On September 6, 1987 "Pink Floyd" released their 13th studio album - "A Momentary Lapse of Reason".
Here are 13 interesting facts about "Pink Floyd's" 13th album:
1. This is the first "Pink Floyd" album without Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985. The release of the album was accompanied by a legal battle over the use of the band name. Just 3 months after the release of the album this legal dispute was settled in a way that David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright could have used the band name.
2. The album was originally supposed to be David Gilmour's solo album. Only at an advanced stage of writing did Gilmore decide to turn the album into a "Pink Floyd" project.
3. Most of the album was recorded at David Gilmore's private boat house - Astoria. Producer Bob Ezrin noted that the atmosphere there was peaceful and very special, which among other things gave him the inspiration for the special opening of the album, where the sounds of rowing in the river water are heard.
4. Rick Wright joined the recordings only late after his wife approached David Gilmour. This was after most of the keyboard parts had already been written, so Wright participated in the playing and contributed background vocals only in some of the songs.
5. Due to contractual matters Rick Wright could not serve as a full member of the band and was employed by David Gilmour at a weekly salary of $ 11,000.
6. Nick Mason was also not a full partner in the creation and playing in this album. His absence is especially noticeable in the songs "The Dogs of War" and "Sorrow" in which Carmine Appice and Jim Keltner were the drummers.
7. Nick Mason, on the other hand, got to contribute his voice on the spoken words of the songs "Signs of Life" and "Learning to Fly". Mason's voice on the song "Learning to Fly" was recorded on his first solo flight.
8. The one who plays bass on the album is Tony Levin, who is known, among others, from "King Crimson".
9. Another interesting partner who co-wrote the song "One Slip" with Gilmore, is Phil Manzanera best known from "Roxy Music".
10. The album cover was aimed to annoy Roger Waters. The band invited none other than Storm Thorgerson to design the album cover. Thorgerson designed, among other things, the cover of Pink Floyd's "Animals", an album in which Waters' dominance became essential.
11. To reinforce the message to Waters, the remaining "Pink Floyd" members were photographed on the inside cover, something that has not been done since the 1971 album "Meddle".
12. The impressive Album Cover includes 800 beds that were rented ahead of time and brought especially to Saunton Sands Beach in North Devon - where some scenes from "The Wall" movie were filmed, and here's another statement from the band in the direction of Waters.
13. The tour that accompanied the album was among the band's most successful with 200 performances in front of about 4.5 million people worldwide and with revenues of over $ 75,000,000. The successful tour eventually yielded the 1988 double live album "Delicate Sound of Thunder".