As some of you may already know, it has been announced that a Pink Floyd – The Early Years 1965-1972 box set is being released to cover the treasure trove of unreleased, live and rare recordings from their early years. This release will finally get songs like Scream Thy Last Scream, Vegetable Man, In The Beechwoods and more finally out there as well as the 1965 demos that were released in a limited fashion last year.
There will also be separate releases of the discs contained within the set with some tracks being left out and exclusive to the box.
The only tracks that seem to be missing now from the Syd Barrett time period is She Was A Millionaire, recorded in April of 67, along with the early version of Lucifer Sam called Percy The Ratcatcher, and the early versions of Arnold Layne and Let’s Roll Another One (Candy and a Currant Bun) (Unless these two are included here in the set, but it doesn’t seem to be the case), beyond that everything seems to be covered and then some.
Links to Order below:
Cre/ation- The Early Years 1967-1972
Full Box Set Information Below:
PINK FLOYD ‘THE EARLY YEARS 1965-1972’
† previously unreleased 1965-67
CAMBRIDGE ST/ATION CD 1:
1965 Recordings*:
1. Lucy Leave* 2.57
2. Double O Bo* 2.57
3. Remember Me* 2.46
4. Walk With Me Sydney* 3.11
5. Butterfly* 3.00
6. I’m A King Bee* 3.13
7. Arnold Layne 2.57
8. See Emily Play 8.57
9. Apples And Oranges 3.05
10. Candy And A Currant Bun 2.45
11. Paintbox 3.48
12. Matilda Mother (2010 mix) 4.01
13. Jugband Blues (2010 mix)† 3.01
14. In The Beechwoods (2010 mix)† 4.43
15. Vegetable Man (2010 mix)† 2.32
16. Scream Thy Last Scream (2010 mix)† 4.43
Total: 50 mins, 32 secs approx.
Tracks 1-11 mono.
Tracks 12-16 stereo
*including Rado Klose on guitar and Juliette Gale on vocals on ‘Walk With Me Sydney’
CD 2: Live in Stockholm 1967
1.Introduction† 0.25
2. Reaction in G † 7.18
3. Matilda Mother† 5.34
4. Pow R. Toc H.† 11.56
5. Scream Thy Last Scream† 4.00
6. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun† 7.17
7. See Emily Play† 3.16
8. Interstellar Overdrive† 8.57
Please note: the above tracks feature vocals recorded at a less than optimum level
John Latham (studio recordings 1967)
9. John Latham Version 1† 4.32
10. John Latham Version 2† 5.06
11. John Latham Version 3† 3.45
12. John Latham Version 4† 2.59
13. John Latham Version 5† 2.48
14. John Latham Version 6† 3.17
15. John Latham Version 7† 2.36
16. John Latham Version 8† 2.49
17. John Latham Version 9† 2.38
Total: 79 mins, 13 secs approx.
Tracks 1-8 recorded live Sept 10, 1967 at Gyllene Cirkeln, Stockholm, Sweden
Tracks 9-17 recorded at De Lane Lea Studios, London, 20 October 1967
All tracks stereo
DVD/Blu-ray 1
1. Chapter 24: Syd Barrett in the Gog Magog Hills, Cambridgeshire, UK 1966 / Pink Floyd at EMI Studios, London, April 1967 3.40
2. Nick’s Boogie† : recording Interstellar Overdrive and Nick’s Boogie at Sound Techniques Studio, Chelsea, January 11, 1967 / 6.36 Live at UFO, The Blarney Club, London, January 13, 1967
3. Interstellar Overdrive: ‘Scene – Underground’ UFO at The Blarney Club, London, January 27, 1967 4.15
4. Arnold Layne: promo video. Wittering Beach, UK, early 1967 2.54
5. Pow R. Toc H. / Astronomy Domine: plus Syd Barrett and Roger Waters interview: BBC ‘The Look Of The Week’ – BBC Studios, 9.22 London, May 14, 1967
6. The Scarecrow: ‘Pathé Pictorial’, UK, July 1967 2.05
7. Jugband Blues: ‘London Line’ promo video, 1967, London 2.58
8. Apples And Oranges: plus Dick Clark interview: ‘American Bandstand’, Los Angeles, USA, November 7, 1967 4.51
9. Instrumental Improvisation† : BBC ‘Tomorrow’s World’, London, December 12, 1967 2.11
10. Instrumental Improvisation† : ‘Die Jungen Nachtwandler’, UFO, The Blarney Club, London, February 24, 1967 4.32
11. See Emily Play: BBC ‘Top Of The Pops’ – partially restored BBC Studios, London, July 6, 1967 2.55
12. The Scarecrow (outtakes): ‘Pathé Pictorial’, UK, July 1967 2.07
13. Interstellar Overdrive: ‘Science Fiction – Das Universum Des Ichs’, The Roundhouse, London, 1967 9.33
Total: 57 mins, 59 secs approx.
