So much for a Pink Floyd reunion
Posted on September 15th, 2008 – 12:37 PMBy Chris Riemenschneider
If you didn’t read about it already, Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright has died of cancer at age 65. Click here for an obit.
Sad news for Wright’s family and friends, no question, but it’s also frustrating news for fans. Those of us under the age of 45 or so never had the chance to see the real Floyd in concert (never mind the Roger Waters-less version that I saw at the god-awful Dome in ‘88; Waters’ solo rehash of “Dark Side” last year at the X was great but also not good enough).
Pink Floyd is one of those bands that truly is ageless. There are 16-year-olds today who are as into the band as 60-year-olds were three decades ago. Granted, a lot of hipsters today make fun of the band’s pig-inflated psychedelica as a relic of the past, but I bet 95 percent of those people own a Floyd album or don’t turn the dial when “Wish You Were Here” comes on.
Waters, David Gilmour, Wright and Nick Mason should have put aside their differences/egos and gone out on tour a long time ago. I hate to say the original members owed us a real reunion tour (sans Syd Barrett, bless his heart), but younger fans are a big part of the reason they’re among the richest guys in rock. We deserved to see them at least once, even if it wound up being lame and overpriced. You can bet it would’ve been the highest-grossing tour of all time by a long shot. The fact that they do have plenty of money in the bank might’ve been the reason they never did. How lame is that? Now, it’s clearly too late. Here’s hoping the surviving Zeppelin head cases take note.
20 Responses to "So much for a Pink Floyd reunion"
That’s too bad about Wright. Of all these big renunions that have come around over the last decade or so, nothing would have topped a return of Waters to the group. The perfect big band to fill a stadium. It’s likely that bad blood won’t ever be cleansed. At least not in time for a real renunion. At least I got to see them at the Dome in ‘94. Good show, terrible venue, and unforutnately about 2 shows before they went into playing the entire Darkside album for the remainder of their tour.
This is a band who never catered to the whims of those outside the band, and to suggest that they *should* have toured as if they owed it to anyone is just outrageous. This is not the blog you should have posted on this day. Shame on you.
I’ve been a Pink Floyd fan for over half of my 30 years. Frankly, I feel they don’t me a damn thing. Live8 was a perfect end to Pink Floyd, and I wasn’t even there. Would it have been nice to see a Pink Floyd reunion tour? Yes. Do I feel slighted I didn’t? Not in the least bit.
In an age where artists with established legacies take millions upon millions of dollars to tour on their name alone, Pink Floyd should be respected for sticking with their personal feelings instead of caving to demand. When they did decide to play together again, it was for a *cause*, not because they could make tankers full of cash. That is decidely not “lame”.
You didn’t *deserve* anything from them, Chris. Certainly nobody was owed anything by them. They gave us 30 years of “ageless” music. Be glad it is ageless, because it’s all we have now. To suggest that you as a fan deserved more is just plain selfish. You are entitled to your opinion, but I am thoroughly disappointed you felt the need to state this opinion on this particular day.
I came to say what Andy did so well. The Great Gig in the Sky, indeed. Rest in peace, Rick.
Wow, what the hell crawled up Andy’s ass and died?
They could have toured and didn’t. That’s lame. They had their reasons, whatever. Every other major act from those days has reunited to the extent they could. Pink Floyd were pretty much the only act (until yesterday) in which all their main members were still living, so they didn’t even have that excuse.
I agree that fans aren’t “owed” a tour, but it’s still disappointing that it never happened.
Sad day indeed, RIP Ricky.
I agree with Andy, today is a day for mourning.
Total lack of class by Mr. Riemenschneider. Your post is very self-serving.
Did Disco really just use the “everybody else is doing it, so why can’t they” excuse?
Really?
It’s disappointing it never happened, I can certainly agree. I’d have been first in line for tickets, no doubt.
However, we are not and have never been owed that privilege, nor are we deserving of it just because we weren’t around in the original heyday. Chris says he’d have taken a lame and overpriced reunion show over the non-shows we got but you know damn well that if that lame and overpriced show happened, Chris and many others would be right there saying they should have just stayed retired instead of flogging a dead horse for a cash grab (something Roger alone has already been accused of these last few years).
