Pink Floyd

Royal Mail will issue a set of 10 stamps on July 7 to celebrate one of the most influential British rock bands of all time, Pink Floyd.

Six self-adhesive stamps reproduce iconic record sleeve designs, in the same freeform style as the 2010 Classic Album Covers set (which included a different Pink Floyd album). A Pink Floyd Live miniature sheet of four further designs is based on photographs from stage performances, taken over four different decades.

Pink Floyd was formed in 1965 by bass guitarist Roger Waters, drummer Nick Mason, keyboard player Rick Wright and guitarist Syd Barrett (whose mental health problems saw him replaced by guitarist David Gilmour by 1968). The issue marks 50 years since the band turned professional in 1966.

They created some of the most totemic albums in rock history, but were also renowned for their innovative cover designs, created by leading photographers and graphic designers, and live performances, making ambitious use of light shows and film projections.

Waters left the band in 1985, Barrett died in 2006 and Wright in 2008, but Gilmour and Mason released a studio album as Pink Floyd as recently as 2014.

1st class THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN

The band’s psychedelic debut album, released in 1967, was named after a chapter in Kenneth Grahame’s classic children’s novel, The Wind In The Willows, one of Syd Barrett’s favourite books. Photographer Vic Singh created the image using a prism lens given to him by George Harrison of The Beatles.

1st class ATOM HEART MOTHER

Floyd’s fifth album, in 1970, was the first of many not to feature the band’s name on the front of the sleeve. It was designed by Hipgnosis, co-founded by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell, and the cow’s name was Lulubelle III.

1st class THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

With sales in excess of 40 million copies worldwide, this 1973 album is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-charting record ever, having remained in the Billboard chart in the USA more than 40 years. Its prism design is an all-time classic, created by Hipgnosis from graphics by George Hardie.

£1.52 WISH YOU WERE HERE

The Hipgnosis design for this 1975 cover was based on a real photograph, not a computer-generated image. But you couldn’t see it in the shops because it was shrink-wrapped in opaque black plastic!

£1.52 ANIMALS

Released in 1977, this album’s legendary illustration of London’s Battersea Power Station being overflown by an inflatable flying pig was designed by Roger Waters.

£1.52 THE ENDLESS RIVER

The cover for this 2014 album, ostensibly a tribute to the late Richard Wright, is based on 18-year-old graphic designer Ahmed Emad Eldin’s enigmatic work, recreated by photographer Simon Fowler.

MINIATURE SHEET

1st class UFO CLUB, 1966

Pink Floyd were booked for the opening night when the UFO Club opened in London in December, 1966, and it was there that they invented their psychedelic light show.

1st class THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON TOUR, 1973

This show included innovative lighting techniques and the special effect of a model aircraft flying over the audience and then crashing into the stage at the end of On The Run.

£1.52 THE WALL TOUR, 1981

During this show a series of animations, designed by Gerald Scarfe and Roger Waters, were projected onto a 40ft high wall of cardboard bricks which was gradually built up between the band and audience.

£1.52 THE DIVISION BELL TOUR, 1994

Over five million tickets were sold for the spectacular stadium shows which comprised the last tour by Pink Floyd, in some of which the band played The Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety.

OTHER PRODUCTS

The Dark Side Of The Moon design is also available in a special sheetlet of 10, in the same way as the design featuring the Pink Floyd album The Division Bell was offered in a sheetlet of 10 following the 2010 Classic Album Covers issue. As then, it is not expected to be available from post offices.

PRICES

Set of 6 stamps   £6.48

Miniature sheet   £4.32

Presentation pack   £11.30

Stamp cards   £4.95

First day cover (stamps)   £8.20

First day cover (mini-sheet)   £5.60

VERDICT

COMMEMORATIVE WORTH   3/5

This is the most influential band in modern music, but a second commemoration in six years seems extreme

QUALITY OF DESIGN   2/5

Some of the albums covers are classic pieces of design, although Royal Mail’s input is limited

WOW FACTOR   4/5

Music fans will enjoy seeing these iconic images, and watching for pigs on the wing

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