1968 GERMIN/ATION CD
1. Point Me At The Sky 3.40
2. It Would Be So Nice 3.46
3. Julia Dream 2.34
4. Careful With That Axe, Eugene (single version) 5.46
5. Song 1, Capital Studios, Los Angeles, 22 August 1968† 3.19
6. Roger’s Boogie, Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, 22 August 1968† 4.35
BBC Radio Session, 25 June 1968:
7. Murderistic Woman (Careful With That Axe, Eugene) † 3.38
8. The Massed Gadgets Of Hercules (A Saucerful Of Secrets) † 7.18
9. Let There Be More Light† 4.32
10. Julia Dream† 2.50
BBC Radio Session, 20 December 1968:
11. Point Me At The Sky† 4.25
12. Embryo† 3.13
13. Interstellar Overdrive† 9.37
Total: 59 mins, 14 secs approx.
DVD/Blu-ray 2
Tienerklanken’, Brussels, Belgium, 18-19 February 1968: 22.28
1. Astronomy Domine
2. The Scarecrow
3. Corporal Clegg
4. Paintbox
5. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
6. See Emily Play
7. Bike
8. Apples And Oranges: ‘Vibrato’, Brussels, Belgium, February 1968 3.03
‘Bouton Rouge’, Paris, France, 20 February 1968: 13.35
9. Astronomy Domine
10. Flaming
11. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
12. Let There Be More Light
13. Paintbox: ‘Discorama’, Paris, France, 21 February 1968 3.40
14. Instrumental Improvisation† : ‘The Sound Of Change’, London, UK, March 1968 2.15
15. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun: ‘All My Loving’, London, UK, 28 March 1968 2.40
16. It Would Be So Nice (excerpt): ‘Release-Rome Goes Pop’, Rome, Italy, April 1968 1.21
17. Interstellar Overdrive: ‘Pop 68’, Rome, Italy, 6 May 1968 6.59
‘Tienerklanken – Kastival’, Kasterlee, Belgiu, 31 August 1968: 3.48
18. Astronomy Domine
19. + Roger Waters interview
‘Samedi et Compagnie’, Paris, France, 6 September 1968: 5.31
20. Let There Be More Light
21. Remember A Day
22. Let There Be More Light: ‘A L’Affiche du Monde’, London, UK, 1968 1.53
‘Tous En Scene’, Paris, France, 21 October 1968: 6.39
23. Let There Be More Light
24. Flaming
25. Let There Be More Light: ‘Surprise Partie’, Paris, France, 1 November 1968 6.35
26. Point Me At The Sky: Restored promo video, UK, 1968 3.19
Total: 84 mins, 18 secs approx..
1969 DRAMATIS/ATION CD 1:
‘More’ album non-album tracks
1. Hollywood (non-album track) † 1.21
2. Theme (Beat version) (Alternative version) † 5.38
3. More Blues (Alternative version) † 3.49
4. Seabirds (non-album track) † 4.20
5. Embryo (from ‘Picnic’, Harvest Records sampler) 4.43
BBC Radio Session, 12 May 1969:
6. Grantchester Meadows† 3.36
7. Cymbaline† 3.38
8. The Narrow Way† 4.48
9. Green Is The Colour† 3.21
10. Careful With That Axe, Eugene† 3.26
Live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, 9 August 1969:
11. Interstellar Overdrive† 4.20
12. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun† 12.25
13. Careful With That Axe, Eugene† 10.09
14. A Saucerful Of Secrets† 13.03
Total: 68 mins, 50 secs approx.
CD 2:
Part 1: ‘The Man’, Amsterdam, 17 September 1969
1. Daybreak (Grantchester Meadows)† 8.14
2. Work† 4.12
3. Afternoon (Biding My Time)† 6.39
4. Doing It† 3.54
5. Sleeping† 4.38
6. Nightmare (Cymbaline)† 9.15
7. Labyrinth† 1.10
Part 2: ‘The Journey’, Amsterdam, 17 September 1969
8. The Beginning (Green Is The Colour)† 3.25
9. Beset By Creatures Of The Deep (Careful With That Axe, Eugene)† 6.27
10. The Narrow Way, Part 3† 5.11
11. The Pink Jungle (Pow R. Toc H.)† 4.56
12. The Labyrinths Of Auximines† 3.20
13. Footsteps / Doors† 3.12
14. Behold The Temple Of Light† 5.32
15. The End Of The Beginning (A Saucerful of Secrets)† 6.31
Total: 76 mins, 36 secs approx..
DVD/Blu-ray 3:
‘Forum Musiques’, Paris, France, 22 January 1969: 19.25
1. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun – David Gilmour interview
2. A Saucerful Of Secrets
3. ‘The Man’ and ‘The Journey’: Royal Festival Hall, London, rehearsal, April 14, 1969: 14.05
- Afternoon (Biding My Time)
- The Beginning (Green Is The Colour)
- Cymbaline
- Beset By Creatures Of The Deep†
- The End Of The Beginning (A Saucerful Of Secrets)
Essencer Pop & Blues Festival, Essen, Germany, October 11 1969: 19.14
4. Careful With That Axe, Eugene
5. A Saucerful Of Secrets
Music Power & European Music Revolution, Festival Actuel, Amougies Mont de l’Enclus, Belgium, 25 October 1969: 27.53
6. Green Is The Colour
7. Careful With That Axe, Eugene
8. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
9. Interstellar Overdrive with Frank Zappa 11.26
Total: 71 mins, 14 secs approx.
