1 00:00:31,092 --> 00:00:35,952 # We don't need no education 2 00:00:36,935 --> 00:00:39,554 On June the 17th, 1981, 3 00:00:39,854 --> 00:00:44,025 "The Wall" came crashing down on London's Earl's Court 4 00:00:44,441 --> 00:00:49,547 ending the most ambitious rock extravaganza the world had ever seen. 5 00:00:50,401 --> 00:00:52,894 It just always seemed like a good idea 6 00:00:52,929 --> 00:00:56,377 to give people something a bit more theatrical and dramatic 7 00:00:56,412 --> 00:00:59,649 than four guys on stage playing instruments and singing. 8 00:00:59,709 --> 00:01:01,309 #...leave the kids alone. 9 00:01:02,036 --> 00:01:04,567 Pink Floyd were of a new generation 10 00:01:04,767 --> 00:01:09,034 who believed that rock had no boundaries musically or visually. 11 00:01:09,159 --> 00:01:10,717 Everything was possible. 12 00:01:10,859 --> 00:01:16,332 It was an amazing amalgam of different tools in media. 13 00:01:16,665 --> 00:01:18,799 Nobody'd done that at the time. 14 00:01:18,866 --> 00:01:22,247 You feel the repercussions now... still. 15 00:01:23,308 --> 00:01:26,535 # So where were the spiders 16 00:01:26,619 --> 00:01:31,824 Whole new worlds were created as rock pushed on into unexplored territory. 17 00:01:32,955 --> 00:01:37,967 Within arts generally, there's always the feeling that one has to innovate 18 00:01:38,067 --> 00:01:40,705 and reevaluate and then move on. 19 00:01:40,805 --> 00:01:42,168 So it happened in rock. 20 00:01:42,802 --> 00:01:45,763 #...and should we crush his sweet hands? 21 00:01:46,601 --> 00:01:49,914 # Make me a deal and make it straight 22 00:01:50,014 --> 00:01:52,348 # All signed and sealed, I´ll take it 23 00:01:52,383 --> 00:01:56,332 Out went the rule book, and in came a spirit of experiment. 24 00:01:56,398 --> 00:01:59,582 As opposed to just here's the voice, here's the chorus, here's the solo, 25 00:01:59,682 --> 00:02:01,395 and here's the bridge, and then good night. 26 00:02:01,580 --> 00:02:05,075 It was all kind of... you didn't know what was gonna happen next. 27 00:02:05,175 --> 00:02:07,619 # ...tryin' to make the big time. 28 00:02:07,719 --> 00:02:11,636 # I know what I like... 29 00:02:12,738 --> 00:02:14,756 No longer was it boy meets girl, 30 00:02:14,956 --> 00:02:18,388 now it was boy meets ideas. 31 00:02:18,940 --> 00:02:21,054 The gates had been kicked open. 32 00:02:21,444 --> 00:02:26,931 It was a childhood, you know, it was exploration, experimentation, 33 00:02:27,031 --> 00:02:29,557 and sniff and smell everything. 34 00:02:32,859 --> 00:02:36,848 From its simple beginnings, rock had become theatrical spectacle 35 00:02:36,948 --> 00:02:38,627 on a grand scale. 36 00:02:39,696 --> 00:02:42,011 This was a musical earthquake 37 00:02:42,111 --> 00:02:45,131 that was to shake every rock act that followed. 38 00:02:45,879 --> 00:02:50,149 This was the Second Age of Rock. 39 00:03:04,783 --> 00:03:09,404 It's 1967, and rock music is about to undergo a revolution, 40 00:03:10,173 --> 00:03:12,394 although you wouldn't have known it from the charts. 41 00:03:18,002 --> 00:03:22,918 But then, BMI signed a band that would change British musical landscape, 42 00:03:27,169 --> 00:03:29,343 # Arnold Layne... 43 00:03:29,443 --> 00:03:32,026 their name was Pink Floyd. 44 00:03:32,126 --> 00:03:34,683 # ...had a strange hobby 45 00:03:37,918 --> 00:03:40,812 # Collecting clothes 46 00:03:40,912 --> 00:03:46,671 # Moonshine washing line 47 00:03:46,935 --> 00:03:49,551 # They suit him fine 48 00:03:49,651 --> 00:03:51,931 Arnold Layne, the band's first single, 49 00:03:52,031 --> 00:03:54,995 was the story of an underwear stealing transvestite, 50 00:03:55,195 --> 00:03:58,437 not an obvious subject for immediate chart success. 51 00:03:58,763 --> 00:04:00,052 # ...a tall mirror 52 00:04:00,452 --> 00:04:03,399 If you look, certainly, at the headlines around at the time, 53 00:04:03,499 --> 00:04:05,926 they were saying the "Pinky Kinkies" and there was... 54 00:04:06,226 --> 00:04:09,160 talk of whether BBC was gonna ban it and all this stuff. 55 00:04:09,204 --> 00:04:11,703 So I guess it's part and parcel, really, of that sense that 56 00:04:11,738 --> 00:04:15,036 Pink Floyd was all gleefully pushing the envelope a little bit. 57 00:04:15,137 --> 00:04:16,861 # Oh, Arnold Layne 58 00:04:16,962 --> 00:04:19,609 # It's not the same... 59 00:04:19,659 --> 00:04:23,500 Pink Floyd consisted of Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, 60 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,243 and their maverick song-writer, Syd Barrett, 61 00:04:26,343 --> 00:04:28,690 an art school student from Cambridge. 62 00:04:30,501 --> 00:04:32,373 # Why can't you see? 63 00:04:35,075 --> 00:04:38,425 No one in those days would have written a song like that except for Syd. 64 00:04:38,613 --> 00:04:40,923 I suppose that should've given us an indication, this... 65 00:04:41,196 --> 00:04:43,828 this guy's brain is rather different to ours. 66 00:04:45,091 --> 00:04:48,077 Syd and the band defined a new kind of rock, 67 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,394 psychedelic, mind-expanding. 68 00:04:51,907 --> 00:04:56,164 This was rock meets the Mad Hatter's tea party. 69 00:04:56,770 --> 00:05:02,284 I was passionately in love with the writing of Syd Barrett, from Pink Floyd. 70 00:05:03,225 --> 00:05:06,987 There was something slightly not-quite-with-us about Syd 71 00:05:07,428 --> 00:05:12,003 that really appealed to me strongly. There was a Peter Pan quality about him. 72 00:05:19,599 --> 00:05:22,470 Pink Floyd's second single, "See Emily Play", 73 00:05:22,570 --> 00:05:25,352 allegedly told the story of young aristocrat 74 00:05:25,552 --> 00:05:28,074 known as the psychedelic schoolgirl. 75 00:05:28,612 --> 00:05:33,290 # Emily tries but misunderstands 76 00:05:35,051 --> 00:05:40,949 # She often inclined to borrow somebody's dreams till tomorrow 77 00:05:42,023 --> 00:05:45,095 # There is no other day 78 00:05:45,809 --> 00:05:48,891 # Let's try it another way 79 00:05:49,641 --> 00:05:53,077 # You'll lose your mind and play 80 00:05:53,652 --> 00:05:57,246 # Free games for may 81 00:05:57,346 --> 00:06:02,027 # See Emily play 82 00:06:09,421 --> 00:06:11,385 It had 'hit' written all over it. 83 00:06:11,515 --> 00:06:15,848 Suddenly it took the band from being a sort of underground band 84 00:06:15,948 --> 00:06:19,204 and turned them into a 'top of the pops' pop phenomenon. 85 00:06:19,356 --> 00:06:22,358 And that meant that there was an awful lot of idiot questions, 86 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,579 and an awful lot of pressure on Syd to do interviews. 87 00:06:25,802 --> 00:06:29,551 Why has it all got to be so terribly loud? I just can't bear it. 88 00:06:29,674 --> 00:06:33,059 I happen to have grown up in the String Quartet, which is a bit softer, 89 00:06:33,307 --> 00:06:35,555 so, why has it got to be so loud? 90 00:06:35,590 --> 00:06:38,443 Well, I don't guess it has to be but that's just the way we like it. 91 00:06:38,543 --> 00:06:42,194 # See Emily play 92 00:06:42,373 --> 00:06:44,792 "See Emily Play" was a top ten hit, 93 00:06:44,922 --> 00:06:47,643 and Syd and the Floyd became household names. 94 00:06:47,693 --> 00:06:51,030 But Syd didn't want to be a household name. 95 00:06:52,008 --> 00:06:55,220 I think by the time we got on "Top of the Pops" Syd was already... 96 00:06:55,597 --> 00:07:01,019 struggling with the whole concept of being a commercial rock musician 97 00:07:01,054 --> 00:07:02,476 rather than being an artist. 98 00:07:05,087 --> 00:07:09,247 What Syd wanted was a return to the band's early experimental days, 99 00:07:09,347 --> 00:07:11,754 when he created musical happenings. 100 00:07:22,211 --> 00:07:24,522 Syd was responsible for "Interstellar Overdrive" 101 00:07:24,557 --> 00:07:29,079 which was improvised, lengthy, no lyrics, atmospheric, 102 00:07:29,179 --> 00:07:35,248 and actually ran through a whole series of musical ideas in one piece. 