Other bands performing include Coldplay, Elton John and Paul McCartney, but they have now officially been over-shadowed. It has been rumored for years that Pink Floyd was going to do a reunion show at various points in time. I recall one rumor that said they were going to play on New Years Eve 2000, which obviously never materialized. At least the band has its priorities straight though.
- "Any squabbles Roger and the band have had in the past are so petty in this context, and if reforming for this concert will help focus attention then it's got to be worthwhile."
-David Gilmour
It should be interesting to see just how good those harmonies sound after all these years. I wonder if a reunion tour isn't too far away, given this special reunion?
We can hope, right?
So, what material do you think will be in their set list?
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - keyman
the stage set with a wall partition deviding it in half. First gilmour and friends appear and start:
The Show Must Go On
all of a sudden a figure smashes through the wall, Roger Waters! Hand shake, grins then:
Wish You Were Here
Mother
Not Now John
Dogs
Hey You
Comfortably Numb
Run Like Hell
Us And Them (Encore)
2 - David Moats
Best news I've heard in years!!!!!
I (and obviously lots of others) would love to see a permanent "ironing out" of differences and further collaberation in the near future.
D.M.
Harrisburg, PA. USA
3 - Jackson Floyd
The show should start with Shine on you crazy Diamond , then entire Dark side of the moon should be played, followed by Welcome to the machine, then One of these days, and Comfortably numb, end on Wish you were here, and for an en core, Run Like Hell
4 - FilteringCraig
I am not sure if they will have that long of a set, but certainly a very good selection.
5 - Jamie
Wow outrageous news. i'm not going to be able to sleep until wednesday now! they will almost certianly headline the thing wont they? david and roger will be enjoying it so much they wont stop untill the plug is pulled on them. There are going to be sparks flying between them i just know it!
6 - Eric Olsen
wow, that's really something - thanks Craig!
7 - Forrest
Yet another reason the Live8 concert in London will be the grandest gathering of musicians this decade.
As much as the PF onstage reunion piques my curiosity, almost as interesting will be any scuttlebutt over the next several weeks about any pre-concert Floyd rehearsals. (And, Gawd, I hope they are rehearsing. Can you imagine what Roger Waters' voice actually sounds like now? Hear me, Roger: where have you been?)
It'll be kind of interesting, too, to see where PF ends up in the July 2 line-up.
Here's my 'dream set' and wishes that that their "few numbers" consist of the following:
• Open with "The Post War Dream" (just to use Roger Waters' voice early and get in an anti-war jab)
• Jam on all 9 parts of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
• Segue into "The Gunner's Dream"
• Close with "Sheep"
…with the lighters out and crowd threatening to thrash Hyde Park, PF will return to the stage and close out with an encore of "Money" and fan fave "Another Brick In The Wall (Pt. 2)".
Wish I could be in London July 2 or, at least, still living in Philly just to be able to participate.
8 - Brandon Butler
As a Pink Floyd Fan who only became aware of thier existance about 10 years after they broke up, I am simultaniously pleased and saddened at a reunion. Pleased, because they're doing a show for a worthy cause and that's really what the entire thing is about, but also saddened because this may open the door for hounding of them to work together again.
They broke up for reasons, and some of them very good ones. I don't want to see them as some other group touring around trying to capture the magic and grab some cash. If that's what all these reunions have been all about -- and most of them are -- these groups should have just stuck it out like the Rolling Stones, put up with one another and earn thier money.
Pink Floyd's original lineup should only come back together in any cohesive sense if it's got something new to say and while I think thier past rancors really have been petty and selfish they were THIER petty and selfish rancors. I can't think of a band that would have more cultural relevance in a return but they get along fine in life without one another and any reunion would be bound to end unhappily.
9 - Jeff Charreaux
Maybe Syd will be on hand. Probably not. It would be great if they could forget that "The Wall" made the band the favorite of 10th grade, Hobbit reading stoners across the U.S. If Roger and Dave could just dash off four new songs each, let the other guys write a few, everyone would appreciate the effort. It took an army of Red Cross Rockers to revive Jerry Lee Lewis. Pink Floyd could restart their own hearts and unite the world through sheer grisled stubborness. Don't let Bono or Sir Bob write any liner notes though. PLEASE.
10 - Lono
I hate to be petty, but I predicted this just over a year ago. It is good news indeed, and I guarantee this will set the stage for a world tour next year. I am guessing that the royalties coffers are running low for the boys.
11 - MikeF
One of these should be played to show all of the BANDWAGON fans how deep the Floyd really go...
Set the controlls for the heart of the sun
ECHOES
Astronomy Domine
Interstellar Overdrive
Summer of '68
IF
The Nile song
and of course my personal favorite
Carefull W/That Axe Eugene
Any of these would be a Fine addition to any floyd set.