1970 DEVI/ATION CD 1:
1. Atom Heart Mother live in Montreux, 21 Nov 1970† 17.58
BBC Radio Session, 16 July 1970:
2. Embryo† 11.10
3. Fat Old Sun† 5.52
4. Green Is The Colour† 3.27
5. Careful With That Axe, Eugene† 8.25
6. If† 5.47
7. Atom Heart Mother† with choir, cello & brass ensemble 25.30
Total: 78 mins, 8 secs approx.
CD 2: Unreleased tracks from the ‘Zabriskie Point’ soundtrack recordings:
1. On The Highway† 1.16
2. Auto Scene Version 2† 1.13
3. Auto Scene Version 3† 1.31
4. Aeroplane† 2.18
5. Explosion† 5.47
6. The Riot Scene† 1.40
7. Looking At Map† 1.57
8. Love Scene Version 7† 5.03
9. Love Scene Version 1† 3.26
10. Take Off† 1.20
11. Take Off Version 2† 1.12
12. Love Scene Version 2† 1.56
13. Love Scene (Take 1)† 2.16
14. Unknown Song (Take 1)† 5.56
15. Love Scene (Take 2)† 6.40
16. Crumbling Land (Take 1)† 4.09
17. Atom Heart Mother† Early studio version, band only 19.15
Total: 67 mins, 9 secs approx.
DVD/Blu-Ray 4:
DVD 1: An Hour with Pink Floyd: KQED, San Francisco, USA, 30 April 1970:
1. Atom Heart Mother 17.37
2. Cymbaline 8.38
3. Grantchester Meadows 7.37
4. Green Is The Colour 3.31
5. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 9.09
6. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 12.37
Total: 59 mins, 9 secs approx.
Audio only: Atom Heart Mother album original 4.0 Quad mix 1970:
7. Atom Heart Mother 23.42
8. If 4.31
9. Summer ’68 5.29
10. Fat Old Sun 5.24
11. Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast 13.01
Total: 52 mins, 7 secs approx.
‘Pop Deux – Festival de St. Tropez’, France, 8 August 1970: Part 1:
1. Cymbaline (sound check) 3.54
2. Atom Heart Mother 13.46
3. Embryo 11.23
Part 2:
4. Green Is The Colour/ 5. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 12.21
6. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 12.07
Roland Petit Ballet, Paris, France, 5 December 1970:
7. Instrumental Improvisations 1,2,3† live in the studio 3.28
8. Embryo 2.39
Blackhill’s Garden Party, Hyde Park, London, UK, 18 July 1970:
9. Atom Heart Mother with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble/John Alldis Choir 21.15
Total: 80 mins, 53 secs approx.
All DVD content is included on one blu-ray.
1971 REVERBER/ATION CD:
1. Nothing Part 14 (Echoes work in progress) † 7.01
BBC Radio Session, 30 September 1971:
2. Fat Old Sun† 15.33
3. One Of These Days† 7.19
4. Embryo† 10.43
5. Echoes† 26.25
Total: 67 mins 1 sec approx.
DVD/Blu-ray 5:
1. Interview + Atom Heart Mother (extracts) ‘Aspekte’ feature 9.51 Hamburg, Germany, 25 February 1971 Brass & Choir conducted by Jeffrey Mitchell
2. A Saucerful Of Secrets (extract) Offenbach, Germany, 26 February 1971 ‘Cinq Grands Sur La Deux’ 17.55
Abbaye de Royaumont, Asnierès-sur-Oise, France, 15 June 1971
3. Set The Control For The Heart Of The Sun
4. Cymbaline
5. Atom Heart Mother (extract) 3.12 ‘Musikforum Ossiachersee’, Ossiach, Austria, 1 July 1971 Brass & Choir conducted by Jeffrey Mitchell
‘Get To Know’ 6.23 – Randwick Race Course, Sydney, Australia, 15 August 1971
6. Careful With That Axe, Eugene
Band interview
’24 hours – Bootleg Records’, London, UK, 1971:2.27
7. Documentary including Pink Floyd and manager Steve O’Rourke
‘Review’, London, UK, 1971: 3.37
8. Storm Thorgerson & Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell interviewed re: record cover design
9. One of These Days (‘French Windows’) 4.17 Ian Emes animation created July 1972, Birmingham, UK
10. Atom Heart Mother (extract, in colour): 5.10 ‘Musikforum Ossiachersee’, Ossiach, Austria, 1 July 1971 Brass & Choir conducted by Jeffrey Mitchell
11. Atom Heart Mother: ’71 Hakone Aphrodite 15.11 Open Air Festival, Hakone, Japan, 6-7 August 1971
Total: 68 mins 3 secs approx..