103 00:07:36,172 --> 00:07:40,270 "Interstellar Overdrive" became the centerpiece of the band's live show, 104 00:07:40,470 --> 00:07:44,272 it lasted anything from 10 to 30 minutes. 105 00:07:46,529 --> 00:07:49,737 It's built like a piece of experimental music. 106 00:07:49,837 --> 00:07:53,499 These four musicians, even the drummer, really are just exploring and seeing 107 00:07:53,534 --> 00:07:54,857 what they could do. 108 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,263 So it's rock music, but it's not rock music 109 00:07:57,363 --> 00:08:01,093 really as it'd been understood as rock music prior to that point. 110 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:03,004 There are analogies you can draw between that 111 00:08:03,039 --> 00:08:05,603 and what the Velvet Underground were doing at that point in New York. 112 00:08:25,021 --> 00:08:28,098 The Velvet Underground were testing the limits of rock 113 00:08:28,198 --> 00:08:30,627 in a way no other band had ever dared. 114 00:08:30,937 --> 00:08:34,462 # White light, White light goin' messin' up my mind 115 00:08:34,562 --> 00:08:38,489 # White light, and don't you know its gonna make me go blind 116 00:08:38,589 --> 00:08:42,193 # White heat, aww white heat it tickle me down to my toes 117 00:08:42,293 --> 00:08:46,198 # White light, Ooo have mercy while I'll have it goodness knows 118 00:08:46,298 --> 00:08:49,792 # White light, White light goin' messin' up my brain 119 00:08:49,892 --> 00:08:53,699 # White light, Aww white light its gonna drive me insane 120 00:08:53,799 --> 00:08:57,602 # White heat, Aww white heat it tickle me down to my toes 121 00:08:57,702 --> 00:09:01,750 # White light, Aww white light I said now goodness knows, do it 122 00:09:01,850 --> 00:09:05,198 The Velvets were formed by singer and songwriter Lou Reed, 123 00:09:06,274 --> 00:09:08,544 guitarist Sterling Morrison, 124 00:09:08,545 --> 00:09:11,057 drummer Maureen "Moe" Tucker, 125 00:09:11,278 --> 00:09:13,875 and British viola player, John Cale. 126 00:09:14,014 --> 00:09:16,476 We put three-chord rock into one-chord rock, you know, 127 00:09:16,511 --> 00:09:18,295 we just had a drone through everything. 128 00:09:18,572 --> 00:09:21,794 And one of the things that the drone did for a lot of the songs is that 129 00:09:21,894 --> 00:09:27,589 it created a tapestry for the ideas we were very insistent on, breaking rules. 130 00:09:37,208 --> 00:09:40,458 The Velvet Underground used New York's dark underbelly, 131 00:09:40,558 --> 00:09:44,817 with its mean streets and drug deals, as raw material for their songs. 132 00:09:45,035 --> 00:09:47,790 This was unheard of in rock music at the time. 133 00:09:47,971 --> 00:09:51,714 # I'm waiting for my man 134 00:09:55,516 --> 00:09:59,710 # Twenty-six dollars in my hand 135 00:10:02,499 --> 00:10:05,794 # Up to Lexington, 125 136 00:10:05,894 --> 00:10:09,630 # Feel sick and dirty, more dead than alive 137 00:10:11,035 --> 00:10:14,662 # I'm waiting for my man 138 00:10:15,082 --> 00:10:17,119 There was a big deal about what we were writing about 139 00:10:17,154 --> 00:10:20,043 but in novels it would be a big nothing. 140 00:10:20,398 --> 00:10:23,795 It was just really absurd. 141 00:10:25,512 --> 00:10:29,785 The godfather of American pop-art, Andy Warhol, was intrigued, 142 00:10:30,163 --> 00:10:34,088 and went to see the band at the aptly named, "Café Bizarre". 143 00:10:36,703 --> 00:10:40,190 # Oh pardon me sir, it's the furthest from my mind 144 00:10:41,053 --> 00:10:42,226 He liked what he saw 145 00:10:42,326 --> 00:10:45,419 and invited the Velvets to hang out and rehearse at the Factory, 146 00:10:45,519 --> 00:10:47,045 his Manhattan studio. 147 00:10:51,667 --> 00:10:54,487 He also decided to become the band's manager. 148 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,903 We're sponsoring a new band, it's called the Velvet Underground. 149 00:10:59,380 --> 00:11:01,228 Well, since I don’t really believe in painting anymore 150 00:11:01,263 --> 00:11:02,678 I thought it would be a nice way 151 00:11:02,778 --> 00:11:07,088 of combining music and art and films all together. 152 00:11:07,188 --> 00:11:11,839 And the whole thing is being auditioned tomorrow at 9:00. 153 00:11:12,161 --> 00:11:14,402 And if it works out it might be very glamorous. 154 00:11:14,972 --> 00:11:18,594 # First thing you learn is you always gotta wait 155 00:11:18,694 --> 00:11:21,785 The audition was provocatively held at the annual dinner 156 00:11:21,885 --> 00:11:25,046 of the New York Society for Clinical Psychiatry, 157 00:11:25,146 --> 00:11:27,360 at the swish, little Monaco Hotel. 158 00:11:28,064 --> 00:11:30,128 Warhol had been asked to give a lecture, 159 00:11:30,228 --> 00:11:33,537 but instead, decided to give the Velvet's announcing. 160 00:11:33,637 --> 00:11:36,735 He brought everybody from the Factory down, including us. 161 00:11:37,516 --> 00:11:39,809 But I don't remember whether we played 162 00:11:39,844 --> 00:11:43,324 or people just run around interviewing psychiatrists. 163 00:11:45,735 --> 00:11:48,640 One commentator described the night as "shock treatment" 164 00:11:48,740 --> 00:11:52,868 administered by the Velvets to an increasingly nervous group of shrinks. 165 00:11:54,613 --> 00:11:57,668 # I'm waiting for my man 166 00:11:59,342 --> 00:12:03,537 With Warhol now in charge of the asylum he landed the Velvets a recording deal, 167 00:12:03,637 --> 00:12:09,001 but insisted on adding his new discovery, German singer, Nico, to the line-up. 168 00:12:15,152 --> 00:12:21,641 # And what costume shall the poor girl wear 169 00:12:24,729 --> 00:12:29,869 # To all tomorrow's parties 170 00:12:29,986 --> 00:12:31,379 Andy made everything possible. 171 00:12:31,414 --> 00:12:36,728 I don't know if I ever would've been able to keep writing what I was writing 172 00:12:36,763 --> 00:12:40,034 if it hadn't been for Andy and his... 173 00:12:40,549 --> 00:12:43,468 umbrella of protection and his approval. 174 00:12:43,755 --> 00:12:47,837 When we got a record contract, which was really based on him, 175 00:12:48,751 --> 00:12:52,070 I could write whatever and they wouldn't change it 176 00:12:52,071 --> 00:12:54,674 or try to change it because Andy was there. 177 00:12:54,774 --> 00:12:56,953 There was no problem with the songs or what they were about 178 00:12:56,988 --> 00:13:00,523 because the people of the record company couldn't stand the music, 179 00:13:00,623 --> 00:13:02,814 they wouldn't listen to the records in the first place. 180 00:13:03,670 --> 00:13:07,433 And in the studio, the engineers didn't like it, they would leave. 181 00:13:08,012 --> 00:13:10,112 And say, "I don't have to listen to this shit." 182 00:13:12,078 --> 00:13:15,862 In late 1966, the band recorded their debut album... 183 00:13:15,962 --> 00:13:17,638 in just two days. 184 00:13:19,140 --> 00:13:21,041 During the Velvet's stay at the Factory, 185 00:13:21,141 --> 00:13:23,785 the band became part of Warhol's traveling circus 186 00:13:23,885 --> 00:13:27,132 known as "The Exploding Plastic Inevitable". 187 00:13:27,344 --> 00:13:31,202 Warhol came up with the idea of projecting images over the band. 188 00:13:32,745 --> 00:13:36,416 There were four projectors, all projecting different kind of film. 189 00:13:36,516 --> 00:13:39,771 There were slides. There was the mirror ball overhead 190 00:13:39,806 --> 00:13:44,211 on which was shone several different coloured pin lights. 191 00:13:44,706 --> 00:13:48,067 So, it was swimming in stars and 192 00:13:48,167 --> 00:13:51,302 the one wall was covered with multiple images. 193 00:13:51,428 --> 00:13:55,665 And then Nico would stand in white in the middle of this darkened stage. 194 00:13:57,016 --> 00:13:59,108 The Velvet Underground performances 195 00:13:59,109 --> 00:14:01,737 became the most elaborate multi-media show 196 00:14:01,837 --> 00:14:04,473 rock music had ever experienced. 