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Before they became a classic rock staple that churned out memorable tunes and underrated songs, Pink Floyd fought and clawed to attain popularity. Yet an early breakthrough led to a BBC TV appearance that keyboard player Rick Wright called the worst thing he ever did.

Pink Floyd’s Rick Wright said ‘it was horrible’ for the band to appear on ‘Top of the Pops’

Appearing on national television is a break most musicians would relish. 

For Pink Floyd, it was both a blessing and a curse. 

The blessing was getting on Top of the Pops a few weeks before their debut album hit shelves. The curse was realizing they didn’t have what it took to survive the music industry machine.

Floyd’s Syd Barrett-penned “See Emily Play” spent five weeks in the top 10 of England’s singles chart from mid-July to mid-August 1967. That placement garnered a spot on the BBC’s Top of the Pops.

To Barrett, who was all about artistic purity, performing on the show was akin to selling out. The more commercial presentation of the show went against the underground ethos the band possessed at the time. So did the lip-syncing Pink Floyd (and nearly every other band appearing on the show) had to do. It wasn’t a true live performance that would have showcased Floyd’s abilities.

His bandmates wanted to make music their career, but Wright admitted he shared Barrett’s sentiment about Top of the Pops several years later (via the band biography Saucerful of Secrets):

“‘Top of the Pops’ was definitely one of the worst things I did. It was horrible to be on it, a real drag.”

Pink Floyd member Rick Wright

Barrett didn’t enjoy the Top of the Pops appearance, and Wright admitted the same later on. His bandmates pushed Barrett out of the band in early 1968, and Wright never had to worry about a Pink Floyd single leading to a repeat appearance on the show. The only other Floyd song that became a top-10 hit in England was “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” from the 1979 album The Wall. Bassist Roger Waters, who emerged as the band’s primary songwriter and creative dynamo after they fired Barrett, fired Wright during the recording of the album.

Floyd scaled back its TV appearances in the 1970s anyway, but the band didn’t shun all performances in front of a camera.

1 of Pink Floyd’s iconic concerts was performed without fans

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Barrett’s rapid mental disintegration led Pink Floyd to jettison him and eventually reinvent itself as a prog rock band several years later. You can point to one song that predicted their The Dark Side of the Moon success as the moment they completely stepped out of Barrett’s shadow. 

Wright regretted Pink Floyd’s Top of the Pops appearances in 1967 (they played three times), but the band didn’t completely turn away from broadcast performances. 

Still, that didn’t stop them from stepping in front of the cameras to record one of their most iconic concerts.

Pink Floyd played at the the ruined amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy, over several days in 1971. The setlist, which included haunting songs such as “Echoes,” “One of These Days,” and “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,” was made spookier since the arena (like the city) was devoid of life aside from some creeping grasses and a small film crew. (You can watch the concert on a YouTube channel not affiliated with the band).

Though their TOTP performances underwhelmed, Floyd frequently appeared on French TV in 1969 and 1970. They graced Japanese and Australian airwaves in 1971. Floyd’s complex and layered arrangements and long songs didn’t translate to short TV broadcasts. 

Rick Wright said appearing on the BBC’s Top of the Pops was one of the worst things he ever did. Pink Floyd never really relished performing on TV, but they created a masterful and eccentric concert movie when the fans weren’t there.

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