105 lines
4.9 KiB
Plaintext
105 lines
4.9 KiB
Plaintext
Melody Maker
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August 5, 1967
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p. 7
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by Chris Welsh
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THE GREAT PINK FLOYD MYSTERY
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As thousands in ballrooms and assorted hell-holes across the
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country are deafened and blinded nightly by the Pink Floyd, the
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well-known psychedelic group, thousands might be forgiven for
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thinking: "What the 'ell's it all about ?"
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Are the Pink Floyd being quite honest when they make coy and
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attractive records like "See Emily Play" then proceed to make the
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night hideous with a thunderous, incomprehensible, screaming,
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sonic torture that five American doctors agree could permanently
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damage the senses ?
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FRUSTRATED
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The Floyd do not wish to appear dishonest, but they are
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worried. They appreciate the contrast between their records and
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live performances, agree the latter might not be all that they
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should be, and are taking steps to rectify the situation.
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Roger Waters, bass player, with rather aesthetic good looks,
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and a taste for frequent pints of bitter, grappled frankly with
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Floyd problems this week.
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"We're being frustrated at the moment by the fact that to
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stay alive we have to play lots and lots of places and venues
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that are not really suitable. This can't last obviously and
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we're hoping to create our own venues."
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Roger accepted a government-approved cigarette and warmed to
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his theme: "We all like our music. That's the only driving force
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behind us. All the trappings of becoming vaguely successful -
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like being able to buy bigger amplifiers - none of that stuff is
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really important.
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STAR
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"We've got a name of sorts now among the public so everybody
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comes to have a look at us, and we get full houses. But the
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atmosphere in these places is very stale. There is no feeling of
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occasion.
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"There is no nastiness about it, but we don't get rebooked
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on the club or ballroom circuit. What I'm trying to say is that
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the sort of thing we are trying to do doesn't fit into the sort
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of environment we are playing in. The supporting bands play
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'Midnight Hour' and the records are all soul, then we come on.
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"I've got nothing against the people who come, and I'm not
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putting down our audiences. But they have to compare everybody.
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So-and-so's group is better than everybody else. It's like
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marking exercise books. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich get
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a gold star in the margin, or 'Tick - Very Good.'
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"On the club scene we rate about two out of ten and 'Must
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try harder.'
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"We've had problems with our equipment and we can't get the
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P.A. to work because we play extremely loudly. It's a pity
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because Syd (singer Syd Barrett) writes great lyrics and nobody
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ever hears them.
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STAGE
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"Maybe it's our fault because we are trying too hard. After
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all the human voice can't compete with Fender Telecasters and
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double drum kits. We're a very young group, not in age, but in
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experience. We're trying to solve problems that haven't existed
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before. Perhaps we should stop trying to do our singles on
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stage. Even the Beatles, when they worked live, sounded like
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their records. But the sort of records we make today are
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impossible to reproduce on stage so there is no point in trying."
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Isn't this being dishonest ?
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"This is the point: We don't think so. We still do 'Arnold
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Layne' and struggle through 'Emily' occasionally. We don't think
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it's dishonest because we can't play live what we play on
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records. It's a perfectly ok scene. Can you imagine somebody
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trying to play 'A Day In The Life'? Yet that's one of the
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greatest tracks ever made. A lot of stuff on our LP is
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completely impossible to do live. We've got the recording side
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together and not the playing side."
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"So what we've got to do now is get together a stage act
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that has nothing to do with our records, things like
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'Interstellar Overdrive' which is beautiful, and instrumentals
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that are much easier to play."
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Are the group depressed when they fail to communicate with
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an audience ? "It's sometimes depressing and becomes a drag.
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There are various things you can do. You can close your mind to
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the fact you're not happening with the audience and play for
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yourself. When the music clicks, even if it's only with ten or
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twelve people, it's such a gas.
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"We're trying to play music of which it can be said that it
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has freedom of feeling. That sounds very corny, but it is very
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free."
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What is the future of the Floyd ? "We can't go on doing
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clubs and ballrooms. We want a brand new environment, and we've
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hit on the idea of using a big top. We'll have a huge tent and
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go around like a travelling circus. We'll have a huge screen 120
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feet wide and 40 feet high inside and project films and slides.
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CIRCUS
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"We'll play the big cities, or anywhere and become an
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occasion, just like a circus. It'll be a beautiful scene. It
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could even be the salvation of the circus!
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"The thing is, I don't think we can go on doing what we are
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doing now. If we do, we'll all be on the dole."
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