197 00:14:04,983 --> 00:14:06,692 It seemed the very natural thing to do 198 00:14:06,727 --> 00:14:08,428 even though it hadn't been done before. 199 00:14:08,528 --> 00:14:11,381 Lou and Andy wanted to break the boundaries 200 00:14:11,416 --> 00:14:14,236 but they didn't know exactly where that was gonna take them so 201 00:14:14,271 --> 00:14:17,244 it took on the form of experimentation. 202 00:14:20,052 --> 00:14:24,936 By creating a total environment, music, art and film, all combined, 203 00:14:25,036 --> 00:14:28,434 the Velvets and Andy Warhol were to sow the seeds 204 00:14:28,534 --> 00:14:31,641 for the next generation of rock. 205 00:14:32,164 --> 00:14:36,275 It was that... The Velvet Underground sold very few records 206 00:14:36,375 --> 00:14:38,502 but just about everybody who bought one of their records 207 00:14:38,602 --> 00:14:40,950 later went out and started a band. 208 00:14:45,026 --> 00:14:49,167 Pink Floyd's manager, Peter Jenner, had heard a tape of the Velvet Underground, 209 00:14:49,267 --> 00:14:52,095 and saw his band as the British equivalent. 210 00:14:53,455 --> 00:14:55,616 # Lime and limpid green, a second scene 211 00:14:55,716 --> 00:14:59,478 # A fight between the blue you once knew. 212 00:15:00,546 --> 00:15:03,106 # Floating down, the sound resounds 213 00:15:03,141 --> 00:15:06,951 # Around the icy waters underground. 214 00:15:07,137 --> 00:15:10,428 Like the Velvet Underground, the Floyd were about breaking the barriers 215 00:15:10,463 --> 00:15:13,121 between art and music. 216 00:15:13,789 --> 00:15:15,206 Lights were very important 217 00:15:15,306 --> 00:15:18,319 and encouraged the idea of what they were doing as being art, 218 00:15:18,354 --> 00:15:20,898 rather than just being a rock band. 219 00:15:20,933 --> 00:15:25,264 # Neptune, Titan, Stars can frighten. 220 00:15:31,578 --> 00:15:33,642 Like the Velvet Underground before them, 221 00:15:33,742 --> 00:15:37,612 Pink Floyd understood how manipulating their stage presentation 222 00:15:37,712 --> 00:15:40,465 could add to the power of their music. 223 00:15:47,124 --> 00:15:49,742 Why the Floyd became so big so quickly? 224 00:15:49,842 --> 00:15:51,647 It was because what they were doing 225 00:15:51,682 --> 00:15:56,270 was culturally and musically different and radical. 226 00:15:57,761 --> 00:16:01,796 In a context of a socially radical and political time. 227 00:16:05,749 --> 00:16:08,039 And when the lights and music of Pink Floyd 228 00:16:08,074 --> 00:16:10,804 were combined with the drug of the moment, LSD, 229 00:16:10,904 --> 00:16:14,271 rock entered its psychedelic phase. 230 00:16:19,079 --> 00:16:23,206 But LSD was also to be the undoing of lead singer, Syd Barrett, 231 00:16:23,406 --> 00:16:25,944 who indulged in ever increasing quantities 232 00:16:26,044 --> 00:16:28,118 to cope with the band's success. 233 00:16:32,683 --> 00:16:34,111 As the drugs took over, 234 00:16:34,211 --> 00:16:37,889 Syd wrote about his world falling apart around him. 235 00:16:42,483 --> 00:16:47,133 # It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here 236 00:16:47,233 --> 00:16:52,152 # And I'm much obliged to you for making it clear 237 00:16:52,187 --> 00:16:53,847 # That I'm not here. 238 00:16:53,947 --> 00:16:57,725 'Jugband Blues' is Syd Barrett's kind of last word 239 00:16:57,760 --> 00:16:59,260 within the context of the Floyd. 240 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,545 It's really the sound of someone going mad. 241 00:17:02,087 --> 00:17:04,821 The absence of structure and the idea of pushing the envelope 242 00:17:04,921 --> 00:17:07,249 by that point has turned absolutely crazy. 243 00:17:07,482 --> 00:17:10,304 So it's about being disjointed from oneself. 244 00:17:10,404 --> 00:17:11,966 # ...instead dressed in red 245 00:17:12,406 --> 00:17:18,738 # And I'm wondering who could be writing this song. 246 00:17:18,838 --> 00:17:22,473 It's so sort of disjointed and chaotic. And on a whim, in Jugband Blues, 247 00:17:22,573 --> 00:17:24,433 what sounds like a salvation army band 248 00:17:24,434 --> 00:17:26,734 suddenly sort of intrudes on the whole thing. 249 00:17:27,035 --> 00:17:30,582 If you want to understand what it's like loosing your mind, 250 00:17:30,682 --> 00:17:33,333 'Jugband Blues' isn't a bad place to start. 251 00:17:44,950 --> 00:17:47,223 Syd's days in the Floyd were numbered. 252 00:17:47,399 --> 00:17:49,820 His erratic behaviour led to a group decision 253 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,716 to employ one of his old friends, David Gilmour, 254 00:17:52,816 --> 00:17:55,156 to fill in on Syd's off days. 255 00:17:57,576 --> 00:18:02,020 It was awkward, I mean, initially it was me adding on. 256 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:05,189 I became a fifth member, initially, for a few weeks. 257 00:18:05,762 --> 00:18:08,137 So that part wasn't too bad. 258 00:18:08,237 --> 00:18:12,324 I'd just come along, play a bit, sing a bit and uh... 259 00:18:12,424 --> 00:18:15,819 Syd would sit there and play a bit and sing a bit too. 260 00:18:16,519 --> 00:18:20,175 He wasn't really functioning particularly well. 261 00:18:21,329 --> 00:18:28,079 # And what exactly is a dream 262 00:18:28,343 --> 00:18:34,328 # And what exactly is a joke. 263 00:18:39,325 --> 00:18:42,053 On the 15th of January, 1968, 264 00:18:42,220 --> 00:18:45,882 Syd Barrett played the last concert of his life with the Pink Floyd, 265 00:18:45,982 --> 00:18:50,021 on a faded pier in Hastings, on the South coast. 266 00:18:52,293 --> 00:18:56,033 But although Syd was gone, he had kick-started a revolution 267 00:18:56,133 --> 00:18:59,345 that would take rock music to a different planet. 268 00:18:59,545 --> 00:19:03,026 # Let's try it another way. 269 00:19:03,305 --> 00:19:05,935 # Ground Control to Major Tom 270 00:19:06,135 --> 00:19:10,510 A planet inhabited by a struggling young singer called David Bowie, 271 00:19:10,610 --> 00:19:13,371 who'd been watching every move Syd had made. 272 00:19:14,317 --> 00:19:17,425 Syd Barrett probably started an idea in David's head. 273 00:19:17,525 --> 00:19:21,050 He definitely found not only the music inspirational but... 274 00:19:21,150 --> 00:19:24,680 what actually had happened to Syd. The way he walked away from the Pink Floyd, 275 00:19:24,780 --> 00:19:29,150 the way he went slowly mad and retreated into the background. 276 00:19:29,307 --> 00:19:32,388 For sure, it was one of his great, great inspirations. 277 00:19:32,938 --> 00:19:36,813 # This is Ground Control to Major Tom 278 00:19:37,134 --> 00:19:40,090 # You've really made the grade 279 00:19:40,585 --> 00:19:43,538 But Syd Barrett was only part of the mix for David Bowie, 280 00:19:43,638 --> 00:19:48,287 as he morphed from one character to another in his search for success. 281 00:19:49,681 --> 00:19:51,418 I wanted to make a mark, 282 00:19:51,518 --> 00:19:53,308 and I didn't know quite how to do it. 283 00:19:53,408 --> 00:19:56,646 And it took me all the 60s to try every thing that I could think of, 284 00:19:56,746 --> 00:19:59,638 in terms of theater and arts and music. 285 00:19:59,738 --> 00:20:02,059 # Ground Control to Major Tom 286 00:20:02,159 --> 00:20:05,190 # Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong 287 00:20:05,290 --> 00:20:07,767 # Can you hear me, Major Tom? 288 00:20:07,867 --> 00:20:10,649 # Can you hear me, Major Tom? 289 00:20:10,849 --> 00:20:13,843 # Can you hear me, Major Tom? 290 00:20:14,172 --> 00:20:16,807 # Can you hear... 291 00:20:17,011 --> 00:20:19,173 # am I floating round my tin can 292 00:20:19,208 --> 00:20:21,915 Although Bowie had a novelty hit with "Space Oddity", 293 00:20:22,015 --> 00:20:24,733 real success was still proving elusive. 