We got a reunion in 2005 at Live8. It was broadcast all over the world and attended by thousands of people. It was a fantastic performance, one that further cemented their status at legends. And they didn’t make a single cent, instead using their status to promote African aid programs.
It’s a shame that that isn’t a good enough conclusion to the band for some of you.
And in my disappointment with the blog post, I’ve forgotten to praise and thank Rick for the great music and presence he brought to Pink Floyd.
I am shocked by his passing as no one had any clue he was even ill.
I am thankful to David for including Rick in his 2006 tour, and for allowing Rick to shine. He got the biggest cheers of the evening in the shows I saw, and I really hope he took that appreciation to heart. He will be missed, for certain.
RIP, Rick. Remember a day…
It is sad news, and I’m with pretty much everyone else here - we, as fans, don’t deserve anything as it relates to a reunion tour. It’s their decision. If they can’t stand each other and won’t give up what ever moral ground each member may stand on for a pile of loot, that’s their call. You might even want to give the band members points for holding out on a reunion for something worthy, like Live8, and not just taking the money and running.
I understand Chris’ sentiment. I never thought I’d see the Police or the Eagles get back together, but I’ve seen both and it was a treat in both cases, even though both reunions (especially the Eagles) were not much more than about the money. It would have been awesome to see the “real” Floyd onstage one more time here in the Cities, but it didn’t happen.
I say think of all the great things Wright and Floyd brought to your life, or admire Wright’s ability as a musician, and forget about the “what if’s”
NO ONE BLOODY SAID that we were OWED anything. READ the original post, Andy!! What a jerk!
A reunion tour would’ve been great for the fans.
Yeah, the fans. We would’ve loved it. Waters could’ve rode in his own plane if being around the others bothered him that much.
But, again, it would’ve made all of us fans complete being able to see that spectacle. Some of us never saw the Floyd with Waters…. me for one.
Disco, YOU go read the original post.
I echo Andy and the rest completely. Asking a band to tour because they “owe” it to someone is absurd. Ever quit a job you hated, or broken up with a boyfriend that treated you like crap? Would you go back to either of those situations because someone said you “owed it” to them? Grow up. Musicians are people with lives, families and feelings… Pink Floyd changed popular music profoundly. They had nothing else to prove, although they did prove it, most elegantly, at Live 8. Thank you, Richard. You made the world a bit more beqautiful.
One more thing: there are bands out there NOW! with the potential to be as great as Floyd, although it’s next to impossible to have that impact in today’s world. Be thankful for the past, and seek out the future!
(sorry for the typo in “beautiful” above)
I just gotta say that floyd is awesome and there music is timeless(I’m 16). I’m glad they never had a big reunion tour if they felt they didn’t want to do it. I saw the roger waters show, it was great. I have the pulse and the remember that night and on those they were having a great time. Same for live 8, they did it because they wanted to do it. I hope they do a tribute show to for rick, cause he would have wanted that.
I gotta say, what have reunion tours ever added to legacies of bands, other than adding to those bands personal bank accounts and ugly souvenier t-shirts? Even the Pixies recent reunion didn’t do much to add to their legacy.
Will someone please take away AndySlash’s soap box and send him home? I even tend to agree with some of his points, but enough already.
Agree with Andy or not, he puts more thought into his posts than the “owners” of this blog.
APink Hoyt doeses no owe me a dman thign. Bnad speaks ofr itself as legrandary statues,
Night Thief! Finally someone who makes sense!
Richard Wright is still dead.
In response to AndySlash, many critics might’ve said the guys should’ve never toured, but in all honesty I wouldn’t have.
I don’t think I’ve ever criticized a big old band like this for going back out, even when they obviously are in it for the money. I raved about the last Van Halen tour, and the Kiss shows (before Ace left), and that one Sex Pistols reunion (the “Filthy Lucre” tour), and I’d maybe even give the Eagles a break if I didn’t think they were a worthless band to begin with.
I wasn’t singling out Richard Wright, either. He probably had the smallest ego of the band.
Also, I’d argue that the Pixies reunion tour did add to the legacy of the band… it was a huge financial success for them and confirmed that they had grown into a much bigger act since breaking up. No need for that in the Floyd’s case, obviously, but still would’ve been nice to see it once. Their Live8 set was indeed great but brief and, for most of us, on TV.
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