chord sequence?” and I said “No, no”,
and it sort of just happened, because I was
thinking that I didn’t know what they
wanted, and I really didn’t know,
but OK, best feet forward.
I have said this many times,
but it’s completely true, I thought
to myself I have to pretend to be
an instrument and that gave me
an avenue to explore. So I started
doing something and they said
“We like that.” So, I said to Alan
“OK, put the red light on and
record this because usually the
first take is the best”, and I started
singing and did it. Then they said
“Well I think we’ll do another
take.” So I did another one, then
David said, “I think you could
improve upon that”, and I didn’t
think I could, and I started the
third track and then in the middle I
stopped and said “Look I really think that
you’ve got enough.” Then I went in to
the control room and not much was said,
and I said, “Well alright then, goodbye.”
And I was convinced it would neversee the light of day because they hadn’t
commented or said “great” or “awful”,
nothing.I honestly thought that they didn’t like
it, then I suppose in about March, I had
no idea when the album was coming out,
and I was on my way home to my flat and
there used to be a record shop on Kings
Road just past the Chelsea Potter, and
there in the window was this now familiar
cover and so I walked in and opened the
album and there it was The Great Gig
in the Sky, vocal Clare Torry and so I
thought, oh I’ll have to buy that. Several
months later I was doing something at
Abbey Road and Alan was there and he
said that the album was doing really well
so I said what album? And he said Dark
Side of the Moon, and so I said oh fine,
jolly good and that was it really.’
Whilst the critical response to Dark
Side of the Moon was overwhelmingly
positive, the press reception for the
release of the album was a chaotic
affair. Critics were invited to an event,
held at the London Planetarium on 27
February 1973, that the majority of the
band themselves refused to attend. Pink
Floyd members cited sound issues as the
reason for their absence, namely that
the quadrophonic mix of the album was
not yet ready, and life sized cardboard
cut outs of the missing members greeted
the press instead. The sole attending
Pink Floyd member, Richard Wright,
then presented the gathered press with
a stereo mix of Dark Side of the Moon
through a tinny PA system. Fortunately
this bizarre release did nothing to stem
the enthusiasm of attending reporters,
and Dark Side of the Moon themed shows
and events have remained a staple of
planetariums around the world ever since.
Some highlights from the reviews of
1973 include Loyd Grossman of Rolling
Stone magazine declaring the release, ‘a
fine album with a textural and
conceptual richness that not only
invites, but demands involvement’,
and Steve Peacock of Sounds
extolling, ‘I don’t care if you’ve
never heard a note of the Pink
Floyd’s music in your life, I’d
unreservedly recommend everyone
to The Dark Side of the Moon’.
Despite the runaway success of
Dark Side of the Moon, the album
only actually held the No. 1 spot
in America’s Billboard album
chart for a week, a feat it didn’t
manage to equal in the UK, where
it remains the highest selling
album to never reach No. 1 – it
was beaten to the top spot by Elton
Joh n’s Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano
Player. In spite of these disappointments,
Dark Side of the Moon remains thePink Floyd left to right: Richard Wright,
Dave Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason.FLOYd Fact
As huge Monty Python fans, Pink
Floyd were one of a number of
rock groups who helped contribute
to the initial budget for Monty
Python and the Holy Grail. Pink
Floyd put up £20,000 of their
profits from Dark Side of the Moon
to help fund the classic British
comedy directed by Terry Gilliam.