294 00:20:29,117 --> 00:20:32,072 But then, in 1971, he went to New York 295 00:20:32,172 --> 00:20:35,248 and met a band that would provide him with a new direction. 296 00:20:37,895 --> 00:20:40,493 The Velvet Underground became very important to me 297 00:20:40,593 --> 00:20:43,912 as I felt there was something so expressive 298 00:20:43,913 --> 00:20:46,251 about that sense of otherness. 299 00:20:46,489 --> 00:20:51,159 And the Underground were, I thought, the most incredible sound. 300 00:20:51,194 --> 00:20:53,947 There was this sort of mixture between rock and avant-garde. 301 00:20:54,256 --> 00:20:56,925 And the combination was so brutal. 302 00:20:58,352 --> 00:21:02,841 Inspired by the Velvet Underground, Bowie's first move in the new decade 303 00:21:02,941 --> 00:21:05,369 was to create a rock band with a difference. 304 00:21:05,649 --> 00:21:07,138 He called it "The Hype", 305 00:21:07,186 --> 00:21:10,306 and it was to be the turning point in Bowie's career. 306 00:21:13,962 --> 00:21:17,040 We played a gig at the Roundhouse in London. 307 00:21:17,140 --> 00:21:20,136 We decided, let's do something different, 308 00:21:20,171 --> 00:21:22,409 let's not just go out wearing plaid shirts. 309 00:21:22,509 --> 00:21:25,001 Let's not go up on the stage wearing jeans, 310 00:21:25,255 --> 00:21:28,864 and having long hair and, you know, doing what everyone else was doing. 311 00:21:29,569 --> 00:21:32,970 # I'm waiting for the man 312 00:21:33,135 --> 00:21:37,278 Hype was much more rock oriented than anything that he'd done before. 313 00:21:37,378 --> 00:21:41,324 And clearly in the songs, and perhaps in the stage presentation, 314 00:21:41,424 --> 00:21:45,605 was influenced by what he'd heard of the Velvet Underground. 315 00:21:45,705 --> 00:21:50,341 Most obviously, one of the songs that Hype covered was "Waiting for the Man". 316 00:21:52,469 --> 00:21:55,693 # I'm waiting for the man 317 00:21:56,556 --> 00:21:57,909 But even a Velvet's number 318 00:21:57,944 --> 00:22:01,393 couldn't rescue the evening for Bowie and his band of rockers. 319 00:22:01,493 --> 00:22:02,973 # ...what you doin' uptown? 320 00:22:03,008 --> 00:22:04,549 We weren't even booed. 321 00:22:04,749 --> 00:22:08,686 It was really just the most depressive night of our lives. 322 00:22:09,109 --> 00:22:11,552 'Cause we thought we were kind of, you know, smart, 323 00:22:11,652 --> 00:22:14,090 but nobody even looked at the stage. 324 00:22:14,157 --> 00:22:18,401 So it was all to no avail, but that was a wonderful show inasmuch that 325 00:22:18,501 --> 00:22:22,410 then I knew that theater was for me after that. 326 00:22:26,490 --> 00:22:29,200 I think that this was a very pivotal evening for David. 327 00:22:29,300 --> 00:22:32,682 It is my theory that this is the night it all started. 328 00:22:32,782 --> 00:22:37,298 Hype was definitely the precursor to Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. 329 00:22:43,349 --> 00:22:45,668 # Ziggy played guitar, 330 00:22:46,122 --> 00:22:49,664 # jammin' good with Weird and Gilly, 331 00:22:49,764 --> 00:22:52,450 # The spiders from Mars... 332 00:22:53,095 --> 00:22:57,907 David Bowie's most iconic creation to date was called Ziggy Stardust. 333 00:22:58,895 --> 00:23:01,176 The character of Ziggy Stardust himself, 334 00:23:01,211 --> 00:23:05,383 this messianic, space-age, plastic rock 'n roller 335 00:23:05,483 --> 00:23:09,964 is obviously created out of many, many different bits and pieces, 336 00:23:10,064 --> 00:23:11,823 and there are all sorts of different people, 337 00:23:11,824 --> 00:23:13,386 characters real and fictional in there. 338 00:23:13,486 --> 00:23:17,011 But Syd is certainly in there. This glamourous, British, 339 00:23:17,111 --> 00:23:19,906 slightly unstable rock 'n roller. 340 00:23:19,941 --> 00:23:23,028 And also, of course, Lou Reed and the Velvet are definitely in there 341 00:23:23,063 --> 00:23:27,547 in terms of this very cool, street-wise rock. 342 00:23:27,647 --> 00:23:30,096 # ...and snow white tan 343 00:23:32,621 --> 00:23:42,847 # So where were the spiders while the fly tried to break our balls 344 00:23:44,210 --> 00:23:48,166 # Just a beer light to guide us 345 00:23:48,959 --> 00:23:55,316 # So we bitched about his fans and should we crush his sweet hands? 346 00:23:59,810 --> 00:24:01,936 To immortalise his new creation, 347 00:24:02,036 --> 00:24:04,512 Bowie created a concept album for Ziggy. 348 00:24:05,554 --> 00:24:09,434 The album began with an apocalyptic vision of the future. 349 00:24:14,566 --> 00:24:18,206 The slow, ominous drumbeat at the beginning of "Five years" 350 00:24:18,306 --> 00:24:22,838 is one of the most iconic album opening moments in rock history. 351 00:24:22,938 --> 00:24:24,988 And Five Years is a fascinating song. 352 00:24:25,494 --> 00:24:28,793 On the surface of it, of course, is the story of society 353 00:24:28,893 --> 00:24:31,456 and interaction breaking down as the news comes 354 00:24:31,491 --> 00:24:34,266 that the Earth is going to die in five years time. 355 00:24:35,829 --> 00:24:43,179 # Pushing thru the market square, so many mothers crying 356 00:24:44,904 --> 00:24:52,154 # News had just come over, we had five years left to sigh in 357 00:24:52,254 --> 00:24:58,425 But on another level, you almost get the impression of Bowie/Ziggy 358 00:24:58,525 --> 00:25:01,207 calling together his disciples. 359 00:25:01,242 --> 00:25:05,000 All these dispossessed, lonely, wounded characters. 360 00:25:05,100 --> 00:25:08,084 All being drawn in towards Bowie. 361 00:25:08,184 --> 00:25:11,573 # ...I think she would have killed them 362 00:25:13,384 --> 00:25:21,054 # A soldier with a broken arm, fixed his stare to the wheels of a Cadillac 363 00:25:22,267 --> 00:25:25,874 # A cop knelt and kissed the feet of a priest, 364 00:25:26,250 --> 00:25:30,448 # and a queer threw up at the sight of that 365 00:25:30,798 --> 00:25:33,259 With Ziggy, Bowie now had a vision 366 00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:36,401 which he hoped would give him the success he so craved. 367 00:25:36,524 --> 00:25:39,548 But there was still one thing missing. 368 00:25:40,714 --> 00:25:44,667 # Smiling and waving and looking so fine... 369 00:25:44,767 --> 00:25:49,675 We handed 'Ziggy Stardust' in and RCA didn't hear a single on it so... 370 00:25:50,445 --> 00:25:54,621 they asked us to go back in and David came up with the song 'Starman', 371 00:25:55,008 --> 00:25:57,008 and they thought it was great. 372 00:26:00,733 --> 00:26:05,364 # Didnt know what time it was the lights were low oh how 373 00:26:05,464 --> 00:26:09,845 # I leaned back on my radio oh oh 374 00:26:10,045 --> 00:26:14,801 # Some cat was layin down some rock 'n roll lotta soul, he said 375 00:26:17,095 --> 00:26:21,408 # Then the loud sound did seem to fade 376 00:26:21,508 --> 00:26:25,920 # Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase 377 00:26:26,020 --> 00:26:30,754 # That weren't no d.j. that was hazy cosmic jive 378 00:26:31,509 --> 00:26:34,914 'Starman' made Bowie... a star. 379 00:26:35,014 --> 00:26:39,064 # There's a starman waiting in the sky 380 00:26:39,164 --> 00:26:41,083 # He'd like to come and meet us 381 00:26:41,183 --> 00:26:43,591 # But he thinks he'd blow our minds 382 00:26:43,691 --> 00:26:48,207 # There's a starman waiting in the sky 383 00:26:48,307 --> 00:26:50,606 # He's told us not to blow it 384 00:26:50,706 --> 00:26:52,709 # Cause he knows its all worthwhile 385 00:26:52,744 --> 00:26:54,619 # He told me: Let the children... 386 00:26:54,654 --> 00:26:56,968 Ziggymania hit Britain. 