Sigma 6

Sigma 6 was a rhythm and blues band formed in 1964 by Roger Waters while he was studying architecture at a college in London. In 1965 Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright formed the popular progressive rock band Pink Floyd.

Members

Roger Waters - backing vocals, lead guitar
Richard Wright - backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Nick Mason - Drums, percussion
Clive Metcalfe - bass guitar, guitar
Juliette Gale (later wife of Wright) - vocals, flute^[1]
Keith Noble - vocals
Sheila Noble - vocals^[2]
Vernon Thompson - guitar^[3]

The band went through a number of name changes, including The Abdabs and The Screaming Abdabs, but were unable to keep band members; the group broke up in 1965 when Metcalfe and Noble left the band to write singles for Chad and Jeremy including "A Summer Song". Keith Noble now works as a drama teacher at Brantwood School, Sheffield. Two new members joined the band to augment these leaving members:

Bob Klose - guitars
Chris Dennis - vocals

Klose, a classmate of Syd Barrett and David Gilmour from Cambridge, was brought in to replace Metcalfe and, as a consequence, Waters switched to bass. Chris Dennis, who was the new lead vocalist was soon replaced by Barrett. Shortly after, Waters, Wright, Mason, Barrett and Klose, formed the Tea Set, which soon became The Pink Floyd Sound and later, simply Pink Floyd. It was soon after when what was the earliest incarnation of Pink Floyd made their first recordings. In late 1964, the band recorded four songs on a demo: "Lucy Leave", "King Bee", "Double O Bo", and "Butterfly".

In the following months it became clear that Klose's jazz-influenced style was not compatible with Barrett's more improvisational free-form style, and Bob Klose left the band in the summer of 1965.

The Screaming Abdabs

The Screaming Abdabs was also the nom de plume used for Pink Floyd on unofficially sanctioned live bootleg recordings which were recorded directly through the mixing desk in concerts, including:

Brain Damage (Dark side of the moon) (1972 - Hammersmith)

Note: The Screamin' Ab Dabs was also the name of a late 1970s rhythm and blues band fronted by Alison Moyet.

References

^ Schaffner, Nicholas (1992). "2. Embryo". Saucerful of Secrets (in German) (1 ed.). Andrä-Wördern: Hannibal. pp. 34–35. ISBN 3-85445-070-2.
^ Mason, Nick (2004). "1. Poly Days". In Philip Dodd (ed.). Inside Out (1 ed.). London: Weidenfeld. pp. 14–33. ISBN 0-297-84387-7.
^ Vernon Thompson, guitarist with Pink Floyd predecessors Sigma Six

[Schaffner_1992-1] Schaffner, Nicholas (1992). "2. Embryo". Saucerful of Secrets (in German) (1 ed.). Andrä-Wördern: Hannibal. pp. 34–35. ISBN 3-85445-070-2.

[Mason_2004-2] Mason, Nick (2004). "1. Poly Days". In Philip Dodd (ed.). Inside Out (1 ed.). London: Weidenfeld. pp. 14–33. ISBN 0-297-84387-7.

[3] Vernon Thompson, guitarist with Pink Floyd predecessors Sigma Six

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