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Before moving on to the David Gilmour led era of Pink Floyd, let's discuss Roger Waters departure from the band in 1985, the infamous lawsuit that led to rock and roll's greatest rivalry and briefly touch on solo albums from the 80s such as Roger's Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking and Radio K.A.O.S. David Gilmour's About Face, Nick Mason's Profiles and Richard Wright's Identity with Zee.
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Pink Floyd is without a doubt one of the greatest classic rock bands of all time, but this video covers a tumultuous time for the band. They began in the 60s with Roger Waters on bass, Nick Mason on drums, Richard Wright on organ and Syd Barrett on lead guitar and vocals. Syd penned their early singles Arnold Layne and See Emily Play. This would lead to the release of their 1967 album Piper at the Gates of Dawn, featuring classics like Astronomy Domine, Bike and the epic psychedelic instrumental Interstellar Overdrive. Their live shows were equally inventive incorporating unique light shows. However due to Syd's breakdown he would leave the band, being replaced with David Gilmour on guitar. This would become Pink Floyd's classic lineup with Roger taking more of a songwriter role, including the song Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun which would appear on their 1968 album A Saucerful of Secrets. The album was the only to feature all five band members and Syd's final composition with Floyd, Jugband Blues. Through albums like the soundtrack to More and the experimental Ummagumma, Pink Floyd was still finding their voice, focusing more on albums rather than singles, but still producing an occasional classic like Careful with that Axe Eugene. In 1970, Atom Heart Mother proved to be a success with the 23 minute instrumental and featuring Dave's song Fat Old Sun. 1971's Meddle would turn out to be an important staple for the band with the rocking opener One of these Days I'm Going to Cut You Into Little Pieces, featuring a rare spoken vocal by Nick, Roger's echoing bass line and Dave's Slide Guitar. The flip side, another 23 minute piece, Echoes, featuring Dave and Rick on vocals, is often regarded as Progressive Rock's finest moment, from the opening ping of Rick's leslie piano. They would also perform both these songs along with earlier classics Live at Pompeii. The Obscured by Clouds soundtrack appeared in 1972 with tracks like Burning Bridges and Free Four. However 1973's Dark Side of the Moon would become one of the most successful albums of all time, staying on the charts for nearly 13 years and still a best seller today. Roger's lyrics dealt with the evils of society driving one to madness, while the music was nearly one entire inter-connected piece (making it difficult to separate for a playlist or a best of / greatest hits compilation). Still standouts like Money, Time and Great Gig in the Sky are favorites among fans. Their 1975 followup Wish You Were Here, featuring the opening and closing piece Shine On You Crazy Diamond (a tribute to Syd Barrett who even showed up at the sessions), is thought to be equally great, if not greater, as Dark Side. But tensions between the band were beginning to rear their head. 1977 saw the release of Animals, notable for its famous cover. Roger became the band's main frontman and sole songwriter with Dave occasionally sharing the mic and writing credits. Tensions grew during the tour when Roger ended up spitting on a fan in Montreal and coming up with the idea for The Wall to separate himself from the audience. 1979 would see the release of The Wall, the album and later the tour and film. Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 became their best selling single and Comfortably Numb remains one of their most popular tunes. But it nearly broke up the band as Roger fired Rick for lack of output, creating a greater rift between him and Dave. Recycling unused tracks from The Wall sessions, 1983's The Final Cut was Roger's final album with Pink Floyd. Throughout the mid 80s, the members of Pink Floyd released solo albums. In 1985, Roger Waters officially told the record company he was leaving. Dave and Nick decided to carry on reuniting with Rick for 1987's Momentary Lapse of Reason, featuring the song Learning to Fly. Roger sued to break up the band, but failed to do so instead focusing on his solo career. The Gilmour led Floyd would produce 1994's The Division Bell, a return to form for many fans with Rick now sharing vocal and songwriting duties again, along with lyricist Polly Samson. High Hopes has become a fan favorite. It wasn't until 2005's Live 8 concert when Dave, Nick and Rick reunited with Roger for a short set giving closure for many fans. Syd never performed with Pink Floyd again and died in 2006. Rick died in 2008. The album The Endless River was dedicated in his honor. Tensions between Roger and Dave have turned sour again following a twitter war.