Audio-only material:
1. Echoes original 4.0 Quad mix 1971 23.35
1972 OBFUSC/ATION CD:
Obscured By Clouds 2016 Remix
1. Obscured By Clouds† 3.03
2 When You’re In† 2.31
3 Burning Bridges† 3.30
4 The Gold It’s In The… † 3.07
5 Wot’s…Uh The Deal† 5.09
6 Mudmen† 4.18
7 Childhood’s End† 4.33
8 Free Four† 4.16
9 Stay† 4.06
10 Absolutely Curtains† 5.52
Total 40 mins 25 secs approx.
DVD/Blu-ray 6:
Recording Obscured by Clouds, Château d’Hérouville, France, 23-29 February 1972
1. Wot’s…Uh The Deal: with recording session photos 5.04
2. Pop Deux: Documentary recording Obscured By Clouds 7.14 + David Gilmour and Roger Waters interview
Brighton Dome, UK, 29 June 1972 16.44
3. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
4. Careful With That Axe, Eugene
Roland Petit Pink Floyd Ballet, France, news reports 1972-73
5. Actualités Méditerranée, Marseille, 22 November 1972 3.29
6. JT Nuit – Les Pink Floyd, Marseille, 26 November 1972 3.04
7. JT 20h – Pink Floyd, Paris, 12 January 1973 3.01
8. Journal de Paris – Les Pink Floyd, Paris, 12 January 1973 5.03
9. Poitiers – Autour Du Passage Des Pink Floyd 4.27 Concert set up news report – France, 29 November 1972
Live At Pompeii (with 2016 5.1 Audio Remix)
10. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 6.40
11. A Saucerful Of Secrets 10.09
12. One Of These Days 5.58
13. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 10.24
14. Echoes 26.10
Total: 107 mins 27 secs approx..
BONUS CONTINU/ATION CD:
BBC Radio Session, 25 September 1967:
1. Flaming† 2.42
2. The Scarecrow† 1.59
3. The Gnome† 2.08
4. Matilda Mother† 3.20
5. Reaction in G† 0.34
6. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun† 3.19
BBC Radio Session, 20 December 1967:
7. Scream Thy Last Scream† 3.35
8. Vegetable Man† 3.07
9. Pow R. Toc H.† 2.45
10. Jugband Blues† 3.50
BBC Radio Session, 2 December 1968:
11. Baby Blue Shuffle In D Major† 3.58
12. Blues† 4.59
13. US Radio ad 0.22
14. Music from The Committee No. 1 1.06
15. Music from The Committee No. 2 3.25
16. Moonhead† 7.16 live on 1969 BBC TV moon landings broadcast
17. Echoes† 24.10 live at Wembley 1974
Total: 72 mins 35 secs approx.
DVD/Blu-ray 7:
1. Arnold Layne (Alternative version) 2.56 Hampstead Heath and St. Michael’s Church, Highgate, London, UK, March 1967
2. ‘P1 – P wie Petersilie’ 16.52 Stuggart, Germany, 22 July 1969
Corporal Clegg
Band interview
A Saucerful of Secrets
3. Atom Heart Mother 3.46 ‘Bath Festival of Blues & Progressive Music’, Shepton Mallet, UK, 27 June 1970
4. ‘Kralingen Music Festival’ 10.16 Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 28 June 1970
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
A Saucerful Of Secrets
5. ‘The Amsterdam Rock Circus’ 35.41 Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 22 May 1972
Atom Heart Mother
Careful With That Axe, Eugene
A Saucerful Of Secrets
6. The Committee – (Feature Film) 55.18 Score by Pink Floyd
Total: 124 mins 49 secs approx.
DVD/Blu-ray 8:
‘More’ feature film 1.56.00
‘La Vallée’ (Obscured By Clouds) feature film 1.45.00
Total: 3 hours 41 mins approx.
ALSO INCLUDED: 7” VINYL SINGLES IN REPRODUCTION SLEEVES:
- Arnold Layne C/W Candy And A Currant Bun
- See Emily Play C/W The Scarecrow
- Apples And Oranges C/W Paintbox
- It Would Be So Nice C/W Julia Dream
- Point Me At The Sky C/W Careful With That Axe, Eugene
Since we here at The Syd Barrett Archives broke this before any of the other Floyd sites, I wanted to make sure I also gave this a thorough review. Well, it finally landed in my hands and ears last night and so here we go.
A few notes before I start. I believe from a number of sources that the band was either The Tea Set or Sigma 6 during this time frame and not Pink Floyd, not that it is a big deal, but it is something. I also think that it might be Bob Klose singing on Remember Me which he isn’t credited for, but until we hear back from him I cannot be sure. It certainly isn’t Syd, Rick or Roger. Could be Nick I suppose, but my gut tells me it is Bob.
1. Lucy Leave – Most hardcore Floyd and Barrett fans are already familiar with this track, since it has been widely available since the advent of youtube from it’s acetate along with King Bee. Not much of a change here, slightly longer, a bit more cleaned up. Lucy Leave fits directly into the mid 60’s stuff like Yardbirds, Animals, a little Beatles, The Who. It is definitely the most Floyd like cut out of the bunch, but it still isn’t very Floyd.
