on the album '' Meddle ''. It contained additional lyrics and although none of the unofficial recordings of shows during this period are very clear, the lyrics are approximately: :Planets singing face to face :Bound to the air of life, how sweet! :If purposely we might embrace :The perfect union deep in space :Ever might this once relent :And give us leave to shine as one :Our two lights singing better :Than one light can :And in that longing to be one :The parting suns shine as one :I'll see you've got to travel on :And on and on, around the sun Although announced as "Echoes" on 2006 the song was still performed with the additional lyrics at later August gigs. The show on September 18 1971 at Montreux Switzerland and subsequent shows do not have the additional lyrics. |
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