387 00:26:57,028 --> 00:26:59,360 The tear-shaped mascara and a little lippy 388 00:26:59,460 --> 00:27:01,752 had put the glamour into rock. 389 00:27:01,852 --> 00:27:04,323 # There's a starman waiting in the sky 390 00:27:04,523 --> 00:27:06,656 # He'd like to come and meet us 391 00:27:06,856 --> 00:27:08,752 # But he thinks he'd blow our minds 392 00:27:09,486 --> 00:27:13,710 And while Bowie had found his way, Pink Floyd were still experimenting, 393 00:27:13,810 --> 00:27:17,082 searching for a sound that would recapture some of the success 394 00:27:17,182 --> 00:27:19,171 Barrett had brought the band. 395 00:27:19,417 --> 00:27:22,641 We were looking for direction and we didn't want to compromise 396 00:27:23,417 --> 00:27:25,928 the art that we were making. 397 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:30,808 We wanted to do longer pieces that were connected by ideas, 398 00:27:30,908 --> 00:27:32,493 and that's what we were looking at. 399 00:27:33,036 --> 00:27:34,793 It's just on the first note. 400 00:27:35,579 --> 00:27:37,404 - Say that again. - I went out in one place, didn't I? 401 00:27:37,604 --> 00:27:39,567 With the band's album 'Meddle' 402 00:27:39,568 --> 00:27:42,512 and its 23-minute extended track, 'Echoes', 403 00:27:42,612 --> 00:27:45,360 Pink Floyd found their signature sound. 404 00:27:48,337 --> 00:27:52,386 I was in the studio, playing the piano, and, maybe it was me, 405 00:27:52,486 --> 00:27:54,543 maybe it was Roger, maybe it was Dave, we said, 406 00:27:54,743 --> 00:27:59,307 "I wonder what the piano would sound like going through a 'Leslie'." 407 00:27:59,476 --> 00:28:03,335 - Rick started plonking on the piano... - "Wow! What a great noise." 408 00:28:03,435 --> 00:28:06,346 And they had a tape running and that is the beginning of 'Echoes'. 409 00:28:06,381 --> 00:28:09,348 It's Rick just sitting there, mucking about... 410 00:28:15,007 --> 00:28:16,847 The grand design of 'Echoes' 411 00:28:16,882 --> 00:28:21,631 suited its performance in the dramatic Roman amphitheater at Pompey. 412 00:28:23,776 --> 00:28:30,871 # Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air 413 00:28:31,180 --> 00:28:34,969 # And deep beneath the rolling waves 414 00:28:35,069 --> 00:28:38,751 # In labyrinths of coral caves 415 00:28:38,851 --> 00:28:42,526 # The echo of a distant time 416 00:28:42,626 --> 00:28:46,118 # Comes willowing across the sand 417 00:28:46,218 --> 00:28:51,178 # And everything is green and submarine 418 00:28:51,666 --> 00:28:53,897 Pink Floyd, no longer improvising, 419 00:28:53,997 --> 00:28:58,262 created a cinematic epic into which the listener could escape. 420 00:28:58,362 --> 00:29:01,261 # And no-one knows the wheres or whys 421 00:29:01,361 --> 00:29:05,223 # But something stirs and something tries 422 00:29:05,323 --> 00:29:10,927 # And starts to climb towards the light 423 00:29:13,683 --> 00:29:16,899 The audience feels that they're going on some sort of... a journey with us. 424 00:29:16,999 --> 00:29:18,849 I hesitate to use the word "trip". 425 00:29:19,337 --> 00:29:22,065 'Cause the other sort of trip wasn't where we were at. 426 00:29:23,293 --> 00:29:26,340 Having found musical direction with the album 'Meddle', 427 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,726 Pink Floyd's next project would take them into a new level entirely. 428 00:29:34,828 --> 00:29:36,374 'Dark Side' develops what 'Echoes' did, 429 00:29:36,409 --> 00:29:38,541 which is taking one very long piece of music 430 00:29:38,542 --> 00:29:40,437 and seeing what you can do with it. 431 00:29:40,537 --> 00:29:43,597 It just so happens that in the course of that long piece of music on 'Dark Side', 432 00:29:43,697 --> 00:29:47,222 you get a lot of great and memorable songs... 433 00:29:47,322 --> 00:29:48,879 which stand on their own. 434 00:29:49,095 --> 00:29:54,363 # Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day 435 00:29:56,472 --> 00:30:01,627 # You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way 436 00:30:03,854 --> 00:30:05,362 # Kicking around... 437 00:30:05,397 --> 00:30:09,240 'Dark Side of the Moon', with its lyrics about the pressure of modern life, 438 00:30:09,340 --> 00:30:11,988 struck a chord with almost everyone who heard it. 439 00:30:12,089 --> 00:30:15,411 It became a rock classic. 440 00:30:18,435 --> 00:30:21,961 # Tired of lying in the sunshine... 441 00:30:21,996 --> 00:30:24,501 It's really about how the machinery of living 442 00:30:24,601 --> 00:30:30,796 comes between us and our potential to develop as human beings, and grow. 443 00:30:30,896 --> 00:30:35,097 It's about the influences that prevent our individual development. 444 00:30:37,675 --> 00:30:41,542 Although individual tracks explored money, war and time, 445 00:30:41,642 --> 00:30:45,830 the overriding theme of the album was insanity. 446 00:30:46,513 --> 00:30:49,466 Lunacy is at the heart of that album. 447 00:30:49,566 --> 00:30:51,341 But it would be hard to make a whole album 448 00:30:51,441 --> 00:30:55,698 about the many pressures in one's life that can drive one to lunacy... 449 00:30:55,898 --> 00:31:00,106 at that point, without Syd being in there, somewhere. 450 00:31:01,781 --> 00:31:06,353 # The lunatic is on the grass 451 00:31:09,156 --> 00:31:13,609 # The lunatic is on the grass 452 00:31:16,413 --> 00:31:22,380 # Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs 453 00:31:23,179 --> 00:31:27,938 # Got to keep the loonies on the path 454 00:31:30,953 --> 00:31:34,986 # The lunatic is in the hall 455 00:31:35,978 --> 00:31:40,330 It's very easy to sing those lyrics with passion, standing on stage, 456 00:31:40,387 --> 00:31:45,080 and it's very easy to understand why all those lips moving in unison out there 457 00:31:45,180 --> 00:31:48,311 could totally understand what it was expressing. 458 00:31:48,943 --> 00:31:53,526 'Dark Side of the Moon' shifted millions and billions of units worldwide. 459 00:31:53,675 --> 00:31:56,679 Pink Floyd, once the darlings of the underground, 460 00:31:56,779 --> 00:31:59,901 were now mainstream rock superstars. 461 00:32:03,570 --> 00:32:09,210 # And if the dam breaks open many years too soon 462 00:32:09,871 --> 00:32:14,475 # And if there is no room upon the hill 463 00:32:17,077 --> 00:32:22,909 # And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too 464 00:32:23,944 --> 00:32:28,343 # I'll see on the dark side of the moon 465 00:32:28,455 --> 00:32:31,547 When we finished the album we had no idea how successful it'd be, 466 00:32:31,647 --> 00:32:34,838 but I think we all said, "That's good. 467 00:32:34,938 --> 00:32:40,622 "We've finally done something that we can all be very proud of." 468 00:32:42,516 --> 00:32:45,972 To complement the album, Floyd moved from their early light shows, 469 00:32:46,072 --> 00:32:49,066 into large scale theatrical spectacles. 470 00:32:50,723 --> 00:32:54,741 # Money get away 471 00:32:54,976 --> 00:32:56,091 From 'Dark Side' on, 472 00:32:56,126 --> 00:33:00,916 I wanted to get away from the visual aspects of the show being abstract, 473 00:33:01,016 --> 00:33:04,589 and not illustrate what the songs were actually about. 474 00:33:05,216 --> 00:33:07,941 And so when we started using films, 475 00:33:08,041 --> 00:33:11,880 it was in order to sort of drive home the message. 476 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:16,335 # ...with both hands and make a stash 477 00:33:18,260 --> 00:33:22,118 # new car, caviar, four star daydream 478 00:33:22,153 --> 00:33:26,008 # think I'll buy me a football team 479 00:33:26,108 --> 00:33:29,067 'Dark Side' was really the beginning of proper staging. 480 00:33:29,456 --> 00:33:32,191 A big screen behind us, in a circular screen, 481 00:33:32,291 --> 00:33:35,390 which was considered to be wonderfully extraordinary, 482 00:33:35,490 --> 00:33:37,943 we had film running on the screen behind, 483 00:33:38,495 --> 00:33:41,841 and every now and again, there'd be a few explosions, or fireworks, 484 00:33:41,941 --> 00:33:44,194 and in particular the crashing plane. 485 00:33:46,916 --> 00:33:51,394 Anything that could be done to add something to the music. 486 00:33:54,399 --> 00:33:57,000 But spectacular as the Floyd shows were, 487 00:33:57,001 --> 00:33:59,926 the band seemed dwarfed by their theatrics. 