Dark Side of the Moon Tour
Tour by Pink Floyd
Performing Dark Side of the Moon at Earl's Court Arena in May 1973
Associated albumThe Dark Side of the Moon
Start date20 January 1972
End date4 November 1973
No. of shows128 (135 scheduled)
Pink Floyd concert chronology

The Dark Side of the Moon Tour was a concert tour by English rock band Pink Floyd in 1972 and 1973 in support of their album The Dark Side of the Moon, covering the UK, US, Europe and Japan. There were two separate legs promoting the album, one in 1972 before the album's release and another in 1973 afterwards, together covering 128 shows.

Pink Floyd had worked out a basic structure of Dark Side of the Moon in late 1971, and played it at almost every gig the following year, alongside a set of earlier live favourites. Various changes to the structure were made throughout this time, as songs were tightened up and arrangements changed. By 1973, the album was finished and the live performance resembled the completed work. To re-create it in concert, the group added saxophonist Dick Parry and female backing singers to the show. The stage performance was enhanced with extra visual effects and an improved quadrophonic sound system. The success of Dark Side of the Moon and the US top 20 hit "Money" increased Pink Floyd's profile and they began to play sell-out stadium shows, though the audience changed from being one that would quietly listen to one that just wanted to dance and hear hit songs.

1972

Brighton Dome, the first date of the tour

Pink Floyd planned their first UK wide tour since 1969 for the start of 1972.[1] They were worried that their stage show was becoming stale, and decided they needed a new piece of music for the upcoming tour.[2] Shortly after the release of the album Meddle, the group booked Decca Studios, Hampstead from 29 November – 10 December 1971 to write new material that would form part of a stage show.[3] The group booked a warehouse owned by the Rolling Stones in Bermondsey to rehearse the new suite of music, followed by a dress rehearsal at the Rainbow Theatre, London, where they tested a new Watkins Electric Music PA system designed by Bill Kelsey, which had a complete quadrophonic sound system. The group hired lighting engineer Arthur Max, who they had met two years earlier playing at the Fillmore West, San Francisco, to design a new rig for the tour.[4]

Playing 89 shows in 1972, the most until 1994, Pink Floyd debuted the new suite live on 20 January at the Brighton Dome. Partway through, when playing "Money", a lack of power led to the backing tape slowing down and going out of time, causing the group to stop. After a break, they came back and played "Atom Heart Mother" instead.[5] The first complete performance was the following day at the Portsmouth Guildhall.[6] At the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, the power failed 25 minutes into the show, and the rest of the concert was abandoned.[6] Two extra shows were booked on 29 and 30 March to make up for this.[7]

The title of the suite was originally Dark Side of the Moon – A Piece for Assorted Lunatics, the name under which it made its press debut in February 1972.[8] The title was changed to Eclipse after it was discovered that Medicine Head had released an album with the same name.[1] The title changed for the first part of the US tour to Eclipse (A Piece for Assorted Lunatics) during April and May before reverting to Dark Side of the Moon – A Piece for Assorted Lunatics at the end of September for the second part of the US tour, and finally released in 1973 as The Dark Side of the Moon.[9]

Dark Side of the Moon was performed differently to the finished album, and evolved over the year. Although Pink Floyd had previously rehearsed material before recording it, taking it on tour first allowed the piece to be improved and strengthened.[10] They also knew that their audience were happy to sit patiently and listen to the group, which gave them the confidence to play over 40 minutes of new material they had not heard.[11] "On the Run", whose working title was "The Travel Sequence", was at first a guitar and keyboard jam and would remain so for the rest of the year's performances.[10][12] "Time" was played at a slower speed, and the line "Lying supine in the sunshine" was sung instead of "Tired of lying in the sunshine".[13][14] "The Great Gig in the Sky", whose working title was "Religion" or "The Mortality Sequence", originally consisted of an organ solo and various tapes of "preachers" either preaching or reading from such passages as from Chapter 5, Verse 13 of Ephesians, a book of the Bible, or reciting the Lord's Prayer, including soundbites from broadcaster Malcolm Muggeridge.[10] Initially, the suite ended with "Brain Damage". Roger Waters felt there needed to be a suitable ending, and wrote "Eclipse" as a finale.[10] It made its debut at a gig at De Montfort Hall, Leicester on 10 February.[10]

