The Wall

For the movie based on the album, see Pink Floyd The Wall (film).

The Wall is a rock opera and concept album by Pink Floyd. Hailed by critics and fans as one of Pink Floyd's best albums (along with Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here), the album is known as a rock and roll classic, and its morbid, depressing anthems have inspired many contemporary rock musicians.

Roger Waters was inspired to create the album during a 1977 concert tour for Animals, dubbed Pink Floyd — In The Flesh. In Montreal, a fan's disruptive behaviour resulted in Waters spitting in the fan's face. Immediately disgusted with himself, Waters came up with the idea of building a wall between him and the audience, an idea which would later develop into the album.

All of the songs were penned by Roger Waters with the exceptions of "Young Lust", "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Like Hell" which were co-written by David Gilmour and "The Trial", which was co-written by Bob Ezrin.

The album has been certified 23 times platinum and sits in third place on the list of best-selling albums ever in the US and hit #1 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1980. Originally released on Columbia Records in the US and Harvest Records in the UK, The Wall was then re-released as a digitally remastered CD in 1994 in the UK on EMI. Columbia issued the remastered CD in 1997 in the US and rest of the world. For The Wall's 20th Anniversary in early 2000, Capitol Records in the US and EMI for the rest of the world outside the US re-released the 1997 remastered CD.

In 1998 Q magazine readers voted The Wall the 65th greatest album of all time.

In 2001, the Canadian alternative country band Luther Wright and the Wrongs released Rebuild the Wall, a track-for-track reimagining of The Wall as a country album.

Concept

Template:Spoiler The album's concept and most of the songs are by Waters. The storyline portrays the fictional life of an anti-hero named Pink Floyd, who is hammered and beaten down by society from the earliest days of his life: having lost his father (killed in Anzio during World War II, as was Waters' own), smothered by his over-protective mother and oppressed at school by tyrannical, abusive teachers who tried to crush him and the other pupils into the "right" shape for society. Pink withdraws into a his own fantasy world, building an imaginary wall to isolate himself from the rest of the world. Every bad experience in his life is a brick in that wall. He becomes a rock star and gets married, only to be cheated on by his wife due to his distance and coldness.

Pink slowly goes insane behind his freshly completed wall. Unable to escape, he calls for help, only realizing now for it to be too late. Doctors are brought in to give him drugs to keep him going through his shows. Hallucinating, Pink believes that he is a fascist dictator, and his concerts Neo-Nazist rallies where he sics his men on fans he considers unworthy, only to have his conscience rebel at this and put himself on trial, his inner judge ordering him to tear down his wall in order to open himself to the outside world.

Demo version

In 2003, the entire band demo tape for the album leaked onto the Internet, featuring remarkably different versions of many songs, and a three-part version of "Is There Anybody Out There?". The differences include:

"In The Flesh (1)" has lyrics that are in the finished version of "In The Flesh (2)".
"The Happiest Days Of Our Lives" is slower, and focuses on one teacher, rather than all of them.
"Another Brick In The Wall (Part II)" is more like "Another Brick In The Wall (Part I)".
"Mother" is faster-paced.
"Young Lust" is entirely instrumental.
"One Of My Turns" features entirely different dialogue from the groupie, and is slower paced.
"What Shall We Do Now" is much slower paced than the version featured in the film.
"Is There Anybody Out There (Part I)" consists of the instrumental interlude featured in the finished version.
"Is There Anybody Out There (Part II)" features a previously unheard verse.
"Is There Anybody Out There (Part III)" is much more like the finished version, although mainly instrumental.
"Comfortably Numb" has almost entirely different lyrics which are much darker in tone.
"The Show Must Go On" features a previously unheard verse.
"In The Flesh (2)" features Roger Waters singing in a German accent.
"Run Like Hell" is entirely instrumental.

The rest of the tracks are basically the same as their finished counterparts, with perhaps a different lyric or riff here and there.

Recorded version

During recording, Richard Wright was fired from the band but stayed on to finish the album and perform the live concerts as a paid musician. According to co-producer/engineer James Guthrie, he played on more than half of the album.

Toni Tennille, of Captain & Tennille, contributed to the song One of My Turns, speaking the part of a groupie who is invited back to Pink's trailer

Around the world, the album produced a number of hit singles for Pink Floyd, including "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)", "Young Lust", "Hey You", "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Like Hell".