2. Double O Bo – Talked about it’s existence for years and it finally pops up. This is a great little Bo Diddly style number with some fun drums and fun lyrics from Syd. This may be my favorite aside from Lucy.
3. Remember Me – As I mentioned above, I think this track has Bob singing. But beyond that it reminds me of early Captain Beefheart mixed with the Yardbirds and Doors like keyboards, pre Doors. In fact Rick’s keyboards all seem very Doors like throughout the songs that use them. Rick beat them to that one apparently.
4. Walk With Me Sydney – Syd is singing like Syd tends to, and in fact the lyrics are kind of like Vegetable Man and some of his solo stuff. A goofy song overall, but fun, and you have Rick’s sister doing back up vocals. Another song that has long existed in the Floyd legend, but finally heard!
5. Butterfly – The start of the song is very much like solo Syd stuff. In fact after hearing these 6 songs I would say that Syd’s solo stuff was much more like he normally wrote than the stuff with Floyd. This is a nice song, maybe the most put together out of the bunch without being or sounding like a cover. Still blues based, but solid.
6. King Bee – Like Lucy Leave, it has been floating around forever, it’s a ok cover aside from the Bass playing which was supposedly Rick on this track. Fun, but nothing great. One of the rare times over the Floyd career that you get to hear them do blues.
It would seem we have had a surprise this RSD Nov 2015, with the release of Pink Floyd 1965, double 7 inch – Their First Recordings, limited to 1000 copies worldwide, it may be the start of a possible Piper or early years immersion set, guess we will have to wait and see.
Tracks are:
A1 – Lucy Leave – 2:53
B1 – Double O Bo – 3.25
B2 – Remember Me – 2:45
C1 – Walk with Me Sydney – 3:11
D1 – Butterfly – 2:59
D2 – I’m A King Bee – 3:07
Band:
Syd Barrett: Vocals, Guitar
Rado (Bob) Klose: Guitar
Nick Mason: Drums
Roger Waters: Bass, Vocals
Richard Wright: Keyboards
Juliette Gale: Vocals (Walk With Me Sydney)
Most likely this has been released just so the record company can do their copyright extensions, so expect to see some interesting things pop up next year and in 2017 as well.
I will have a full review of this double 7″ within the week.
Breaking 11/29
Our friends at Pink Floyd Italia have posted 30 second sound clips, go and have a listen!
Obituary
Oscar-nominated and Grammy-winning composer, conductor, arranger, musician and all-round nice guy Michael Kamen sadly passed away, at the age of 55, on 18th November 2003 in a hospital close to his home in London. He had been suffering from multiple sclerosis for some years, being diagnosed with the disease (which affects the central nervous system causing various disabilities) in 1996.
A long-term collaborator with Pink Floyd and Roger Waters, he did the orchestral arrangements on The Wall, The Final Cut and The Division Bell albums. He also did the orchestration on Roger Waters’ Pros and Cons and Amused to Death albums and David Gilmour’s About Face album, and most recently he played piano and cor Anglais on Gilmour’s semi-acoustic live shows (a performance of which was released as the “David Gilmour In Concert” DVD).
Kamen was born in New York, and grew up in Queens, the son of liberal activists. He learnt to play the piano at the tender age of 2, and later turned his hand to the guitar, oboe and clarinet. In the late 60s, he helped found the New York Rock’n’Roll Ensemble. In the 70s, he scored ballets, served as musical director for David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs tour and began writing scores for film. Although he began in Hollywood working on films like “Polyester” and “Brazil,” he turned more mainstream in the 80s, working on the “Lethal Weapon” series, the “Die Hard” movies, “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” and “X-Men,” amongst others.
In 1999, Michael conducted the San Francisco Orchestra as it backed hard rock act Metallica on its live “S&M” (Symphony & Metallica) project. Recorded across two concerts that reworked the band’s canon for symphonic arrangement, the resulting album reached number 2 and sold over 2.6 million copies in the US alone.
His work on the soundtrack to “Mr Holland’s Opus”, inspired Michael to set up the Mr Holland’s Opus Foundation in 1997, to raise money to make musical instruments available to children.
Michael Kamen is survived by his wife, two daughters, three brothers and his father.
Steve O’Rourke, Pink Floyd manager and keen racing driver, sadly passed away in Miami, Florida, USA, in October 2003.
His funeral service was held on 14th November at Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, England, where as a tribute to Steve, it is believed that David, Richard and Nick performed together again. They were said to have played at the private service “Fat Old Sun” and “Great Gig In The Sky”, with Dick Parry playing the saxophone as he followed the coffin… a fitting tribute to the man who took a big part in shaping the band’s career.
What follows are some obituaries that have been published in memory of Steve:
Mark Brown, November 2003
Steve O’Rourke managed Pink Floyd since 1968 when he was still with the Bryan Morrison Agency. He founded his own companies, EMKA Productions Limited and EMKA Racing; EMKA is from the first letters of Emma and Katherine, his daughters’ names.
