It’s undeniable that Pink Floyd is among the most successful and influential bands in history. They have one of the most recognizable album covers ever created, have sold over 250 million albums globally, and have sold out stadiums in almost every nation on earth.
Upon evaluation, there isn’t one particularly noteworthy component that explains Pink Floyd’s level of success. The band has been headed by several talented individuals, including David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Syd Barrett. All three of them would argue that they carried the most of the heavy lifting, yet they were all able to contribute to the signature sound that made the band famous. There will inevitably be repercussions when so many creative brains gather together for so long. The band would eventually break up as a result of those problems, but not before they worked together to create some excellent tunes.
The first member of the band and the first to leave was Syd Barrett. David Gilmour was called in to help Barrett because he had been struggling with mental health concerns, which were probably made worse by his usage of psychedelic substances. Barrett had become quite unpredictable and unreliable. But despite the extra help, his condition didn’t get any better. Barrett was brought on board by the band as a non-performing songwriter in an attempt to salvage the situation, but things didn’t work out. He was thus ejected, and Gilmour assumed lead vocal duties for the group.
With Roger Waters leading the way, Pink Floyd prospered rather than disintegrating when Barrett departed. That was the period when many of their finest albums were recorded, and the band members shared writing credit fairly. Dark Side of the Moon, their largest and most popular album, was released during this period and is still regarded as one of the greatest albums ever.
But problems would surface again. Due to artistic disputes, Waters departed the band in 1985, which had very severe legal implications and financial consequences. He tried to sue the band right away to prevent them from utilizing any of the band’s older work or functioning under Pink Floyd’s name.
But David Gilmour argued the case, stating “Roger is a dog in the manger and I’m going to fight him, no one else has claimed Pink Floyd was entirely them. Anybody who does is extremely arrogant.”
After a while, everything settled down, and Gilmour started leading Pink Floyd and creating his music. It performed decently, albeit not as well as the band’s previous releases. Naturally, a lot of the later music was influenced by the band’s relationship and all that had happened between him, Syd Barrett, and Roger Waters, particularly the song “Poles Apart.”
In a remark on the song, Gilmour’s girlfriend explained the significance of the lyrics. She said that Barrett was the subject of the first line, “Did you know… it was all going to go so wrong for you,” and that Waters was the target of the second, “And did you see it was all going to be so right for me,” as seen from Gilmour’s perspective.
Although, unfortunately, Pink Floyd ended the way it did, a lot of ego and inventiveness were there, which don’t often combine well. It did, however, give rise to some of the greatest music of the past few decades, and Gilmour was only the more inspired by the break when he rejoined the group.