488 00:34:00,461 --> 00:34:02,876 Not something that could be said of David Bowie. 489 00:34:14,979 --> 00:34:19,538 On the 17th and 18th of August, 1972, Bowie embarked 490 00:34:19,573 --> 00:34:23,820 on two of the most ambitious and influential shows in rock history 491 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:27,487 at the Rainbow Theater in London's Finsbury Park. 492 00:34:31,572 --> 00:34:36,268 To help him, he requested the assistance of his old mime teacher from the 60s. 493 00:34:37,777 --> 00:34:41,267 I got a call from David Bowie's wife. 494 00:34:41,779 --> 00:34:47,560 She explained if I would like to go to London to stage 495 00:34:47,660 --> 00:34:51,837 a show which was to be called 'Ziggy Stardust'. 496 00:34:52,015 --> 00:34:53,786 Which for me was quite shocking. 497 00:34:53,886 --> 00:35:00,090 It wasn't the David Bowie that I knew, it was a very rock 'n roll David Bowie. 498 00:35:04,352 --> 00:35:06,499 # ...we don't talk much, we just ball and play 499 00:35:06,599 --> 00:35:09,260 # But then we move like tigers on vaseline 500 00:35:11,085 --> 00:35:13,782 # You know the bitter comes out better on a stolen guitar 501 00:35:13,882 --> 00:35:16,666 # You're the blessed, we're the spiders from Mars 502 00:35:18,529 --> 00:35:23,597 # So come on, come on, we've really got a good thing going 503 00:35:23,697 --> 00:35:27,838 # Well come on, well come on, if you think we're gonna make it 504 00:35:27,938 --> 00:35:30,762 # You better hang on to yourself 505 00:35:32,503 --> 00:35:34,403 Bowie wanted the Rainbow concert 506 00:35:34,503 --> 00:35:38,403 to be the ultimate expression of everything he'd learned so far. 507 00:35:38,750 --> 00:35:42,161 David had absorbed so much. 508 00:35:42,261 --> 00:35:50,680 He just took so much from the theatrical elements 509 00:35:50,780 --> 00:35:54,220 many of which I had introduced him to. 510 00:35:58,910 --> 00:36:00,495 The Rainbow shows, in a sense, were 511 00:36:00,595 --> 00:36:05,233 a synthesis of everything that Bowie had worked on up until that point. 512 00:36:05,333 --> 00:36:10,253 Along with the music itself, there was mime, dance, choreography, 513 00:36:10,353 --> 00:36:12,036 there were projections... 514 00:36:13,359 --> 00:36:17,273 # ...five years, stuck on my eyes 515 00:36:17,473 --> 00:36:21,520 # Five years, what a surprise 516 00:36:24,374 --> 00:36:26,130 When I saw that Rainbow show, 517 00:36:26,230 --> 00:36:30,212 it was as if a giant window had opened in front of me, 518 00:36:30,312 --> 00:36:34,217 and it was like, "Yes! This is what the future looks like." 519 00:36:34,417 --> 00:36:37,935 No beards, no flairs*, no grubby grandad vests. 520 00:36:38,035 --> 00:36:42,739 By comparison with the standard issue rock 'n roll show at the time, 521 00:36:42,839 --> 00:36:45,111 this was amazing. 522 00:36:45,146 --> 00:36:49,172 # Five years, that's all we've got 523 00:36:51,932 --> 00:36:56,037 David's a very smart man, and he's bringing in things from everywhere. 524 00:36:56,237 --> 00:36:58,758 If there was music on Pluto and he heard it, 525 00:36:58,793 --> 00:37:01,382 I'm sure he'd work it into his next record. 526 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:06,443 By special request from Bowie himself, 527 00:37:06,543 --> 00:37:10,868 that night's entertainment also included rock's newest sensation, 528 00:37:12,962 --> 00:37:16,653 # I tried but I could not find a way 529 00:37:20,192 --> 00:37:23,929 # Looking back all I did was look away 530 00:37:25,309 --> 00:37:28,184 I think that was such a good pairing, with us and him. 531 00:37:28,384 --> 00:37:30,398 And we were so different musically 532 00:37:30,433 --> 00:37:36,017 that there was no conflict of interest going on. 533 00:37:36,279 --> 00:37:41,145 And he was very vocally appreciative and supportive of all we were doing. 534 00:37:42,082 --> 00:37:45,589 # She's the sweetest queen I've ever seen... 535 00:37:45,741 --> 00:37:49,258 Roxy Music and Bowie were the perfect combination. 536 00:37:49,358 --> 00:37:52,389 Bowie had turned inventiveness into an art form 537 00:37:52,489 --> 00:37:57,061 and Roxy had just released one of the most innovative singles ever produced. 538 00:37:59,386 --> 00:38:02,023 A single that was to prove a much needed antidote 539 00:38:02,123 --> 00:38:04,706 to gray 1970s Britain. 540 00:38:07,866 --> 00:38:12,100 When we went in to record 'Virginia Plane', I felt I was... 541 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:16,449 the rhythm guitarist in the Velvet Underground, or something. 542 00:38:16,649 --> 00:38:19,593 The whole thing starts with... 543 00:38:20,421 --> 00:38:24,418 some 'fuzz' thing with the section ...also on the base, 544 00:38:24,518 --> 00:38:27,315 but then when I come in with the rhythm guitar... 545 00:38:28,596 --> 00:38:31,924 # Make me a deal and make it straight 546 00:38:32,124 --> 00:38:34,993 # All signed and sealed, I'll take it 547 00:38:35,706 --> 00:38:38,582 # To Robert E. Lee I'll show it 548 00:38:39,741 --> 00:38:42,746 # I hope and pray he don't blow it 'cause 549 00:38:43,411 --> 00:38:47,873 # We've been around a long time just try try try tryin' to 550 00:38:47,973 --> 00:38:49,809 # Make the big time... 551 00:38:49,909 --> 00:38:53,342 That song itself is a kind of rare collage of ideas of... 552 00:38:53,442 --> 00:38:57,265 almost free association of things which appealed to me... 553 00:38:58,129 --> 00:39:00,710 # Take me on a roller coaster 554 00:39:01,642 --> 00:39:04,187 # Take me for an airplane ride 555 00:39:05,404 --> 00:39:08,432 # Take me for a six days wonder but don´t you 556 00:39:08,532 --> 00:39:11,850 # Don't you throw my pride aside besides 557 00:39:12,050 --> 00:39:14,972 # What's real and make believe 558 00:39:15,447 --> 00:39:19,506 # Baby Jane's in Acapulco we are flyin' down to Rio 559 00:39:21,730 --> 00:39:26,173 Roxy were radical in just about every department. 560 00:39:26,746 --> 00:39:28,783 The idea that a group like Roxy Music could arrive, 561 00:39:28,883 --> 00:39:31,944 put out something like 'Virginia Plain' for their first single, 562 00:39:32,044 --> 00:39:35,934 and have a hit with it, that is an achievement which 563 00:39:36,034 --> 00:39:38,978 definitely rebounds to the great honour of all concerned. 564 00:39:40,002 --> 00:39:42,661 # Far beyond the pale horizon 565 00:39:43,506 --> 00:39:45,958 # Some place near the desert strand 566 00:39:47,212 --> 00:39:49,947 # Where my Studebaker takes me 567 00:39:50,362 --> 00:39:53,578 # That's where I'll make my stand but wait 568 00:39:54,057 --> 00:39:56,794 # Can't you see that holzer mane? 569 00:39:57,101 --> 00:39:59,224 # What's her name Virginia Plain 570 00:40:01,588 --> 00:40:05,056 Roxy Music were the quintessential art school band. 571 00:40:05,966 --> 00:40:08,629 Bryan Ferry, the group's singer and songwriter, 572 00:40:08,729 --> 00:40:12,420 had studied at Newcastle with the English equivalent of Andy Warhol, 573 00:40:12,620 --> 00:40:14,557 artist Richard Hamilton. 574 00:40:15,243 --> 00:40:19,613 He had a reputation amongst progressive thinking art students 575 00:40:19,713 --> 00:40:24,639 of being the absolute guru of modern "cool". 576 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:29,754 What you tended to learn from Richard was not how to be an artist, 577 00:40:29,854 --> 00:40:32,182 but how to think about art. 578 00:40:32,699 --> 00:40:37,232 Ferry was the latest in a long line of art students turned musicians. 579 00:40:40,185 --> 00:40:45,886 All the artistic energy that I was previously directing into paintings, 580 00:40:45,986 --> 00:40:51,056 it was all now... all of that impulse was going into music, into the songs. 581 00:40:51,757 --> 00:40:54,292 # I would wak a thousand miles... 