The first London performance, and the first to the press was on 17 February 1972 at the Rainbow Theatre,[15] where the band played for four consecutive nights, following which the group took a break from touring to work on the soundtrack album Obscured By Clouds.[16] A bootleg recording of the concerts was released and sold 100,000 copies, annoying the band as it was still a work in progress.[11] The tour then moved to Japan for five shows,[7] and then to the US and Europe. The group headlined the British Rock Meeting festival at Germersheim, West Germany on 21 May and the Amsterdam Rock Circus at the Olympic Stadium, playing "Atom Heart Mother" instead of Dark Side of the Moon.[17]

Following the European shows, recording began on The Dark Side of the Moon on 24 May, beginning with basic backing tracks derived from the live versions.[18] As a replacement for the first Brighton Dome show which was abandoned during Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd gave two concerts at the venue on 28 and 29 June. The latter show was filmed by Peter Clifton for inclusion on his film Sounds of the City. Clips of these were occasionally aired on television and the performance of "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" was on the various artists video Superstars in Concert.[19]

The tour moved to the US in September. Engineer Alan Parsons was asked to run the front of house sound, setting a trend for Pink Floyd inviting studio personnel out on tour.[20] Richard Wright had now written the piano music to "The Great Gig in the Sky", replacing the earlier "Mortality Suite" piece, and it was performed in the arrangement per the finished album, without vocals.[19][21] On 22 September, the group played the Hollywood Bowl, which featured eight powered searchlights beaming rays from behind the Bowl's amphitheatre.[10] They then played two dates at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco on 23 and 24 September.[22] The group returned to the UK to play a sell-out charity show at the Empire Pool, Wembley on 21 October, supporting War on Want and Save the Children.[23] This was followed by shows in Europe to the end of the year, with the final date at the Palais de Sports, Lyon on 10 December.[24] By then, Dark Side of the Moon sounded close to the final album, except without any female vocals or saxophone, which would follow the next year.[15]

Set list

First set – Dark Side of the Moon – A Piece for Assorted Lunatics or sometimes Eclipse – A Piece for Assorted Lunatics (except 21–22 May)[18]

  1. "Speak to Me"
  2. "Breathe"
  3. "The Travel Sequence" (precursor to "On the Run")[25]
  4. "Time"
  5. "The Mortality Sequence" (early version of "The Great Gig in the Sky" without female vocals)[26]
  6. "Money"
  7. "Us and Them"
  8. "Scat" (early version of "Any Colour You Like")
  9. "Brain Damage"
  10. "Eclipse" (after 10 February)[10]

Second set[27]

  1. "One of These Days"
  2. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" (sometimes not performed[6])
  3. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (sometimes as an encore)[28]
  4. "Atom Heart Mother" (20 January, 6 March, 16 April, 21–22 May)[29][30]
  5. "Echoes" (occasionally as an encore)[7]

Encore (when played):

Roland Petit Ballet shows

In November 1972, during the middle of the tour's European leg, and again in January 1973, Pink Floyd performed with the Roland Petit Ballet. The set list for which their portion of the ballet was choreographed to was "One of These Days", "Careful with That Axe, Eugene", "Obscured by Clouds", "When You're In" and "Echoes".[34] Some of the 1973 shows only featured the ballet playing to pre-recorded tracks, as the group were trying to finish recording The Dark Side of the Moon at this time.[33] One of the last pieces to be recorded was Clare Torry's lead vocal on "Great Gig in the Sky" on 21 January during this run.[35]

1973

Playing at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland, June 1973

Following the Roland Petit shows and the completion of the album, Pink Floyd booked further rehearsal time at the Rainbow Theatre from 19 to 21 February 1973 for an enhanced stage show based on the final recordings. Dark Side of the Moon was moved from the start of the show to the end of the main set. For the first time, the group took additional musicians with them; saxophonist Dick Parry (an old childhood friend of David Gilmour) and three female backing vocalists who had been touring with Leon Russell. The tour began in Madison, Wisconsin on 4 March.[36][37] On 17 March, they performed at Radio City Music Hall, New York City at 1am, being transported onto stage from one of the elevators surrounded by dry ice, which drew strong press reviews. The show made use of a 20-speaker quadrophonic sound system.[38][39]