Especially with Roger in the lineup
then they could play any of thier well known works
12 - nobody
my dream set for this reunion for the worthiest of causes:
Grantchester Meadows--->
Astronomy Domine
Echoes
"Dark Side of the Moon"
Welcome to the Machine--->
Pigs:3 Different Ones
Goodbye, Blue Sky--->
Comfortably Numb--->
Run Like Hell--->
Mother
Not Now John--->
Bring the Boys Back Home
encores:
Careful With That Axe, Eugene--->
Shine on, You Crazy Diamond
One of These Days I'm Going to Cut You Into Little Pieces
(that is, if they can play for that long without David and Roger killing each other)
13 - FilteringCraig
I could totally get on board with a performance of Echoes. That is by far my favorite track out of all the PF songs in the catalog.
14 - Andrew Ian Dodge
It will be interesting to see if they can pull it off. Bet there are quite a few people who are a wee ticked off they didn't announce this before the deadline closed to get onto the list for tickets.
15 - George Zook
Sir Geldolf Reunites Syd Barrett! Stepping in where the greatest psychiatric and witch doctors of our time have failed, Sir Bob was able to reunite the personality of Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett which blew apart in an anonymous backstage dressing room in 1967.
16 - Paul Roy
Live 8 will be worth watching just for that. Hopefully a tour and DVD follows Awesome news.
17 - arizona kid
Dark Side of the Moon was released in early 1973.
18 - The Duke
> And, Gawd, I hope they are rehearsing.
> Can you imagine what Roger Waters voice
> actually sounds like now? Hear me,
> Roger: where have you been?
Roger's voice sounds fine, better than it did in the 80's. He's been quite active since '99, doing several US tours and a world tour in 2002 (in which his voice sounded better than in '99/'00). He's finished his opera and is mostly done with a new studio album which he had planned to tour behind in 2006. Also, since reuniting with Nick onstage in 2002 (I was there!) he's rekindled his friendship with him and they've been seen out in public together a few times over the past few months/years. Rick also attended one of his US '99 shows (though they didn't quite "make up") but the biggest issue will be between Dave and Rog. It was also apparently Dave (not Roger) who was apprehensive about this reunion, what's the matter Dave - you don't want to risk not being the top dog this time around?
19 - Mark Saleski
i wonder how the rest of the guys are going to react when they find out that they'll only be playing songs from Roger Waters' solo records?! ;-)
20 - DJRadiohead
Good one, Mark. Good one.
I wonder if Roger Waters will even make eye contact with anyone other than Nick.
You know why he agreed to do this... he hasn't gotten to fire Rick Wright in two decades and he missed that.
I am curious as to how they will sound.
21 - FilteringCraig
If it doesn't sound good in rehearsals, they will just start pumping reverb and other various effects into the vocal mix until it sounds perfect. Plus, I am sure they will have a chorus of backup singers for the parts on Dark Side of the Moon. Oh, not to mention one tremendously talented woman to sing the parts from The Great Gig in the Sky.
22 - DJRadiohead
It is funny - all these supposedly legendary bands/artists now have to travel with an army of sidemen/women to re-create the music of their prime.
23 - Fredie
They won't have much time...half hour tops....
In The Flesh
Us & Them
Money
Wish You were Here
Pigs on the Wing
Comfortably Numb..
or....
Just play Echos!
24 - The Duke
> i wonder how the rest of the guys are
> going to react when they find out
> that they'll only be playing songs
> from Roger Waters' solo records?! ;-)
...but can Gilmour pull off the Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton guitar parts?!
> You know why he agreed to do this...
> he hasn't gotten to fire Rick Wright
> in two decades and he missed that.
Rick was using coke heavily and couldn't pull his own weight, the firing was agreed upon by all members and Gilmour has since admitted he was present at the "firing".
> It is funny - all these supposedly
> legendary bands/artists now have to
> travel with an army of sidemen/women
> to re-create the music of their
> prime.
?? Floyd have used sessions players from the early seventies and on, even live. Even with Dark Side, you're talking about an album with numerous over-dubs, sax and female backing vocals. At the original live shows, they had augmentation. I'd agree that on the more recent tours they've had a second drummer, keyboardist, 1 or sometimes 2 extra guitars, etc - but that may be a function of having to make it sound as close to studio as possible for the live album(s). I think we'll see a pretty stripped-down band for Live 8 though, with maybe Snowy White on rythym guitar in addition to the singers / Dick Parry on sax.
My guess is they'll do nearly all of Shine On with another song or two if time permits. It's the perfect song, both Dave and Roger sing and each musician has their time to "shine" during the length of it.
25 - andy lepki
Much as I love Floyd, I advise against the 4 rusty musicians ploughing through Echoes...
I think Wish You Were Here would work, as well as stuff from Dark Side...
Failing that, the studio side of Ummagumma... :)