In March 2003, we heard that a “slight heart problem” ended his successful auto racing career, and on October 30 we sadly received the news that he had suffered a fatal stroke. Tim Sugden, his racing partner since 1996, said upon O’Rourke’s early retirement that “Steve epitomised the spirit of the gentleman racer: he ran a superb team, he treated everyone extremely well, and he loved his racing — perhaps more the historics than anything else. We were going to have a very good year together…”
O’Rourke was on the Pink Floyd soccer team in the 1970s and was pictured with the team on the album “A Nice Pair”. His phone call to Gilmour at the end of “The Division Bell” ended with a hangup by Gilmour’s stepson Charlie. In 1991, O’Rourke participated in the Mexican sports car road race La Carrera Panamericana, co-driving with David Gilmour, who was at the wheel when their car went off the road and over a drop-off near San Luis Potpoli, breaking both of Steve’s legs. In 1998, his GTC Motorsport EMI/EMKA team finished first in class and fourth overall in the 66th running of the 24-hour Le Mans (France) sports car race. It was his seventh appearance at the race, this time with Tim Sugden (GB) and Bill Auberlen (US).
In the mid-1990s O’Rourke talked to fan Sean Heisler regarding the Publius Enigma, and I transcribed the interview for Brain Damage. While categorically denying it was from Pink Floyd, O’Rourke said his own son was a member of the Usenet newsgroup where it was revealed, and he encouraged fans to persist in attempting to solve it. He thought something was likely to come of our efforts…
Manager of Pink Floyd with an enthusiasm for motor racing
From The Independent newspaper, UK, 3rd November 2003
Stephen O’Rourke, rock-group manager: born London 1 October 1940; twice married (one son, two daughters; died Miami, Florida 30 October 2003.
Steve O’Rourke was one of the most important and powerful figures in British rock group management. He was charged with the responsibility of looking after the often complex and tumultuous affairs of Pink Floyd. He guided their career during three decades of achievement that followed in the wake of their enormously successful 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon.
O’Rourke also had to deal with the departure of the songwriter Roger Waters from the group in 1983 and the problems this caused. He oversaw the band’s return to active touring and recording during the Nineties under the leadership of Dave Gilmour and helped to ensure that Pink Floyd remained a major musical force that enjoyed undiminished worldwide popularity.
While not such a flamboyant character as other managers of his generation, such as Peter Grant with Led Zeppelin, nevertheless O’Rourke had a reputation as a tough negotiator, who was not afraid to take on the record-industry giants. The huge success of Pink Floyd meant that he could indulge in his other passion for motor sport and he was as well known in the world of motor racing as he was in the rock business.
Steve O’Rourke became the manager of Pink Floyd in 1968. He had been working as an accountant for the Bryan Morrison Agency that handled such acts as Tyrannosaurus Rex. Andrew King and Peter Jenner of Blackhill Enterprises, who were part of the burgeoning London “underground” movement in the later Sixties, had previously managed the Floyd. When the band’s brilliant but wayward singer and composer Syd Barrett was asked to leave the group in April 1968, due to his increasingly erratic behaviour, the two managers decided to look after Barrett and develop his solo career, rather than continue to handle Pink Floyd. Roger Waters recalled: “We had been managed by Blackhill Enterprises. When Syd flipped the band wanted to keep him but he wanted to add to two saxophone players and a girl singer. We said, “No!” Peter and Andrew thought it couldn’t happen without Syd so they stuck with him and that’s how Pink Floyd came to be managed by Steve O’Rourke.”
The Bryan Morrison Agency, which handled the Floyd’s bookings, was subsequently sold to Brian Epstein’s NEMS company and O’Rourke went to work for them in their management department. When the band left NEMS they took O’Rourke with them and he remained their manager for the next 35 years. He set up his own London based Emka Productions and also handled the solo careers of the individual Floyd members Dave Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright. Roger Waters once described him as the strong man they needed in a tough industry: “Steve is an effective hustler, a man in a man’s world. And to give him his due he never gave up his job of trying to get me to fill stadiums.”
While the band were recording The Dark Side of the Moon he began intense negotiations with American record companies which resulted in their leaving Capitol and moving to Columbia, with whom he struck a lucrative deal in 1973. In the UK they remained with Harvest EMI.
Those who knew O’Rourke during the Seventies remember him as a hard worker and stickler for efficiency. Glen Colson, a former promotions man, remembers: “He was a terrific business manager for the Floyd. I remember I was late in the office one morning and he bought me a watch. It was a kind of message to get in on time but I noticed the watch had cost him £400.”
However the mounting pressure on O’Rourke meant that he sometimes needed to escape to a Greek island for holidays, where there were no telephones and he could ignore the desperate pleas of rival record companies, desperate to sign the Floyd.
As well as his involvement in rock management O’Rourke was also a film producer and was executive producer for their successful 1982 film The Wall which starred Bob Geldof. He loved to keep fit and was a member of the Pink Floyd soccer team during the Seventies.