582 00:40:54,327 --> 00:40:58,005 To showcase his ideas, Ferry formed a band of likeminded individuals, 583 00:40:58,105 --> 00:41:01,956 including Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay. 584 00:41:02,465 --> 00:41:05,615 As a collective, they were focused on pushing the boundaries 585 00:41:05,715 --> 00:41:07,696 of what a rock band could be. 586 00:41:09,539 --> 00:41:11,690 We did have an artistic vision. 587 00:41:11,790 --> 00:41:16,776 We all knew about the history of 20th century art and performance, 588 00:41:16,876 --> 00:41:23,367 and we somehow flattered ourselves that it could be got into rock music. 589 00:41:24,272 --> 00:41:28,478 # Blue suns and grey lagoons 590 00:41:30,066 --> 00:41:34,198 # Silver starfish with honeymoons 591 00:41:35,714 --> 00:41:39,679 # All these and more to choose 592 00:41:39,779 --> 00:41:43,172 Rock 'n roll was about what you play and how you look... 593 00:41:43,272 --> 00:41:45,882 the whole thing needed a bit more theater and a bit more fun. 594 00:41:46,079 --> 00:41:50,533 And that's uh... that's what we did, set out to do that. 595 00:41:50,568 --> 00:41:52,848 #... strange goodbyes 596 00:41:53,511 --> 00:41:57,658 In the summer of 1972, the band released their first album, 597 00:41:59,173 --> 00:42:02,580 adorned with a glamourous 50s style pin-up. 598 00:42:04,580 --> 00:42:07,998 Widely regarded as one of the greatest rock debuts ever made, 599 00:42:08,098 --> 00:42:11,028 it was simply called 'Roxy Music'. 600 00:42:11,345 --> 00:42:16,487 It was a musical collage of sounds and moods from the past into the future. 601 00:42:21,103 --> 00:42:23,924 Roxy Music were bringing in all the tone colours 602 00:42:24,024 --> 00:42:27,566 of Andy Mackay's saxophone and oboe. 603 00:42:40,660 --> 00:42:43,534 I mean, when did you last hear an oboe in a rock band? 604 00:42:43,675 --> 00:42:46,458 And Eno with his synthesizers, 605 00:42:46,558 --> 00:42:51,344 they seemed both retro and futurist. 606 00:42:51,421 --> 00:42:57,209 This is a 1950s revival show taking place in the year 2020. 607 00:43:00,699 --> 00:43:03,448 # You've got me girl on the run around run around 608 00:43:03,483 --> 00:43:06,104 # You've got me all around town 609 00:43:06,291 --> 00:43:11,074 On 'Ladytron', that's probably the best example of Eno treating my guitar. 610 00:43:11,174 --> 00:43:13,969 If I just play it straight on this guitar is... 611 00:43:19,041 --> 00:43:23,161 which is one of the beginning bits. But once it went through his synthesizers 612 00:43:23,196 --> 00:43:28,191 it sounded like something that came from the planet Zorg, or something. 613 00:43:30,854 --> 00:43:35,457 # Lady if you want to find a lover 614 00:43:36,047 --> 00:43:38,522 # Then you look no further 615 00:43:39,219 --> 00:43:41,729 # For I'm gonna be your only 616 00:43:43,532 --> 00:43:48,315 # Searching at the start of the season 617 00:43:48,619 --> 00:43:51,401 # And my only reason 618 00:43:52,062 --> 00:43:55,936 # Is that I'll get to you 619 00:44:00,250 --> 00:44:03,652 One of the reasons why Roxy became so popular, 620 00:44:03,752 --> 00:44:07,845 not just with kind of serious, kind of "muso" types, 621 00:44:07,945 --> 00:44:12,393 but with real, high street teen stormtroopers of glam, 622 00:44:12,493 --> 00:44:17,480 was because they offered this imaginary world and invited you to join it. 623 00:44:21,115 --> 00:44:25,632 # I´ll find some way of connection... 624 00:44:25,732 --> 00:44:29,545 Roxy Music, with the way they looked, the way they dressed, 625 00:44:29,645 --> 00:44:32,225 and the physicality they brought to their performance, 626 00:44:32,425 --> 00:44:36,777 that was all the theater you needed. 627 00:44:45,786 --> 00:44:49,244 But there was a band out there, led by Peter Gabriel, 628 00:44:49,344 --> 00:44:53,163 who thought they could push rock theater just one step further 629 00:44:53,263 --> 00:44:56,628 when they mixed the sinister world of English suburbia, 630 00:44:56,728 --> 00:44:58,638 with a dash of Syd Barrett whimsy, 631 00:44:58,738 --> 00:45:01,296 and a dive into the dressing odd-box. 632 00:45:02,860 --> 00:45:05,431 Peter would put on a hat for "I Know What I Like", 633 00:45:05,531 --> 00:45:09,086 and would go around the stage pretending to be the lawn mower. 634 00:45:10,284 --> 00:45:13,091 He always did it in such a way where people would say, 635 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:17,184 "What's he doing? Is that really a lawn mower?" 636 00:45:17,284 --> 00:45:20,449 You know, he was never literal, which was a good thing. 637 00:45:22,357 --> 00:45:24,119 # There's always been Ethel: 638 00:45:25,397 --> 00:45:28,756 # "Jacob, wake up! you've got to tidy your room now." 639 00:45:30,806 --> 00:45:32,990 # And then Mister Lewis: 640 00:45:33,970 --> 00:45:38,202 # "Isn't it time that he was out on his own?" 641 00:45:39,909 --> 00:45:45,352 # Over the garden wall, two little lovebirds - cuckoo to you! 642 00:45:45,452 --> 00:45:47,245 # Keep them mowing blades sharp... 643 00:45:47,345 --> 00:45:56,938 # I know what I like, and I like what I know 644 00:45:57,038 --> 00:46:00,912 Where Genesis' music and Gabriel's song writing 645 00:46:01,012 --> 00:46:04,301 link up to the Syd Barrett tradition 646 00:46:04,401 --> 00:46:08,453 is their use of imagery derived from 647 00:46:08,553 --> 00:46:14,754 that cozy suburban English banality gone seriously wrong. 648 00:46:14,917 --> 00:46:21,360 The underlying strangeness of English "normality". 649 00:46:31,360 --> 00:46:35,203 Genesis were formed in an English public school by Peter Gabriel, 650 00:46:35,303 --> 00:46:37,626 Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks. 651 00:46:37,826 --> 00:46:40,865 They were later joined by the drummer, Phil Collins. 652 00:46:44,173 --> 00:46:48,750 Their early days were marked by a distinctly understated stage presence. 653 00:46:50,906 --> 00:46:54,833 We were very boring... to look at. That's the first thing. 654 00:46:55,033 --> 00:46:57,606 That's why our albums never had pictures on them. 655 00:46:57,706 --> 00:47:01,892 And we were very quick to understand that we looked like everybody else. 656 00:47:03,043 --> 00:47:07,595 It felt I had this huge responsibility of being the link between 657 00:47:07,695 --> 00:47:11,996 what the band were trying to do and what the audience wanted. 658 00:47:12,184 --> 00:47:15,571 And I had to, somehow, get the two to connect. 659 00:47:17,868 --> 00:47:20,438 Gabriel, like Bowie and Floyd before him, 660 00:47:20,538 --> 00:47:24,364 knew he had to reinvent Genesis to counter the image problem. 661 00:47:24,865 --> 00:47:27,249 His band were in for a shock. 662 00:47:27,280 --> 00:47:28,148 I remember he walked on stage, 663 00:47:28,183 --> 00:47:30,313 and we were all kind of just, you know, playing along... 664 00:47:30,744 --> 00:47:31,492 And it's like... 665 00:47:31,792 --> 00:47:33,304 "What the h--? What is that?" 666 00:47:36,489 --> 00:47:39,677 And Peter Gabriel comes out in a red dress and a fox's head. 667 00:47:43,106 --> 00:47:44,700 You know, you kind of do a double take, as if... 668 00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:47,967 as if the next turn's come on before you've finished. 669 00:47:48,670 --> 00:47:52,212 "Comedians, come on! Comedians, come on! We haven't finished here." 670 00:47:52,502 --> 00:47:56,209 # I've been waiting here so long 671 00:47:56,435 --> 00:47:59,845 So there was a deathly silence when I walked out, 672 00:48:00,045 --> 00:48:04,456 and I thought, "Oh, this is interesting. I'll try some more of this." 673 00:48:04,603 --> 00:48:07,328 There was a bloody argument backstage afterwards, you know, like... 674 00:48:08,021 --> 00:48:10,313 "We demand to be told this thing." 