Real fans of Pink Floyd will remember the more left-of-centre antics that the band delved into, while others may not even realise that, yes, Pink Floyd did, in fact, record a song with their dog in 1971. And his name was Seamus, so put some respect on his name.
One of the first real bands to truly adopt sampling in a prolific way, Pink Floyd created the blueprint for some of the most iconic songs in their discography by using wacky and oft unconventional soundbites. Who can forget the iconic cash register in the opening of ‘Money’, the slop that begins ‘Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast’ or even the short radio broadcast featured in ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’ just to name a few.
However, Seamus was the name of the lucky pup who barked his way into one of these recordings. ‘Seamus’, the last track on the A-side of Meddle (which leads into the sprawling 23-minute ‘Echoes’) features this good boy on… backup vocals? Yeah, why not. The dog sings backup vocals and we will show him nothing but love and respect.
Not only was Seamus the best boy, but there were also guest appearances from Nobs. Both pitch-perfect pups were fortunate enough to sing with the best, and we’re in love with their work ethic and talent.
Seamus was a German Shepard belonging to Small Faces and Humble Pie frontman Steve Marriot, who was delighted to one day find out his best friend would howl in tune to the music of Pink Floyd.
‘Seamus’, the song, was received largely with distaste, from critics who were obviously taking themselves too seriously. Speaking of the song, David Gilmour has said: “It wasn’t really as funny to everyone else [as] it was to us.”
We need to collectively learn how to laugh at these things, everyone. Pink Floyd are disappointed in us.
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The band however never did play ‘Seamus’ live due to dog-related difficulties which I’m sure you can understand. However, in their Live At Pompeii doco, they did play a segment titled ‘Mademoiselle Nobs’ with a Russian Wolfhound named Nobs.
Watch the video for ‘Mademoiselle Nobs’ by Pink Floyd below.
