Attention Pink Floyd fans, something that we thought would never happen just did, the prog rock heroes have announced a brand-spanking new album, their first in 20 long years.
The year of 1994 saw the band release their 14th and final record, The Division Bell, which celebrated its 20th anniversary with a deluxe reissue earlier this year, serving as a solid reminder that one of the world’s all-time favourite outfits were no longer producing new music. However as Consequence of Sound point out, we got it all wrong.
The shock news of the band’s first new album in two decades was revealed by Polly Sampson, the wife of Floyd’s iconic guitarist, David Gilmour.
Sampson took to her Twitter to very casually drop the bomb of all bombs:
Btw Pink Floyd album out in October is called “The Endless River”. Based on 1994 sessions is Rick Wright’s swansong and very beautiful.
— Polly Samson (@PollySamson) July 5, 2014
The inclusion of the incredible Richard ‘Rick’ Wright – masterful keyboardist who tragically passed away in 2008 – strikes a special chord in the heart of Floyd-faithfuls.
Shedding further light on the October release is Durga McBroom-Hudson, a back-up singer who toured with Pink Floyd through the 1980s and 1990s.
In a Facebook post, McBroom-Hudson explained some of the finer details for the anticipated release in a caption accompanying a photo of the singer recording with Gilmour. “The recording did start during The Division Bell sessions which is why there are Richard Wright tracks on it. But David and Nick [Mason, drummer] have gone in and done a lot more since then,” she writes.
The singer further explains that the old recordings were originally intended for an ambient side-project by Mason for something called the Big Spliff.
“It was originally to be a completely instrumental recording, but I came in last December and sang on a few tracks. David then expanded on my backing vocals and has done a lead on at least one of them. That’s the song you see being worked on in the photo.” She also confirmed The Endless River should contain only “unreleased songs.”
(Source: Facebook)
Despite the fact that The Endless River will include work from David Gilmour, Nick Mason and the late Richard Wright, the upcoming release sadly yet unsurprisingly does not feature ex-member Roger Waters who last appeared on 1983’s The Final Cut, notoriously parting from the band amidst creative differences in 1985.
According to an published in UK paper The Sun (via Consequence of Sound ) the former band members have confirmed that Pink Floyd are not reforming and there will be no accompanying tour of The Endless River, but at least we get some fresh Floyd, right?