Inside Out (44 page)
‘It’s that shared experience element I miss. We can tell other people the stories, but to re-live it with someone who was
present tends to be a more intense version of the comedy, humiliation or raw fear shared. I was devastated to realise just
how much of my life was shared with Steve, and how irreplaceable he is.
‘Not a bad description might be to suggest that I feel like I’ve lost a shipmate. On the good ship “Floyd” Steve and I worked
together for over thirty years – mainly before the mast. We served under harsh captains. Mad Cap’n Barrett was the first;
his gleaming eyes with tales of treasure and strange visions nearly led us to disaster, until mutiny put us under the domination
of the cruel (Not So Jolly) Roger… Later Roger was to carelessly walk his own plank to be replaced by Able Seaman Gilmour.
‘Throughout these adventures, despite endless promises of promotion (some, I regret to say, from Steve) I remained Ship’s
Cook. Steve, I think, was Bos’un. He was never allowed to wear the captain’s uniform, but was frequently required to sail
the ship through stormy seas whilst all the crew squabbled below decks about how to divide the treasure.’
Given that there never is enough credit to go around with the vast cast of egomaniacs that accumulate with a band it is unlikely
that Steve’s contribution would ever be properly recognised. To be fair he was wise enough to know this, and smiled at the
occasional ‘Thanks to’ or even ‘Special thanks to’ that would grudgingly creep onto the odd record sleeve or programme. Inevitably
there are
significant contributions from Steve in this book, but I do regret the fact I wasn’t able to go through it all with him while
he said, ‘No, no, no, Nick, it wasn’t like that at all.’
Rereading this, I felt that the list of those who are no longer with us might be too morbid an ending, and if I sit back and
muse on what this book represents, I am reminded of all the good times, rather than the bad or the sad ones. So I was delighted
when at the Goodwood Revival meeting a couple of years ago, I was reunited with an 89-year-old Joe Mayo, the year tutor at
Regent Street Poly who granted me the sabbatical year I needed just as the band was taking off. Even better, Joe told me in
his opinion I might have made a perfectly good architect, something I had never dared to ask, so there’s still time for a
career change.
And if you are wondering why this piece is at the end of the book instead of appearing as the usual foreword, preface or introduction,
well, it is called
Inside Out…
THANKS
First, thanks to David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Richard Wright. Then, for accessing their memories for me and giving encouragement:
Douglas Adams, Chris Adamson, Peter Barnes, Joe Boyd, Marc Brickman, Lindsay Corner, Jon Corpe, Nigel Eastaway, Bob Ezrin,
Jenny Fabian, Mark Fenwick, Mark Fisher, Peter Gabriel, Ron Geesin, A.A. Gill, Nick Griffiths, James Guthrie, Tony Howard,
Andy Jackson, Peter Jenner, Howard Jones, Andrew King, Bob Klose, Mick Kluczynski, Norman Lawrence, Mike Leonard, Lindy Mason,
Lise Mayer, Clive Metcalf, Dave Mills, Bryan Morrison, Steve O’Rourke, Alan Parker, Alan Parsons, Guy Pratt, Gerald Scarfe,
Nick Sedgwick, Norman Smith, Tony Smith, Phil Taylor, Chris Thomas, Vernon Thompson, Storm Thorgerson, Judy Trim, Snowy White,
Robbie Williams, Peter Wynne Willson and Juliette Wright.
For helping the book to become a reality, thanks, first and foremost, to Philip Dodd, editor, amanuensis and compulsive coffee
maker, who has seen this through since the really early days, and sometimes been required to get out and push when it seemed
all was lost. Also Michael Dover at Weidenfeld & Nicolson whose enthusiasm for the book ensured it got finished, and all the
publishing team, including Jennie Condell, Kirsty Dunseath, Justin Hunt, Jenny Page, David Rowley, Mark Rusher and Mark Stay;
picture researcher Emily Hedges; and David Eldridge and Two Associates.
For their help along the way: archivist and keeper of the artefacts Stephanie Roberts; researchers Silvia Balducci, Jan Hogevold,
Jane Jackson, Lidia Rosolia, Jane Sen and Madelaine Smith; the Ten Tenths team of Julia Grinter, Stella Jackson, Michelle
Stranis-Oppler and Paula Webb; Jonathan Green for allowing me to use his own research; and for other assistance and favours
Elina Arapoglu, Jane Caporal, Paul Du Noyer, Vernon Fitch, Matt Johns, Suzenna Kredenser, Chris Leith, Ray Mudie, Olympus
Cameras, Tom O’Rourke, Shuki Sen, Rob Shreeve, Di Skinner, Paul Trynka, Sarah Wallace and Alan Williams.
Throughout the book I have been very sparing with name checks. Given that literally hundreds of people have worked with and
for us over the years (we had a crew of more than 200 on the last tour) it became impossible to credit or mention everyone.
Profuse apologies to all unnamed heroes or heroines.
This book is for Annette,
co-pilot, co-driver and when required perfect rock wife,
and also for the children, primarily Chloe,
Holly, Guy and Cary,
but also for all the long-suffering offspring of the band,
management and crew.
