Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved international success with their progressive and psychedelic music. Distinguished by their use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, and elaborate live shows, they are one of the most commercially successful and musically influential groups in the history of popular music. They have sold more than 300 million records worldwide, including 74.5 million certified units in the United States. They were inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Founded in 1965, Pink Floyd originally consisted of university students Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, and Syd Barrett. They first gained popularity performing in London's underground music scene during the late 1960s, and under Barrett's creative leadership they released two charting singles, Arnold Layne and See Emily Play, as well as a successful début album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). Guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour joined as a fifth member in December 1967, and Barrett left the band in April 1968 due to his deteriorating mental health. After Barrett's departure, Waters became their primary songwriter and lyricist. With Waters, Mason, Wright, and Gilmour, Pink Floyd achieved critical and commercial success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), and The Wall (1979). Wright left the group in 1979, followed by Waters in 1985. Gilmour and Mason continued as Pink Floyd and Wright subsequently rejoined. They continued to record and tour through 1994; two more albums followed, A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994). After nearly two decades of acrimony, the band reunited in 2005 for a performance at the global awareness event Live 8. Wright died in 2008. Surviving members Gilmour and Mason joined Waters at one of his The Wall Tour shows on 12 May 2011 at the O2 Arena in London; Gilmour performed Comfortably Numb along with Waters and Outside the Wall with Mason and Waters.