For "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)", Pink Floyd needed a school choir, and approached music teacher Alun Renshaw of Islington Green, around the corner from their Britannia Row Studios, in the middle of a lesson. The choir were not allowed to hear the rest of the song after singing the chorus, and were let down, as they wanted to hear Gilmour's solo. The chorus was overdubbed 12 times to give the impression that the choir was larger. Though the school received a lump sum payment of 1000 GBP, there was no contractual arrangement for royalties. Under 1996 UK copyright law, they became eligible, and after choir members were tracked down by royalties agent Peter Rowan of RBL Music, through the website Friends Reunited, they sued. Music industry professionals estimated that each student would be owed around 500 GBP.

Concert version

Pink Floyd performed the concert version of The Wall only a handful of times, in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Dortmund. This was due to the grandiosity of the performance, which involved constructing a giant wall across the stage between band and audience, not to mention staple Pink Floyd props such as giant screens, flying pigs and pyrotechnics.

The performances began with the band in full view, with the giant wall being constructed by roadies out of 420 cardboard bricks throughout the first half of the performance. In the second half, the band would be completely obscured from view behind the wall, but still playing, while extra parts were played in front of the wall by a "surrogate band" composed of Andy Brown on bass, Snowy White on guitar, Willie Wilson on drums and Peter Wood on keyboards. The surrogate band wore masks of the faces of their counterparts in the real band. While playing lead guitar on "Comfortably Numb", guitarist David Gilmour was hoisted hydraulically on to the top of the wall, where he played his famous guitar solo in full view of the crowd. The wall was eventually torn down during "The Trial", and Pink Floyd themselves joined the surrogate band in front of the wreckage of the wall to perform the finale, "Outside The Wall".

During the performance, giant puppets of the characters Teacher, Wife and Mother, designed by Gerald Scarfe, were used, and animations by Scarfe were projected onto a circular area and onto the wall itself. Added to this, a hotel room (where much of the story is set) emerges from the wall midway through the second half.

The large stage shows required huge equipment (including full sized cranes), and cost an extraordinary amount of money to realize. As such, the band lost money from them, with the exception of Wright, who was retained on a fixed salary for the concerts after being fired during the production of the album.

The intent of the band for these concerts was to give the audience a truly theatrical experience instead of just a show where the band played the songs. As such, during many songs, Waters assumed the role of the anti-hero , "Pink", singing despondently from a hotel room (a set on the stage). To this day, these performances are considered some of the greatest rock concerts ever.

In 2000, the best performances from these concerts were compiled into a live version of the album called Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81. The release includes two tracks ("What Shall We Do Now," "The Last Few Bricks"). The former was left off the studio release due to space constraints, and the latter was a medley of the first half to let the roadies finish building the wall.

Film version

Main article: Pink Floyd The Wall (film)

A film version of The Wall was released in 1982 entitled Pink Floyd The Wall, directed by Alan Parker and starring Bob Geldof. The screenplay was written by Roger Waters. The film features music from the original album, much of which was re-recorded by the band with additional orchestration, some with minor lyrical and musical changes. It also includes a new song written especially for the film, "When The Tigers Broke Free".

There were a couple of non-Pink Floyd songs featured in the film. The classic Vera Lynn song "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot" opened the film, while Pink sang the words to the then-unreleased Roger Waters solo song "5:11AM (The Moment of Clarity)" (which would eventually see release on Waters' 1984 solo album The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking) in a restroom stall before singing the Pink Floyd song "Stop".

Pink could also be heard singing a little bit of "Your Possible Pasts", which will appear in the album The Final Cut, before going into "5:11AM (The Moment of Clarity)" and then "Stop"

During the scene where Pink finds his father's items during the second part of "When the Tigers Broke Free", Pink stumbled on his father's certificate of appreciation. The name on the certificate says "J.A. Pinkerton". It is assumed that Pink's real name is Floyd Pinkerton, and that Pink legally changed his name to Pink Floyd because he didn't like the name Floyd Pinkerton (the same way as Elton John changed his name from Reginald Dwight; Elton has stated in interviews that he hated his birth name since he was a child).

Stage version

Waters has licensed the story and music for a number of amateur dramatic versions, performed by schools and youth groups.

In 2004, it was announced that contracts had been signed for a Broadway musical version, with extra music to be written by Waters. The Broadway version will feature all of the music written by Waters. It is, however, unknown what will be done with the songs co-written by Gilmour (Young Lust, Comfortably Numb, and Run Like Hell). The show is estimated to be complete by summer 2006 and will be of a slightly "lighter tone" than Pink Floyd The Wall was. Additionally, there are rumours that other Pink Floyd songs, possibly "Money" from the 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon, among others, will be included in the stage show.