Following the US tour, the band played two nights at Earl's Court on 18 and 19 May. In "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", a gong played by Waters was lit up with flames. During Dark Side of the Moon, a 7-foot (2.1 m) plane crashed into the stage at the end of "On the Run".[40]

The group returned to the US in June. Dark Side of the Moon had now topped the Billboard charts, and the single "Money" had become a top 20 hit. Having previously played halls and theatres, the tour now covered stadiums for the first time.[41][42] Although all the shows sold out, the audience now included people who wanted to hear the hit singles and "boogie", in sharp contrast to earlier audiences who were happy to listen to whatever music Pink Floyd were playing.[41] The tour closed with two European shows in October.[43]

On 4 November 1973, Pink Floyd played two charity shows at London's Rainbow Theatre as a benefit for Robert Wyatt, formerly the drummer of UFO Club contemporaries Soft Machine, who had become paralysed after falling out of a window. The concerts raised a reported £10,000 for Wyatt.[44][43] Clare Torry sung her vocal to "The Great Gig in the Sky" as it had appeared on the album.[43] Pink Floyd then took a lengthy break from touring and did not play any further shows until June 1974.[45]

Set list

First set[46]

  1. "Obscured By Clouds"
  2. "When You're In"
  3. "Childhood's End" (6–10 March)[35]
  4. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (11 March onwards)[47][48]
  5. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"
  6. "Echoes" (opening number from 4–12 March)[36]

Second set – The Dark Side of the Moon

  1. "Speak to Me"
  2. "Breathe"
  3. "On the Run"
  4. "Time"/"Breathe (Reprise)"
  5. "The Great Gig in the Sky"
  6. "Money"
  7. "Us and Them"
  8. "Any Colour You Like"
  9. "Brain Damage"
  10. "Eclipse"

Encore:

  1. "One of These Days"

Tour dates

1972

List of 1972 concerts with date, city, country and venue
Date City Country Venue
17 January
 London England Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park – Rehearsals
18 January
19 January
20 January
 Brighton Brighton Dome [lower-alpha 1]
21 January
 Portsmouth Portsmouth Guildhall [lower-alpha 2]
22 January
 Bournemouth Bournemouth Winter Gardens
23 January
 Southampton Southampton Guildhall
27 January
 Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle City Hall
28 January
 Leeds Leeds Town Hall
3 February
 Coventry Lanchester Polytechnic College Arts Festival – Locarno Ballroom
5 February
 Bristol Colston Hall
10 February
 Leicester De Montfort Hall
11 February
 Manchester Free Trade Hall [lower-alpha 3]
12 February
 Sheffield Sheffield City Hall
13 February
 Liverpool Liverpool Empire Theatre
17 February
 London Rainbow Theatre
18 February
19 February
20 February
6 March
 Tokyo Japan Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
7 March
8 March
 Osaka Festival Hall
9 March
10 March
 Kyoto Dai-Sho-Gun Furitsu Taiikukan
13 March
 Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center
29 March
 Manchester England Free Trade Hall [lower-alpha 4]
30 March
14 April
 Tampa United States Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory
15 April
 Pembroke Pines Hollywood Sportatorium
16 April
 Columbia Columbia Township Auditorium
18 April
 Atlanta Atlanta Symphony Hall
20 April
 Pittsburgh Syria Mosque
21 April
 Baltimore Lyric Opera House
22 April
 Akron Akron Civic Theatre
23 April
 Cincinnati Music Hall
24 April
 Cleveland Allen Theatre
26 April
 Detroit Ford Auditorium
27 April
28 April
 Chicago Auditorium Theatre
29 April
 Philadelphia Spectrum
1 May
 New York City Carnegie Hall
2 May
3 May
 Washington, D.C. John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
4 May
 Boston Music Hall
18 May
 West Berlin West Germany Deutschlandhalle
21 May
 Germersheim Second British Rock Meeting
22 May
 Amsterdam Netherlands Olympic Stadium
28 June
 Brighton England Brighton Dome [lower-alpha 5]
29 June
8 September
 Austin United States Austin Municipal Auditorium
9 September
 Houston Houston Music Hall
10 September
 Dallas McFarlin Memorial Auditorium
11 September
 Kansas City Memorial Hall
12 September
 Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall
13 September
 Wichita Levitt Arena
15 September
 Tucson Tucson Community Center
16 September
 San Diego Golden Hall
17 September
 Tempe Big Surf
19 September
 Denver University of Denver Arena
22 September
 Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl
23 September
 San Francisco Winterland Ballroom
24 September
27 September
 Vancouver Canada PNE Garden Auditorium
28 September
 Portland United States Memorial Coliseum
29 September
 Seattle Hec Edmundson Pavilion
30 September
 Vancouver Canada PNE Garden Auditorium
21 October
 London England Empire Pool
10 November
 Copenhagen Denmark K.B. Hallen
11 November
12 November
 Hamburg West Germany Ernst-Merck-Halle
14 November
 Düsseldorf Philips Halle
15 November
 Böblingen Sporthalle
16 November
 Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt
17 November
22 November
 Marseille France Salle Vallier, Roland Petit Ballet
23 November
24 November
25 November
26 November
28 November
 Toulouse Palais des Sports
29 November
 Poitiers Parc des Expositions Les Arènes
1 December
 Saint-Ouen Centre sportif de l'Île de Vannes
2 December
3 December
 Caen Parc des Expositions
5 December
 Brussels Belgium Forest National
7 December
 Lille France Palais des Sports
8 December
 Nancy Parc des Expositions
9 December
 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
10 December
 Lyon France Palais des Sports de Gerland