A keen racing enthusiast, he owned his own vintage 1957 BRM racing car, which he displayed at Goodwood, Silverstone and at other events. His racing career began in 1979; he entered several times in the 24 hour Le Mans race in France and in 1985 finished 11th. It proved a dangerous sport however and he broke both legs in a crash in 1991. He had his own Team Emka racing team and owned an especially designed Aston Martin. Heart problems meant that he had recently had to give up motor racing.
In the mid-Eighties O’Rourke had to cope with the crisis caused by Roger Waters’s departure from Floyd and the band’s subsequent decision to continue touring and recording against Waters’s wishes. Eventually Waters would continue his own solo career without O’Rourke while Floyd remained under his management.
Steve O’Rourke had recently attended an exhibition in Paris, “Pink Floyd Interstellar”, inaugurated by the French Culture Minister. The exhibition would “pay tribute to the important contribution of Pink Floyd to the musical history of the 20th century”.
Chris Welch, © The Independent 2003.
Obituary: Steve O’Rourke
From The Telegraph newspaper, UK, 5th November 2003
Steve O’Rourke, who has died aged 63, managed the rock band Pink Floyd for 35 years and was one of the British music industry’s most respected backroom figures.
Tall, well-built and lantern-jawed, O’Rourke combined charm with an irrestible forcefulness as he negotiated with record company executives, publishers and promoters. He was described by one associate as a “streetfighter, a larger than life character who knew both his own strengths and weaknesses”.
But while he was regarded as a formidable operator, he was not without humility. “They wouldn’t let me into this building,” he once joked to a companion, as they walked into a New York record company, “if I wasn’t the manager of Pink Floyd.”
Steve O’Rourke was born at Willesden on October 1 1940. His father, Tommy, had come to London from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland in 1934, for the premiere of Robert T Flaherty’s drama documentary Man of Aran, in which he appeared as a shark hunter. He settled thereafter in north-west London, where his son would be educated.
On leaving school Steve O’Rourke trained in accounting and at one stage took a job selling pet food. (In later years, whenever O’Rourke became involved in arguments with Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, the musician would dismiss O’Rourke’s contribution with, “What do you know? You’re only a pet-food salesman!”)
But O’Rourke had been drawn to the music business in his teens, joining the London City Agency before being recruited by Tony Howard of the Bryan Morrison Agency as a junior agent and book-keeper. Morrison managed The Pretty Things, The Incredible String Band, Tyrannosaurus Rex and Fairport Convention. The agency also handled Pink Floyd, booking gigs at such leading London venues as Blaises, The Cromwellian and The Speakeasy.
In the mid-1960s, bands made their living from gigs. Groups who were successful might perform eight or nine times a week and two or three times a day at weekends. O’Rourke, with Tony Howard, masterminded the Floyd’s progress as they became popular beyond the confines of London. They were not an easy band to book, having no string of single hits and no covers; moreover, they had a light show (unheard of at the time), and they performed long, improvised versions of songs, unlike most other bands on the circuit.
O’Rourke assumed the day-to-day running of Pink Floyd in mid-1968, taking over, after the departure of Syd Barrett, from their original managers Peter Jenner and Andrew King, and continued when the Bryan Morrison Agency’s management arm was bought by the Beatles’ company, NEMS. At that time, music management for contemporary bands was new territory; O’Rourke redefined the role of manager as he relentlessly built Pink Floyd’s career. He was also exceptionally protective of the band’s image, providing an environment in which its creativity and artistic integrity was the priority.
Leaving NEMS in the early 1970s, O’Rourke founded EMKA Productions, named after his daughter Emma Kate. As well as handling Pink Floyd’s activities, he also managed the solo careers of individual Floyd members David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright. While the band was recording its landmark album Dark Side of the Moon, O’Rourke negotiated a lucrative move from the Capitol to Columbia labels, while in Britain the group remained with Harvest EMI.
O’Rourke also built a highly successful parallel career as an enthusiastic gentleman racing driver – a lifelong passion which he shared with the Floyd’s drummer Nick Mason and, to a lesser extent, with David Gilmour. He adored Historic racing with cars of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
His ambition to compete in the greatest sports car race of all – the Le Mans 24-Hours classic – was realised in 1979 when he finished a creditable 12th, driving a 190mph Ferrari 512 BB. Having bought the car, he returned to Le Mans in 1980; but after a tyre exploded at nearly 200mph on the Mulsanne Straight, O’Rourke bought the spare tail of a retired sister Ferrari in the pit lane in order to finish. His car completed the race wearing green forward bodywork and a red tail.
In 1981 his EMKA racing team ran a BMW M1 Coupe at Le Mans, with O’Rourke co-driving with David Hobbs and Eddie Jordan – today the head of Jordan F1. O’Rourke left the circuit on the night of the race to oversee a Pink Floyd concert in London, flew back the next morning and jumped straight into the car for another two-hour driving stint.
