Paul McCartney’s Prediction For Pink Floyd Proved Right

The Beatles’ psychedelic pop masterpiece Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band remains an iconic album from the era. Pink Floyd’s debut record, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, is another. Paul McCartney was a guiding force behind Sgt. Pepper’s, including coming up with the title, but he took time to “pass the mantle” to Pink Floyd. McCartney’s prediction about Floyd’s potential (which came with some reassuring words) was 100% right.

The Beatles met Pink Floyd while both recorded at Abbey Road Studios

The Fab Four practically lived at Abbey Road studios in the 1960s. They recorded several singles and albums in the famed London studio. If the Beatles were seasoned vets in 1967, then Pink Floyd were the recording rookies.

Members of The Beatles and Pink Floyd weren’t strangers to each other. Paul and John Lennon attended an early Pink Floyd gig in a London club. Floyd recorded Piper next door to The Beatles as they made Sgt. Pepper.

Both bands’ careers didn’t overlap very much. The Fab Four called it a day several years before Floyd hit their peak in the 1970s. Yet Paul might have sensed Pink Floyd’s greatness to come. He “passed the mantle” to Pink Floyd with some kind words as they fumbled their way through their Piper recording sessions.

Paul’s prediction about Pink Floyd as he ‘passed the mantle’ was completely right

Paul and John watched Pink Floyd perform before they had a recording contract. The pair might not have seen them as threats — why would they in 1967? But Paul seemed to know Pink Floyd had what it took to become the next massively popular band to launch out of London.

While Floyd made The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in an adjacent Abbey Road studio, Paul took a trip down the hall to pay a visit. Barry Miles, Paul’s friend and founder of the Indica Bookshop that served as a hub for London’s counterculture, went too, along with Ringo Starr and George Harrison (per Schaffner). 

Miles recalls the fledgling band being nervous and naive while recording. Meanwhile, he said Paul passed the torch to Pink Floyd with some genuinely kind words:

“Paul was patting them on the back, saying they were great and were going to do fine. He wasn’t being patronizing. It was almost like the Beatles passing on the mantle — at least some of it — and acknowledging the existence of a new generation of music. In my discussions with him, [Paul] had always been convinced that there would be a new synthesis of electronic music, studio techniques, and rock ‘n’ roll. He didn’t see The Beatles as being quite the vehicle for that. But the Pink Floyd, he thought, were the very stuff that we’d been talking about.”

Paul McCartney’s friend Barry Miles

Paul couldn’t have been more right. Unlike The Beatles, Pink Floyd counted a keyboard player — Rick Wright — among its members. His skilled playing, coupled with rapid technological advancements that could turn keyboard tones into otherworldly sounds, led to soundscapes The Beatles never had an opportunity to explore.

Paul passed The Beatles’ baton on to Pink Floyd in 1967, at least from Miles’ perspective. The international fame, millions of records sold, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction proved Macca right in the end.

Macca recorded with Floyd guitarist David Gilmour several times

Paul’s words of encouragement must have left a mark on Pink Floyd. The band included him on some sessions for their 1973 opus The Dark Side of the Moon. (They didn’t use Paul’s contributions).

Macca and Floyd guitarist David Gilmour collaborated several times after Dark Side. Gilmour played on the 1979 Wings album Back to the Egg. Gilmour was a rare bright spot on Paul’s disastrous project Give My Regards to Broad Street, and he appeared on the song “We Got Married” on Macca’s 1989 Flowers in the Dirt record.

Floyd bassist Roger Waters was more of a John fan. He had a regrettable encounter with John in 1967 — regrettable because neither was on their best behavior. Still, he later gave John high praise as a songwriter. 

Paul McCartney passed The Beatles musical torch to Pink Floyd with reassuring words in 1967. Macca and his friend Barry Miles both believed Floyd was the future of music. It didn’t take long for both of them to be proven right.

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