Post-split

After Waters left the band, a legal battle ensued over the rights to the name "Pink Floyd" and its material. Waters retained the right to use The Wall and its material, and his name has been most closely associated with the album. Waters staged a gigantic concert performance of The Wall (with the addition of the song "The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)" from Waters' solo album Radio KAOS) in Berlin on 21 July 1990, with guest artists including Ute Lemper, The Band, Van Morrison, Sinéad O'Connor, Cyndi Lauper, Marianne Faithfull, The Scorpions, Joni Mitchell, Jerry Hall, and Bryan Adams, to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall and as a fundraising effort for World War Memorial Fund for Disaster Relief.

At the UK Live 8 benefit concert on 2 July 2005, despite continued enmity between the former band members, Waters performed on stage with Gilmour, Mason and Wright for the first time in about 25 years, their last performance together being at The Wall concerts. Their set included "Comfortably Numb."

Track Listing (album version)

Disc one

"In the Flesh? (3:16)"
"The Thin Ice (2:27)"
"Another Brick In The Wall (Part I) (3:21)"
"The Happiest Days of Our Lives (1:46)"
"Another Brick In The Wall (Part II) (3:59)"
"Mother (5:32)"
"Goodbye Blue Sky (2:45)"
"Empty Spaces (2:10)"
"Young Lust (3:25)" (Waters/Gilmour)
"One of My Turns (3:41)"
"Don't Leave Me Now (4:08)"
"Another Brick In The Wall (Part III) (1:48)"
"Goodbye Cruel World (0:48)"

All songs by Roger Waters except as noted

Disc two

"Hey You (4:40)"
"Is There Anybody Out There? (2:44)"
"Nobody Home (3:26)"
"Vera (1:35)"
"Bring the Boys Back Home (1:21)"
"Comfortably Numb (6:23)" (Gilmour/Waters)
"The Show Must Go On (1:36)"
"In the Flesh (4:13)"
"Run Like Hell (4:20)" (Gilmour/Waters)
"Waiting For The Worms (4:04)"
"Stop (0:39)"
"The Trial (5:13)" (Waters/Ezrin)
"Outside the Wall (1:41)"

All songs by Roger Waters except as noted

Total length of album: 1 hour 21 minutes 29 seconds

Additional tracks from the film

"When the Tigers Broke Free" (Composed specifically for the movie--released on a vinyl single, Echoes Disc 2, Track 05 and on the 2004 re-release of The Final Cut)
"What Shall We Do Now?" (Extended version of "Empty Spaces" which was left off the original album due to lack of space, used in the wall-building sequence during the live show)

Tracks from the live concert

The live version of The Wall, Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81, included the following tracks not on the original album:

"What Shall We Do Now?" after "Empty Spaces"
"The Last Few Bricks" after "Another Brick In The Wall (Part III)"; usually a medley performed while the construction crew was finishing off the massive wall on stage

Tracks intended for use on the album, but not used

"Is There Anybody Out There (Part II)" features previously unheard lyrics, part of which were later worked into "Hey You"
"Your Possible Pasts" later re-written for use on The Final Cut, however, the line "Do you remember me/How we used to be/Do you think/We should be/Closer?" was used in the film.
"One Of The Few" - working title, "Teach" - was later re-written for use on The Final Cut
"The Final Cut" also re-written for use on The Final Cut. A line from this song goes: Dial the combination / Open the priest-hole / And if I'm in, I'll tell you what's behind the wall. Sound effects were dubbed over "behind the wall" in the final version of the song, to sever its connection to the album The Wall. The complete lyrics are still written in the inside sleeve of the album.

Personnel

Album

This album used several personnel and session musicians; many uncredited. This list is a work in progress from various online sources and interviews.

