Pink Floyd (A Jet-Propelled Soft Machine)

Pink Floyd were an English rock band formed in London in 1965. They achieved international acclaim with their progressive and psychedelic music. Distinguished by their use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, extended compositions, and elaborate live shows, they are one of the most commercially successful and influential groups in popular music history.

Pink Floyd were founded by students Syd Barrett on guitar and lead vocals, Nick Mason on drums, Roger Waters on bass and vocals, and Richard Wright on keyboards and vocals. They gained popularity performing in London's underground music scene during the late 1960s, and under Barrett's leadership released two charting singles and a successful debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). Guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour joined in December 1967; Barrett left in April 1968 due to deteriorating mental health.

Waters became the band's primary lyricist and conceptual leader, devising the concepts behind their albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979), partially The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking (1984) and Home  (1987). The Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall and Home became three of the best-selling albums of all time.

In 1979, Richard Wright was fired from Pink Floyd but returned to The Wall's tour. In 1983, the band almost had a break-up during the sessions of Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking due to the tensions between the members, although it was appeased by guitarist Eric Clapton who appears on the subsequent album. Wright returned in 1987 following a suggestion of David Gilmour. He was at the moment recording Falling Up with Soft Machine.

Pink Floyd were inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. By 2013, the band had sold more than 250 million records worldwide.

Relationship with Soft Machine
Since the early British Underground days, Pink Floyd and Soft Machine had a mutual relationship between the members of the band, rendering an appearence of Soft Machine in Syd Barrett's debut solo album, The Madcap Laughs, and after a while, Nick Mason was hired to produce Soft Machine's albums of Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories to Soft Machine's Fictitious Sports.

Both bands produced the soundtrack of Barbet Schroeder's film La Valée called Immediate Curtain. The album was recorded during the controversial rivalry between both bands. In the 80's, Richard Wright joined Soft Machine and recorded two albums until his return to Pink Floyd, Fragments of Your Own Imagination and Falling Up. In 2007, Soft Machine embarked on a tour with David Gilmour, rendering the Live on Gdánsk album.

Studio albums

 * The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
 * In the Beechwoods (1968)
 * The Man and The Journey (1969)
 * Rain in the Country  (1970)
 * Atom Heart Mother (1970)
 * Meddle (1971)
 * The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
 * Wish You Were Here (1975)
 * Animals (1977)
 * The Wall (1979)
 * The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking (1983)
 * Home (1987)
 * The Division Bell (1994)
 * On an Island (2006)
 * The Endless River (2014)