1973

List of 1973 concerts with date, city, country and venue
Date City Country Venue
13 January
 Paris France Palais des Sports, Roland Petit Ballet
14 January
3 February
4 February
4 March
 Madison United States Dane County Coliseum
5 March
 Detroit Cobo Hall
6 March
 St. Louis Kiel Auditorium
7 March
 Chicago International Amphitheatre
8 March
 Cincinnati Armory Fieldhouse
10 March
 Kent Memorial Gym
11 March
 Toronto Canada Maple Leaf Gardens
12 March
 Montreal Montreal Forum
14 March
 Boston United States Music Hall
15 March
 Philadelphia Spectrum
17 March
 New York City Radio City Music Hall
18 March
 Waterbury Palace Theater
19 March
 Providence Providence Civic Center
22 March
 Hampton Hampton Coliseum
23 March
 Charlotte Charlotte Park Center
24 March
 Atlanta Municipal Auditorium
18 May
 London England Earls Court
19 May
17 June
 Saratoga Springs United States Saratoga Performing Arts Center
18 June
 Jersey City Roosevelt Stadium
19 June
 Pittsburgh Civic Arena
20 June
 Columbia Merriweather Post Pavilion
21 June
22 June
 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
23 June
 Detroit Olympia Stadium
24 June
 Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center
25 June
 Louisville Louisville Gardens
26 June
 Jonesboro Lake Spivey Park
27 June
 Jacksonville Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum
28 June
 Pembroke Pines Hollywood Sportatorium
29 June
 Tampa Tampa Stadium
12 October
 Munich West Germany Olympiahalle
13 October
 Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle
4 November (2 shows)
 London England Rainbow Theatre

Cancelled shows

List of cancelled shows with date, city, country and venue
Date City Country Venue
6 February 1972
 Plymouth England ABC Theatre
11 March 1972
 Yokohama Japan Kemin Hall
23 June 1972
 Bièvres France Bièvres Festival
26 August 1972
 Verona Italy Verona Arena
25 March 1973
 St. Petersburg, Florida United States Bayfront Center
16 June 1973
 Saratoga Springs, New York United States Saratoga Performing Arts Center
23 September 1973
 Frankfurt West Germany Sandrennbahn Altrip

Source : Povey 2006 pp. 164–179

Personnel

Pink Floyd

Additional musicians

Additional personnel

1972[28]

  • Chris Adamson, Seth Goldman, Bobby Richardson, Brian Scott – technician / stage crew
  • Mick "The Pole" Kluczynski – tour manager
  • Arthur Max – lighting technician
  • Chris Mickie – front of house sound
  • Peter Watts – head of PA

1973[33]

