18 February 1968, David Gilmour joins Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd was formed in London in 1965 when Roger Keith Barrett, known as Syd, joined band The Tea Set made up of Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Richard Wright and Bob Klose.
Between 1965 and 1967, Pink Floyd (Barrett, Mason, Waters and Wright) began to establish themselves as one of the most popular groups on London’s underground scene. It was in 1967 that things turned around, the band left university gigs behind them to become regular guests at well-known venue the UFO Club and then got into the recording studio to record their first single Arnold Layne/Candy and a Currant Bun.
The ‘Syd Barrett’ issue and his departure from the band is one of those wounds that may never heal. But the health issues that caused the break-up were undeniable. Although the departure of such great talent may always be regretted, let’s look at this week’s #TBT as a positive event which made an important contribution to the band.
David Gilmour, who was friends with Syd when he was younger, was asked to join Pink Floyd as second guitarist by drummer Nick Mason, briefly increasing the number of band members to five.
From then on, having overcome the events that led to the new line-up, there was no stopping Pink Floyd. Gilmour became the lead guitarist and singer. Barrett’s genius became the inspiration to maintain a certain standard that strove incessantly for experimentation. And that approach paid off, giving us such masterpieces as The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall, to name but a few.
We leave you with “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett.