After coming second in the Silverstone 6-Hours and winning his class in the Brands Hatch 6-Hours, O’Rourke had his own EMKA-Aston Martin built specially for Le Mans in 1983; the next year this exceptionally attractive car briefly led the 24-Hours in the hands of co-driver Tiff Needell, and finished ahead of the works-backed Jaguars, to O’Rourke’s great amusement. In 1991 he and David Gilmour co-drove a C-Type Jaguar in the PanAmerican retro race through Mexico, surviving a dramatic crash.
In 1997 O’Rourke had his greatest racing success, co-driving a second-hand McLaren F1 GTR at Le Mans with Tim Sugden and Bill Auberlen to finish fourth overall. Having saved money by refusing the costly update pack for the McLaren, O’Rourke typically spent as much again on a huge party for all concerned in the EMKA team’s success.
From 2000 O’Rourke campaigned Porsche cars in the FIA and British GT Championships until he was forced to retire from driving for health reasons; he had presided over the drivers Tim Sugden and Emmanuel Collard as they won this year in Sicily and Sweden. Porsche responded by offering racing assistance to the EMKA factory for 2004 – a decision which delighted O’Rourke.
Equally highly-regarded in both the music and motor racing worlds, O’Rourke was an active supporter of charities; he was a trustee of The Music Sound Foundation and of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy.
After suffering a fatal stroke, he died in Miami, Florida, on October 30. Steve O’Rourke was twice married, and leaves two daughters and three sons.
© The Telegraph, 2003
RELEASED ON VHS & DVD ON 24TH MARCH 2003
One of the most famous creators and characters of the psychedelic era, Syd Barrett has not conducted an interview or released music since the early seventies yet his self-imposed anonymity still fascinates fans old and new. The original songwriter for Pink Floyd was only with the band for a vibrant 3 years when he left in 1968, yet when the band released their greatest hits album in 2001 Syd had written over a fifth of the tracks. This year it is 35 years since Syd Barrett left the band yet mystery still surrounds this prodigy of rock.
The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story retells the fascinating story of the start of one of the largest and most influential bands in rock and the drug induced breakdown of their original song writer and lead man. Direct Video Distribution UK is delighted to announce the 24th March 2003 VHS and DVD release of this personal and candid profile of the once effervescent musician and now cult figure of Syd Barrett. Roger Waters, Dave Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright retell how Syd’s slip from reality haunted the band for many years and this is clearly demonstrated in the tracks Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Wish You Were Here. There are also insights from former girlfriends, landlords, flatmates, producers, managers, friends and famous fans. Also featuring rare early footage of the band performing; including a live show at the UFO Club, and an appearance with former landlord Mick Leonard on Tomorrows World.
Available on DVD in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Surround Sound. Extras include previously unseen footage of Roger Waters talking about Syd, Dave Gilmour talking about Wish You Were Here, Robyn Hitchcock performing Dominoes and It Is Obvious, Graham Coxon performing Love You, And a Biography of Syd Barrett.
Born Roger Keith Barrett in 1946 in Cambridge, Syd Barrett obtained his nickname from regulars at a local jazz club who when finding out his surname, christened him after as old drummer from the area. Aged 17 he moved down to London to attend the Camberwell Art School. In London he met up with old friend Roger Waters, who he had an understanding with since they were young that they would start a band together. Syd consequently joined up with the people Roger was playing with.
Syd quickly became the main songwriter, and named the band after two Georgia blues men Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Their experiments with feedback and electronic sound quickly made them the hippest band among London’s early psychedelic set. Whilst Pink Floyd were experimenting with sound and light they also started experimenting in the other side of London’s psychedelic set – drugs. Some thought that with the aid of drugs Syd was more liberated and had the freedom to write memorable songs. Nevertheless his grasp on reality was slipping away. He didn’t turn up for interviews and started to refuse to perform though he’d quite happily practice. His behavior became so erratic that an American tour had to be cut short.
The band was in a dilemma; Syd was becoming a liability yet he still wrote the majority of their songs. Their solution in January 1968 was to excuse him from performing to concentrate on song writing. Dave Gilmour was asked to join the band to cover for Syd. Two of the songs that he wrote Vegetable Man and Scream The Last Scream were not released by EMI but their apparent autobiographical style was not lost on many. Pink Floyd admit that their style back in the late sixties was if there was a problem they would ignore it, then one day it came to a point where they did ignore the problem by not picking Syd up.
Syd went on to release two solo albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett in 1970. After the poor reception of the second album Syd retreated to his mothers house in Cambridge. Back at home he joined up with some Cambridge musicians and formed The Stars. But Syds involvement was like his attention span short. During the following years Syd moved between London and Cambridge staying on friends’ floors. In the mid 70s he even turned up at the studios where Pink Floyd were recording Shine On You Crazy Diamond the song written about Syd. With his shaved head (hair and eyebrows) and weighing about 17-18 stone none of the band recognized him.
In 1978 he tired of London and walked back to Cambridge, where he now lives, calling himself Roger Barrett having left Syd behind. The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story is a moving portrait of a cult figure.
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