By the time Pink Floyd started recording \u201cThe Wall\u201d in January 1979, tensions had been simmering for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Dark Side of the Moon<\/a>,\u201d released in 1973, had catapulted Pink Floyd to superstardom. But the band members struggled over how to build off the success of \u201cDark Side\u201d and make another hit album.<\/p>\n They had already fought among themselves when recording their follow-up albums, 1975\u2019s \u201cWish You Were Here<\/a>\u201d and 1977\u2019s \u201cAnimals<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger Waters, the band\u2019s bassist and co-lead singer, took charge for \u201cWish You Were Here.\u201d He decided which tracks would appear and essentially dictated the album\u2019s conceptual themes, which included alienation, a critique of the music industry and a tribute to former bandmate Syd Barrett, who had left the band in 1968 due to mental health struggles<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the process, Waters ended up cutting the songs \u201cRaving and Drooling\u201d and \u201cGotta be Crazy\u201d against guitarist and co-vocalist David Gilmour\u2019s wishes. Perhaps feeling suffocated by Waters, Richard Wright and David Gilmour took a stab at solo albums in 1978, with Wright releasing \u201cWet Dream\u201d and Gilmour debuting the self-titled \u201cDavid Gilmour.\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting on his first solo album, Gilmour said<\/a>, it \u201cwas important to me in terms of self respect. At first I didn\u2019t think my name was big enough to carry it. Being in a group for so long can be a bit claustrophobic, and I needed to step out from behind Floyd\u2019s shadow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Wall\u201d would be the band\u2019s next project \u2013 and, again, Waters asserted control.<\/p>\n Waters was partly inspired by an infamous incident that took place during the In the Flesh tour, which promoted the album \u201cAnimals.\u201d Annoyed by the sound of firecrackers \u2013 and feeling as if the crowd wasn\u2019t listening to their music or lyrics \u2013 Waters spat on the audience<\/a>. He later mused about building a wall between him and his fans. The seed for \u201cThe Wall\u201d was planted.<\/p>\n In July 1978, he presented a 90-minute demo<\/a> to the rest of the band, proposing two concepts for the next album: \u201cBricks in the Wall\u201d and \u201cThe Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking.\u201d<\/p>\n The band members agreed to make an album focused on the first of the two. It would be about the struggles and isolation of rock stardom, and its central character would be named Pink Floyd.<\/p>\n The name of the character belied the fact that this would largely be a one-man show. As musicologist Allan F. Moore observed<\/a>, \u201cWaters\u2019 growing megalomania, much in evidence on \u2018The Wall,\u2019 became harder to handle.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact that the album\u2019s central story was semi-autobiographical, based on Waters and former band member Syd Barrett, probably didn\u2019t help matters. The motif of walls symbolized the defense mechanisms Waters had built up against those who might hurt him \u2013 parents, teachers, wives and lovers. Some lyrics deal with the death of his father, others with infidelity.<\/p>\n If David Gilmour had ideas for ways to contribute to Waters\u2019 vision, they were barely incorporated. Waters did include fragments from demos associated with Gilmour\u2019s solo projects. But in the end, Gilmour only received three co-writing credits \u2013 for \u201cRun Like Hell,\u201d \u201cYoung Lust\u201d and \u201cComfortably Numb.\u201d Drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright didn\u2019t receive any at all.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/304135\/original\/file-20191127-112526-19labqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip\")
\nWikimedia Commons<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n\u201cDave was always clear that he wanted to do the other two songs,\u201d Waters recalled<\/a>. \u201cHe never quite copped what I was talking about. But Rick did and Nicky did, and he was outvoted so we went on.\u201d<\/p>\nThe shadow of \u2018The Wall\u2019<\/h2>\n
![Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRoger Waters, the band\u2019s bassist and co-lead singer, took charge for \u201cWish You Were Here.\u201d He decided which tracks would appear and essentially dictated the album\u2019s conceptual themes, which included alienation, a critique of the music industry and a tribute to former bandmate Syd Barrett, who had left the band in 1968 due to mental health struggles<\/a>.<\/p>\nIn the process, Waters ended up cutting the songs \u201cRaving and Drooling\u201d and \u201cGotta be Crazy\u201d against guitarist and co-vocalist David Gilmour\u2019s wishes.\n\u201cDave was always clear that he wanted to do the other two songs,\u201d Waters recalled<\/a>. \u201cHe never quite copped what I was talking about. But Rick did and Nicky did, and he was outvoted so we went on.\u201d<\/p>\nPerhaps feeling suffocated by Waters, Richard Wright and David Gilmour took a stab at solo albums in 1978, with Wright releasing \u201cWet Dream\u201d and Gilmour debuting the self-titled \u201cDavid Gilmour.\u201d<\/p>\nReflecting on his first solo album, Gilmour said<\/a>, it \u201cwas important to me in terms of self respect. At first I didn\u2019t think my name was big enough to carry it. Being in a group for so long can be a bit claustrophobic, and I needed to step out from behind Floyd\u2019s shadow.\u201d<\/p>\nThe shadow of \u2018The Wall\u2019<\/h2>\n\u201cThe Wall\u201d would be the band\u2019s next project \u2013 and, again, Waters asserted control.<\/p>\nWaters was partly inspired by an infamous incident that took place during the In the Flesh tour, which promoted the album \u201cAnimals.\u201d Annoyed by the sound of firecrackers \u2013 and feeling as if the crowd wasn\u2019t listening to their music or lyrics \u2013 Waters spat on the audience<\/a>. He later mused about building a wall between him and his fans. The seed for \u201cThe Wall\u201d was planted.<\/p>\nIn July 1978, he presented a 90-minute demo<\/a> to the rest of the band, proposing two concepts for the next album: \u201cBricks in the Wall\u201d and \u201cThe Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking.\u201d<\/p>\nThe band members agreed to make an album focused on the first of the two. It would be about the struggles and isolation of rock stardom, and its central character would be named Pink Floyd.<\/p>\nThe name of the character belied the fact that this would largely be a one-man show. As musicologist Allan F. Moore observed<\/a>, \u201cWaters\u2019 growing megalomania, much in evidence on \u2018The Wall,\u2019 became harder to handle.\u201d<\/p>\nThe fact that the album\u2019s central story was semi-autobiographical, based on Waters and former band member Syd Barrett, probably didn\u2019t help matters. The motif of walls symbolized the defense mechanisms Waters had built up against those who might hurt him \u2013 parents, teachers, wives and lovers. Some lyrics deal with the death of his father, others with infidelity.<\/p>\nIf David Gilmour had ideas for ways to contribute to Waters\u2019 vision, they were barely incorporated. Waters did include fragments from demos associated with Gilmour\u2019s solo projects. But in the end, Gilmour only received three co-writing credits \u2013 for \u201cRun Like Hell,\u201d \u201cYoung Lust\u201d and \u201cComfortably Numb.\u201d Drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright didn\u2019t receive any at all.<\/p>\n](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/4\/4d\/Pink_Floyd%2C_1971.jpg\"){kind=link}