  • Chris Adamson, Robbie Williams – PA and stage technician
  • Mick "The Pole" Kluczynski – tour manager
  • Arthur Max – Production manager and lighting technician
  • Robin Murray – Lighting technician
  • Alan Parsons – front of house sound
  • Peter Watts – head of PA

Notes

  1. ↑ First "Dark Side of the Moon" live performance interrupted at 'Money' due to technical problems
  2. ↑ First complete live performance of "Dark Side of the Moon"
  3. ↑ Abandoned due to power failure
  4. ↑ Replacement shows for 11 February
  5. ↑ Replacement shows for 20 January

References

  1. 1 2 Povey 2006, p. 154.
  2. ↑ Povey 2006, p. 125.
  3. ↑ Povey 2006, p. 151.
  4. ↑ Povey 2006, pp. 142, 154.
  5. ↑ Blake 2011, p. 175.
  6. 1 2 3 Povey 2006, p. 165.
  7. 1 2 3 Povey 2006, p. 166.
  8. ↑ Mason 2004, p. 161.
  9. ↑ Povey 2006, p. 164.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Povey 2006, p. 155.
  11. 1 2 Blake 2011, p. 179.
  12. ↑ Blake 2011, p. 177.
  13. ↑ Blake 2011, p. 184.
  14. ↑ Guesdon & Margotin 2017, p. 350-351.
  15. 1 2 Shea 2009, p. 152.
  16. ↑ Povey 2006, pp. 165–166.
  17. ↑ Povey 2006, pp. 167–168.
  18. 1 2 Povey 2006, p. 168.
  19. 1 2 Povey 2006, p. 169.
  20. ↑ Blake 2011, p. 178.
  21. ↑ Blake 2011, pp. 184, 187.
  22. ↑ Povey 2006, p. 170.
  23. ↑ Blake 2011, p. 188.
  24. ↑ Povey 2006, pp. 171–172.
  25. ↑ Blake 2011, p. 189.
  26. ↑ Blake 2011, p. 187.
  27. ↑ Povey 2006, pp. 164–172.
  28. 1 2 Povey 2006, p. 167.
  29. ↑ Povey 2006, pp. 164, 166, 167, 168.
  30. ↑ Rosenberg 1990, p. 39.
  31. ↑ Rosenberg 1990, p. 41.
  32. ↑ Povey 2006, pp. 165–168.
  33. 1 2 3 Povey 2006, p. 172.
  34. ↑ Povey 2006, p. 171.
  35. 1 2 3 4 Povey 2006, p. 173.
  36. 1 2 Povey 2006, pp. 173–174.
  37. ↑ Blake 2011, pp. 189, 207.
  38. ↑ Povey 2006, p. 174.
  39. ↑ Blake 2011, p. 207.
  40. ↑ Povey 2006, pp. 177–178.
  41. 1 2 Blake 2011, p. 209.
  42. ↑ Povey 2006, p. 178.
  43. 1 2 3 4 Povey 2006, p. 179.
  44. ↑ Blake 2011, p. 211.
  45. ↑ Povey 2006, p. 192.
  46. ↑ Povey 2006, pp. 173–179.
  47. ↑ Povey 2006, pp. 172–173.
  48. ↑ Rosenberg 1990, pp. 42–45.
  49. ↑ Rosenberg 1990, p. 45.
  50. ↑ Shea 2009, p. 75.

Sources

  • Blake, Mark (2011) [2007]. Pigs Might Fly : The Inside Story of Pink Floyd. Arum Press. ISBN 978-1-781-31519-4.
  • Guesdon, Jean-Michel; Margotin, Philippe (2017). Pink Floyd All the Songs – The Story Behind Every Track. Running Press. ISBN 978-0-316-43923-7.
  • Mason, Nick (2004). Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd (New ed.). Widenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-84387-7.
  • Povey, Glenn (2006). Echoes : The Complete History of Pink Floyd (New ed.). Mind Head Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9554624-0-5.
  • Rosenberg, Jon (July 1990) [1988]. A Journey Through Time and Space with Pink Floyd (book) (2nd ed.). T.D.
  • Shea, Stuart (2009). Pink Floyd FAQ – Everything Left to Know ... and More. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-617-13395-4.
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