As many parents say, education is critical for a successful job and life. You may wind yourself in a low-paying job if you do not have a college degree. However, this is not a hard and fast rule; some people pursue their hobbies without graduating high school. Pink Floyd’s original members, Nick Mason and Roger Waters, both quit architecture to pursue a musical career.
Mason recalled those days in a 2006 interview with Tagesspiegel, saying he originally aspired to be an architect. Nonetheless, when the band’s fame grew, he and the other band members chose to change careers. When asked if his buddies helped him become a rock star, the drummer replied:
“If you wish to say it that way. I really don’t think that there would be somebody else who could try to talk my education out of my head. I wanted to become an architect. Music seemed to be interesting, but I was convinced that it would not be a proper way to earn my livings. But Roger was the bad guy who managed to change my view.”
Then, the interviewer wanted the musician to clarify his point, to which he responded:
“My parents were hoping that I was joining the best students from school. The truth was that I was hanging around with this guy who had no good attitude towards studying. He wasn’t lazy, don’t get me wrong.”
The Impact Of College Days On Pink Floyd’s Creative Approach
Although the two artists did not complete their architectural degrees, their experiences in college have influenced their way of thinking. It also influenced their attitude to music. In an interview with Chris Salewicz in 1987, Waters stated the following when questioned about the relationship between being an architecture student and ‘The Wall’:
“Maybe the architectural training to look at things helped me to visualize my feelings of alienation from rock ‘n’ roll audiences. Which was the starting point for ‘The Wall.’ The fact that it then embodied an autobiographical narrative was kind of secondary to the main thing, which was a theatrical statement in which I was saying, ‘Isn’t this f*cking awful? Here I am up on stage, and there you all are down there, and isn’t it horrible! What the f*ck are we all doing here?”
Mason, on the other hand, received an honorary architecture degree in 2012. Fifty years later, the Regent Street Polytechnic, now the University of Westminster, honored the drummer’s services to music by bestowing an Honorary Doctor of Letters upon him, completing his incomplete architectural degree. Pink Floyd’s unique approach to music and stage design was influenced by their architectural expertise, according to the institution.