Paul McCartney Almost Had a Guest Appearance on Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’

Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the most legendary rock albums from the 1970s. It’s achieved an almost mystifying status as its otherworldly music transfixed audiences. The album doesn’t include collaborations with other artists. There was nearly a voice cameo from former Beatle Paul McCartney, but Pink Floyd left it off the record. 

Paul McCartney recorded an interview for Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’

Pink Floyd recorded The Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road Studios, the recording studio made famous by The Beatles. During the final week of recording, Pink Floyd’s bassist Roger Waters went around the studio and interviewed several staff members and musicians. These questions started with basic questions, like “What’s your favorite color?” and “What’s your favorite food?” After that, it moved into more serious questions that revolved around the album’s central themes, such as violence, death, and chaos. 

Several of these answers were included in the final edit of The Dark Side of the Moon. Since Paul McCartney was frequently in the halls of Abbey Road, Waters interviewed him and his wife, Linda, for the Pink Floyd album. However, his interview was left off the album. In the book The Dark Side of the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece, Waters told author John Harris that McCartney’s interview was “useless” because he was trying too hard. 

“He was the only one who found it necessary to perform, which was useless,” Waters said. “I thought it was really interesting that he would do that. He was trying to be funny, which wasn’t what we wanted at all.”

However, Wing’s guitarist Henry McCullough did make it on the album, contributing the line, “I don’t know, I was really drunk at the time.”

The Beatles still made an appearance on the album

While Pink Floyd didn’t include Paul McCartney’s interview, his influence can be heard faintly on The Dark Side of the Moon. One of Waters’ interviews was with Abbey Road doorman, Gerry O’Driscoll. While O’Driscoll was being recorded, an instrumental version of The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride” was played in the background. 

Driscoll’s interview was featured at the end of “Eclipse” and “Ticket to Ride” can be heard when listening closely. While this was unintentional, it still shows The Beatles’ power in Abbey Road, even after they had ended. 

How did ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ perform on the charts?

While The Dark Side of the Moon is Pink Floyd’s most famous album, it wasn’t their most successful then. It did reach No. 1 in the U.S., but only for 1 week. Another of their albums, The Wall, held the No. 1 spot for 15 weeks, an impressive record for any album. 

However, The Dark Side of the Moon often reappears on the Billboard 200 as it spikes in popularity even 50 years after its release. It has been on the Billboard 200 for 981 weeks, by far the longest for any album. It also has sold over 45 million copies since 1973, making it the biggest-selling album by any British band.