Roger Waters — Bass; Vocals; Acoustic guitar, Synthesizer Producer; Sleeve Design
David Gilmour — Guitars; Vocals; Bass; Clavinet; Synthesizer; Sequencer; Producer
Richard Wright — Organ; Clavinet; Synthesizer; Piano; Bass pedals
Nick Mason — Percussion; Drums
Lee Ritenour — Guitar
Jeff Porcaro — Drums on Mother
Joe Porcaro — Marching Snare drum on Bring the Boys Back Home
Blue Ocean — Marching Snare drum on Bring the Boys Back Home
Freddie Mandell — Hammond Organ
Willie Wilson — Drums (Another Brick Part 3 film version)
Bobbye Hall — Percussion
Peter Wood — Keyboards; Hammond Organ (Another Brick Part 3 film version)
Ron di Blasi — Classical guitar on Is There Anybody Out There?
Larry Williams — Clarinet on Outside The Wall
Trevor Veitch — Mandolin
Frank Marrocco — Concertina
Bruce Johnston — Backing Vocals
Toni Tennille — Backing Vocals
Joe Chemay — Backing Vocals
Jon Joyce — Backing Vocals
Stan Farber — Backing Vocals
Jim Haas — Backing Vocals
Noel Davis and Pontardulais Male Voice Choir — Vocals (film versions of Outside the Wall and Bring the Boys Back Home)
Fourth Form Music Class, Islington Green School, London — Backing Vocals
Bob Ezrin — Producer; Orchestra Arrangement; Keyboards
Michael Kamen — Orchestra Arrangement
James Guthrie — Co-Producer; Engineer; Percussion; Synthesizer, Sequencer
Nick Griffiths — Engineer
Patrice Queff — Engineer
Brian Christian — Engineer
John McClure — Engineer
Rick Hart — Engineer
Robert Hrycyna — Engineer
Phil Taylor — Sound Equipment
Gerald Scarfe — Sleeve Design

Quotes

"In 1980 when we finished in New York, Larry Maggid, a Philadelphia promoter [...] offered us a guaranteed million dollars a show plus expenses to go and do two dates at JFK Stadium with The Wall [...] and I wouldn't do it. I had to go through the whole story with the other members. I said, 'You've all read my explanations of what The Wall is about. It’s three years since we did that last stadium and I swore then that I would never do one again. And The Wall is entirely sparked off by how awful that was and how I didn't feel that the public or the band or anyone got anything out of it that was worthwhile. And that's why we've produced this show strictly for arenas where everyone does get something out of it that is worthwhile. Blah-blah-blah. And, I ain't fuckin' going!'"

– Roger Waters, June 1987, to Chris Salewicz

"Maybe the architectural training to look at things helped me to visualise my feelings of alienation from rock 'n' roll audiences. Which was the starting point for The Wall. The fact that it then embodied an autobiographical narrative was kind of secondary to the main thing which was a theatrical statement in which I was saying, 'Isn't this fucking awful? Here I am up onstage and there you all are down there and isn't it horrible! What the fuck are we all doing here?'"

– Roger Waters, June 1987, to Chris Salewicz

"You can't tour The Wall, the show is too complex. I was asked to perform the Wall this summer on 4th July, somewhere in America ... the Indianapolis speedway. I almost agreed because they said it would be a "free" concert, the idea appealed to me because anybody could go if they wanted. However, as I looked further into this free concert idea I discovered the concert would actually be paid for by Corporate America like Coca-Cola or AOL and they would want control of the way their tickets were distributed so it would be like I was working for some big corporation, like buy two crates of Coke and get two tickets - it's not quite the same."

– Roger Waters, October 2005, in an MSN chat

"I don't fully agree with the concept of The Wall. To me it's filled with a catalog of complaints and I don't want to blame everything on everyone else in my life but myself. I think it's too complaining myself. There's some wonderful stuff on the album. I think that's one of the wonderful things about music is that you can have a doom-laden lyric on top of an uplifting piece of music. It juxtaposes and gives you an uplifting feeling about it. I think the film got too black and bleak. Like I said, I don't fully concur with everything Roger says on it I think some parts are very good and some parts are outright bleak to me."

– David Gilmour, May 1992, US Radio interview

"As a phenomenon and as a record and a show I am very proud of it. At the same time, I don't agree with everything philosophically."

– David Gilmour, April 2000, US Radio interview for premiere of Is There Anybody Out There?: The Wall Live.

Singles

"Another Brick in the Wall (pt.2)"/"One Of My Turns" - Columbia 1-11187; released January 8, 1980 (UK, US, France and Italy [with Young Lust as a B-Side])
"Run Like Hell"/"Don't Leave Me Now" - Columbia 1-11265; released April, 1980 (Holland, Sweden and US)
"Comfortably Numb"/"Hey You" - Columbia 1-11311; released June, 1980 (US and Japan)

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1980	Pop Albums	1

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	"Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two)"	Pop Singles	1
1980	"Run Like Hell"	Pop Singles	53

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year	Winner	Category
1980	The Wall	Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

External links