NB Release dates refer to UK releases
A Miscellany of Dates & Occurrences
1943
28 July 1943
Rick Wright born
6 September 1943
Roger Waters born
1944
27 January 1944
Nick Mason born
18 February 1944
Eric Fletcher Waters dies at Anzio
1945
8 May 1945
VE Day – the end of the Second World War in Europe
6 August 1945
Atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima
1946
6 January 1946
Syd Barrett born
6 March 1946
David Gilmour born
31 May 1946
London’s Heathrow airport opens
1947
14 October 1947
Chuck Yeager breaks sound barrier in the X-1
1948
1948
First 33 1/3 long-playing records released by Columbia Record Co.
30 January 1948
Mahatma Gandhi assassinated
1949
2 March 1949
First non-stop around-the-world flight by Capt. James Gallagher in a Boeing B-50A
1950
1 October 1950
First credit card issued, by Diners Club
1951
May 1951
The Royal Festival Hall, London, is opened as part of the Festival of Britain
July 1951
J.D. Salinger’s
Catcher In The Rye
published
1952
15 June 1952
Publication of
The Diary Of A Young Girl,
by Anne Frank
1953
5 February 1953
Sweets rationing ends in the UK
April 1953
Brigitte Bardot makes a stunning impact at the Cannes Film Festival
29 May 1953
Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing conquer Everest
2 June 1953
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
December 1953
First issue of
Playboy
published
1954
6 May 1954
Roger Bannister breaks the four-minute-mile barrier
1955
17 July 1955
Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California
30 September 1955
James Dean dies in a car crash four weeks before the release of
Rebel Without A Cause
1956
31 January 1956
John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten born
October 1956
Elvis Presley’s
Rock’n’Roll
album released.
Tommy Steele’s ‘Rock With The Caveman’ hits the UK charts
1957
February 1957
Bill Haley and the Comets’ tour of the UK, the first by a rock’n’roll act
5 September 1957
On The Road
by Jack Kerouac published
4 October 1957
Sputnik I, first satellite in space, launched
1958
1958
First stereo recordings released
February 1958
CND, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, founded in London
March 1958
The first march from Aldermaston to London in support of CND
25 March 1958
Elvis Presley inducted into the US Army
16 August 1958
Madonna Ciccone born
29 August 1958
Michael Jackson born
1959
3 February 1959
Buddy Holly dies
26 August 1959
Alec Issigonis’s Mini car launched
November 1959
The M1, Britain’s first motorway, opens, running between St Albans and Birmingham
1960
1 May 1960
U-2 spy plane piloted by Gary Powers brought down by Soviet Union
6 August 1960
Chubby Checker debuts the Twist on the Dick Clark Show
1961
1961
Nick Mason passes driving test
April 1961
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space
August 1961
The Berlin Wall is erected
1962
10 July 1962
Telstar communications satellite launched
5 August 1962
Marilyn Monroe found dead
September 1962
Roger Waters, Richard Wright and Nick Mason start their architecture course at the Regent Street Polytechnic
October 1962
The Cuban Missile Crisis
5 October 1962
First Bond movie,
Dr. No,
premieres
1963
4 June 1963
John Profumo, Conservative minister, resigns over a call-girl scandal
8 August 1963
The Great Train Robbery
9 August 1963
First broadcast of
Ready
Steady Go!
on ITV
7 October 1963
First flight of the Learjet 23
22 November 1963
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas
21 December 1963
First appearance of the Daleks on
Doctor Who
1964
1 January 1964
First broadcast of
Top Of The Pops
on BBC TV
May 1964
Mods and Rockers battle in Brighton
Easter 1964
Offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline starts broadcasting
October 1964
Harold Wilson’s Labour
government comes to power
1965
March 1965
First US combat troops sent to Vietnam
29 July 1965
The Beatles film
Help!
released
August 1965
First outdoor Notting Hill Carnival in London
15 August 1965
The Beatles perform at Shea Stadium to a then-record audience of over 55,000 fans
October 1965
Tea Set play at Libby and Rosie January’s birthday party
25 October 1965
The Beatles receive their MBEs from the Queen
1 November 1965
First concert at the Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco
1966
17 January 1966
Simon and Garfunkel release
Sounds Of Silence
March 1966
Pink Floyd play at the Marquee Club’s Spontaneous Underground event
29 June 1966
First British credit card, the Barclaycard, is issued
30 July 1966
England win the football World Cup
8 September 1966
First telecast of
Star Trek
30 September 1966
First Pink Floyd gig at All Saints Church Hall, Powis Gardens, London
15 October 1966
IT
launch party at the Roundhouse
31 October 1966
Blackhill Enterprises set up with Peter Jenner and Andrew King
4 November 1966
John Lennon says the Beatles are ‘more popular than Jesus Christ right now’
29 November 1966
Last appearance at All Saints Church Hall
3 December 1966
‘Psychodelphia vs Ian Smith’ event at the Roundhouse
12 December 1966
‘You’re Joking’ event at the Royal Albert Hall
23 December 1966
UFO club opening night
26 December 1966
Cultural Revolution declared in China
1967
6 January 1967
‘Freak Out Ethel’ event at Seymour Hall, London
11–12 January 1967
Recording session at Sound Techniques Studio in Chelsea includes ‘Arnold Layne’
17 January 1967
Commonwealth Institute show
12 February 1967
Keith Richards’ home at Redlands in Sussex raided by police
1 March 1967
Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank, London, opened
11 March 1967
‘Arnold Layne’ released
17 March 1967
Jimi Hendrix Experience’s ‘Purple Haze’ released
1 April 1967
EMI press launch
29–30 April 1967
The ‘14-Hour Technicolour Dream’ free speech festival at Alexandra Palace, London
