The Great Gig in The Sky

Farewell then Rick Wright. Pink Floyd provided the soundtrack to much of my teenage years. I remember well in 1973 the arrival of Dark Side of the Moon that along with many others proved to be a musical turning point for a tender 14 year old. I had never heard such music, the then remarkable stereo treatment, the assortment of audio 'objets trouves' and more conventional sounds, the sheer spine tingling music that remains as affecting now 35 years on as it did back then when I had hair and a future

Always being an aspirational keyboard player my heros were Rick Wakeman (together with the pomp and flounce of the capes, orchestras and general over-the-topness of it all) and Keith Emerson (for his more rock and roll virtuosity) but Rick Wright was still in there with his more understated (and ultimately more durable) keyboard structures and careful song writing.

The memories of the Animals show at Wembley Empire Pool and later The Wall at Earls Court did nothing to halt my attraction to the overwhelming shows prevalent in those hazy prog rock days. But behind the glitz the music was sound and skillful and part of that love affair of music forged all that time ago. Hey Ho - no Floyd reunion now it seems, probably just as well don't you think?