Pink Floyd have released a new clip from restored concert movie Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII, showing band members working on groundbreaking album The Dark Side Of The Moon.
They’d long since established a reputation for pioneering the use of technology both on stage and in the studio. In the clip, David Gilmour observes: “I don’t think the equipment could take over. We do rely on it a lot – I mean, we couldn’t do what we do as we do it without it.
“We could still do a good, entertaining musical show, I suppose, without it. But always things are down to how you control them; whether you’re controlling them and not the other way.”
Richard Wright reflects: “There’s a danger we could become slaves to our own equipment – and in the past we have been. But what we’re trying to do is sort it all out, so that we’re not. It’s just a question of using the tools that are available.”
Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII arrives in cinemas on April 24. It’s been digitally remastered in 4K from the original 35mm footage with enhanced audio by Steven Wilson, and it’s described as the definitive version of the production.
“The film documents what Pink Floyd did before they became giants of the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic,” producers said recently. “Set in the hauntingly beautiful ruins of the ancient Roman Amphitheatre in Pompeii, Italy, this unique and immersive film captures Pink Floyd performing an intimate concert without an audience.
“It features the vital Echoes, A Saucerful of Secrets and One Of These Days. Additionally, the film includes rare behind-the-scenes footage of the band beginning work on The Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road Studios.”
Cinema details and tickets are on sale now at www.pinkfloyd.film. The new version of the live album – available on vinyl for the first time – arrives on May 2 and it’s available for pre-order now.
To celebrate the release of Pink Floyd At Pompeii MCMLXXII, Classic Rock talked with Floyd drummer Nick Mason and the man behind the new mix, Steven Wilson, about the new version, how it fits into Pink Floyd’s decades-long legacy, and also how the original film came to be made.
The new issue also includes two Pink Floyd gifts: an official laptop sticker and a giant film poster (available to all subscribers, all online purchasers and at UK newsstands).
Also in this issue: Bon Jovi, Steven Wilson, The Darkness, Gary Moore, Smith/Kotzen, Bush, Envy Of None, The Pretenders, Goo Goo Dolls, The Damn Truth, Simon McBride and more.