What you probably know about The Wall is that it was Pink Floyd's groundbreaking rock opera released as a studio album, elaborate live concert production, live album, and theatrical film. It has been 30 years since the first live concert performance of The Wall, which, at the time, was one of the most intricate, complicated stage productions ever attempted. As bassist/vocalist Roger Waters (who conceived and wrote most of it) prepares to tour the world once again (September 2010-June 2011) performing it, we take a look back at the stories behind The Wall.
The Inspiration
Roger Waters photo courtesy Special Ops Media
By 1977, Pink Floyd had established a reputation as an outstanding live band, and had graduated from small clubs to large arenas and stadiums. As the audiences became larger, they also became more unruly, sometimes disrupting performances, sometimes totally indifferent to what was happening on stage. Roger Waters was so disgusted, he started thinking a lot about the idea of building a wall -- figuratively and literally -- between the band and the audience.
The Plot
A rock star named Pink Floyd makes his way through life with a domineering mother, a father killed in war when Pink is a young boy, abusive teachers, and a wife who walks out on him. Each obstacle (most drawn from Waters' own experiences) represents a brick in the wall that symbolizes the disconnect Pink feels from the rest of the world.
The Album
Album cover art courtesy Capitol Records
Waters started composing songs for what he first called Bricks in the Wall in the autumn of 1977. He gave the rest of the band a demo tape in the summer of 1978. Production began in October 1978 and continued for most of the next year, with final mixing in October 1979.
At the height of production, band members worked in shifts, around the clock, each recording his own parts individually. While the band worked at a studio in France, sessions were also going on in New York City, Toronto and Los Angeles, recording orchestral parts and special effects. After more than a year, at a cost of about $700,000 (which would be the equivalent of more than $2-million in today's dollars), the double album was released in November 1979.
The Stage Production
A month after album production started, work began on the design of the stage performance. The first live concert performance was in February 1980. The original production included a 40-foot high wall built brick-by-brick during the course of the performance, several huge inflatables (already a band trademark) of various characters, and a series of animated segments projected on the wall. Action took place in front of, on top of, and behind the wall.The Showdown
Rick Wright photo courtesy Special Ops Media
A growing rift between Roger Waters and keyboardist Richard "Rick" Wright came to a head during the recording sessions for The Wall. Waters insisted that Wright leave the band. Wright initially resisted, but when Waters threatened not to release the album unless Wright departed, Wright agreed to leave after the album and tour were completed. He returned in 1993, several years after Waters had left the band. Wright died in 2008.
Behind the Scenes
Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys) and Tony Tennille (Captain and Tennille) were among the backup vocalists on the album. Toto's Jeff Porcaro and his father Joe, a jazz musician, provided some of the percussion. Another well-known jazz artist, guitarist Lee "Captain Fingers" Ritenour, was also featured. Producers (in addition to band members Roger Waters and David Gilmour) were Bob Ezrin (who had produced albums for KISS, Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel and Lou Reed) and James Guthrie who, at age 25, was already an established recording engineer and producer in London.
The Money
Recording of the album began in the U.K., but at about the same time the band discovered that the people who handled their finances had made some risky investments, they also discovered that unless they left the U.K. for at least a year, they would be stuck with a huge tax bill on the proceeds from the album. That prompted them to temporarily take up residence in France, where most of the recording sessions (at the smallish Super Bear Studios) took place.
The Movie
A theatrical film version, Pink Floyd The Wall, was released in 1982, with Bob Geldof (Boomtown Rats and later Live Aid concert promoter) playing the role of Pink. It had originally been intended to feature footage from the 1980-81 concert tour, but that turned out to not be practical with someone other than Waters playing the leading role. During its best week, the film ranked third in box office receipts, behind E.T. and An Officer and a Gentleman.
The Numbers
Just prior to the release of the album, a single, "Another Brick in the Wall, part 2," was released. It sold 340,000 copies in the first week after its release in the U.K. and hit 1-million in sales a little over a month later. In the U.S., the single was released after the album release, went to #1 on the Billboard Top 40 for four weeks, and was on the chart for a total of 19 weeks.
The album was released in the U.K. on November 20, 1979, and by January, sales topped 1-million. They reached 2-million within a year. In the U.S., the album was certified gold even before it was released on December 8, 1979, based on advance orders. Sales topped a million in March 1980. The album went on to become the best-selling double album ever, with worldwide sales of more than 33-million.
The Live Album
Album cover art courtesy Sony
It wasn't until 2000 that a live album from the 1980-81 tour was released. Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81 consisted of performances from shows at Earl's Court in London, including songs that had orginally been cut from the studio release. The live album has the dubious distinction of being the only Pink Floyd album that wasn't released on vinyl LP.
The Legacy
In a 2008 About.com Classic Rock interview following the publication of his book, Comfortably Numb: A History of The Wall, co-author Vernon Fitch said, "Nothing like it had ever been done before and nothing like it has been attempted since. It combined superb musical composition with storytelling, theatrical presentation, animated movies, inflatable characters, a duplicate band, and one of the most unique icons in the history of music, a gigantic white wall. [T]he story of how it was written and recorded has been rather vague. [Our] perception of [it] has been altered over the years by [the] movie and various other speculative accounts. It is a landmark classic rock album, perhaps the pinnacle of classic rock."