675 00:48:10,391 --> 00:48:13,070 We'd liked to have known, but he said, "If I'd told you, you'd said 676 00:48:13,105 --> 00:48:14,281 "Don't. You can't!"" 677 00:48:17,305 --> 00:48:20,237 The next week, Peter was on the front page of a makeup magazine, 678 00:48:20,337 --> 00:48:23,564 so we thought, we're onto something here. 679 00:48:35,400 --> 00:48:37,504 With a new line in stage costumes, 680 00:48:37,604 --> 00:48:41,510 Peter Gabriel and the band produced their most successful album to date, 681 00:48:41,710 --> 00:48:43,854 'Foxtrot', which included 682 00:48:43,954 --> 00:48:47,489 the haunting and surreal epic, 'Supper's Ready'. 683 00:48:49,090 --> 00:48:52,829 'Supper's Ready' began with these very atmospheric chords... 684 00:48:58,065 --> 00:49:03,413 and it seemed a good place to put this story of what had happened to me... 685 00:49:03,513 --> 00:49:06,322 a strange and frightening experience. 686 00:49:10,963 --> 00:49:16,350 I was trying to piece things together lyrically that would tell a story, 687 00:49:16,450 --> 00:49:18,489 or paint pictures. 688 00:49:18,709 --> 00:49:26,875 # ...And it's hello babe with your guardian eyes so blue. 689 00:49:28,026 --> 00:49:33,306 # Hey, my baby don't you know our love is true. 690 00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:37,229 Nearly 23 minutes long, 'Supper's Ready' was one piece 691 00:49:37,329 --> 00:49:39,763 made up of a number of musical sections. 692 00:49:39,985 --> 00:49:41,090 # A flower? 693 00:49:43,348 --> 00:49:45,526 # If you go down to Willow Farm, 694 00:49:45,726 --> 00:49:50,549 # to look for butterflies, flutterbyes, gutterflies 695 00:49:52,326 --> 00:49:57,105 # Open your eyes, it's full of surprise, everyone lies 696 00:49:57,140 --> 00:49:59,160 # like the focks on the rocks, 697 00:50:01,639 --> 00:50:03,446 # and the musical box. 698 00:50:03,569 --> 00:50:08,004 There were a lot of elements of my childhood in 'Supper's Ready'. 699 00:50:08,204 --> 00:50:12,431 'Bill and Ben' was the program that I watched as a 3 or 4 year old, 700 00:50:12,531 --> 00:50:16,540 and there was these flower-pot men, and there was 'Weed' who 701 00:50:16,640 --> 00:50:19,246 was this big, floral character. 702 00:50:19,541 --> 00:50:22,838 It obviously sunk deep into my subconscious. 703 00:50:23,578 --> 00:50:27,567 # We've got everything, we're growing everything, 704 00:50:28,169 --> 00:50:29,052 # We've got some in 705 00:50:29,152 --> 00:50:30,148 # We've got some out 706 00:50:30,359 --> 00:50:33,822 # We've got some wild things floating about. 707 00:50:34,799 --> 00:50:37,582 # Everyone, we're changing everyone, 708 00:50:38,197 --> 00:50:39,178 # you name them all, 709 00:50:39,213 --> 00:50:40,573 # We've had them here, 710 00:50:40,650 --> 00:50:44,336 # And the real stars are still to appear. 711 00:50:47,584 --> 00:50:50,829 In terms of the theatrical tradition in British rock, I think... 712 00:50:50,929 --> 00:50:56,262 the other end of the spectrum from what Bowie and Roxy Music were doing 713 00:50:56,362 --> 00:50:58,280 was Genesis. 714 00:51:00,569 --> 00:51:03,217 Certainly in terms of the costumes he wore, 715 00:51:03,417 --> 00:51:07,028 he took the dressing-up tendency of British rock 716 00:51:07,128 --> 00:51:10,622 several stages beyond even where Bowie had gone. 717 00:51:10,722 --> 00:51:13,918 By comparison with some of the stuff Gabriel wore on stage, 718 00:51:14,018 --> 00:51:17,205 Bowie was dressed for a Sunday afternoon at the pub. 719 00:51:17,305 --> 00:51:20,226 # Momma I want you now. 720 00:51:22,006 --> 00:51:24,549 Rock theater was becoming ever more elaborate, 721 00:51:24,649 --> 00:51:28,344 attracting ever larger audiences in ever bigger venues. 722 00:51:31,409 --> 00:51:32,924 But this came at a price, 723 00:51:33,024 --> 00:51:35,971 spectacle was replacing intimacy. 724 00:51:36,098 --> 00:51:40,390 A dilemma felt even by the kings of rock theater, Pink Floyd. 725 00:51:41,276 --> 00:51:45,436 I famously became very disgruntled on the road with huge audiences. 726 00:51:45,536 --> 00:51:48,220 The audience was just growing exponentially 727 00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:51,789 and I did feel it all got a bit out of control. 728 00:51:52,073 --> 00:51:55,187 That we were being overcome by commerce. 729 00:51:55,498 --> 00:51:59,612 I found myself increasingly upset by people in the audience 730 00:52:01,663 --> 00:52:04,378 just going, "Argh!", 731 00:52:04,478 --> 00:52:08,827 for two hours rather than listening to what we were doing. 732 00:52:09,659 --> 00:52:13,019 Roger Walters' solution to the problem was radical. 733 00:52:15,232 --> 00:52:17,005 He would send up the whole process 734 00:52:17,105 --> 00:52:19,832 while ironically still providing the rock world 735 00:52:19,932 --> 00:52:22,881 with one of the most ambitious shows in its history. 736 00:52:26,576 --> 00:52:28,717 The idea formed in my mind of... 737 00:52:28,817 --> 00:52:31,121 of doing a show where we would actually 738 00:52:31,221 --> 00:52:35,038 physically build a wall across the front of the stage 739 00:52:35,138 --> 00:52:39,916 to express my feeling of alienation from that part of the audience. 740 00:52:40,126 --> 00:52:44,707 # We don't need no education 741 00:52:49,186 --> 00:52:53,919 # We don't need no thought control 742 00:52:54,982 --> 00:52:59,912 Released in 1979, 'The Wall' double album became a huge success, 743 00:53:00,012 --> 00:53:03,477 and delivered an unexpected hit single for the band. 744 00:53:04,111 --> 00:53:08,481 # Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone! 745 00:53:08,825 --> 00:53:12,651 But not everyone was convinced by Roger Waters' stage concept. 746 00:53:12,751 --> 00:53:17,926 # All in all you're just another brick in the wall. 747 00:53:18,064 --> 00:53:20,186 I thought the idea was crazy, I have to say. 748 00:53:20,286 --> 00:53:24,065 I loved having an audience. I thought, it's a bit illogical this. 749 00:53:24,165 --> 00:53:27,108 If you're going to build a wall between the audience why bother to turn up. 750 00:53:27,914 --> 00:53:30,259 Why do it anyway? 751 00:53:31,471 --> 00:53:35,625 # No! don’t think I’ll need anything at all 752 00:53:37,478 --> 00:53:40,647 The building of the wall went on throughout the whole first half. 753 00:53:41,173 --> 00:53:43,846 And we were gradually becoming obscured. 754 00:53:44,189 --> 00:53:47,636 And at the end of the first half it'd be 'Goodbye Cruel World'... 755 00:53:47,836 --> 00:53:49,704 and then the last brick would go on. 756 00:53:50,738 --> 00:53:56,835 # Goodbye, cruel world, I'm leaving you today 757 00:53:57,170 --> 00:54:02,420 # Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye 758 00:54:04,877 --> 00:54:13,206 # Goodbye, all you people, there's nothing you can say 759 00:54:13,544 --> 00:54:18,413 # To make me change my mind 760 00:54:19,383 --> 00:54:21,080 # Goodbye 761 00:54:25,750 --> 00:54:28,364 One of the most iconic moments of the performance 762 00:54:28,464 --> 00:54:31,251 showed off one of Pink Floyd's best loved songs, 763 00:54:31,351 --> 00:54:34,139 sung by David Gilmour from the dizzying heights 764 00:54:34,239 --> 00:54:35,351 on the top of the wall. 765 00:54:35,386 --> 00:54:38,023 # Come on, it's time to go 766 00:54:39,881 --> 00:54:44,684 # There is no pain you are receding 767 00:54:47,420 --> 00:54:52,465 # A distant ship, smoke on the horizon. 768 00:54:54,850 --> 00:55:00,146 # You are only coming through in waves. 769 00:55:02,003 --> 00:55:07,829 # Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying. 770 00:55:09,779 --> 00:55:19,015 # I have become comfortably numb. 771 00:55:20,010 --> 00:55:24,156 As the show progressed, the wall became a vast cinema screen 772 00:55:24,256 --> 00:55:29,385 showing satirical animations created by caricaturist, Gerald Scarfe. 773 00:55:35,498 --> 00:55:39,914 The Floyd were pushing the boundary and I loved the theatricality of their work. 774 00:55:40,066 --> 00:55:44,076 Something of that excitement got into me and made want to 775 00:55:44,657 --> 00:55:48,223 illustrate and enhance them visually. 776 00:56:04,287 --> 00:56:07,538 Taking yourself seriously and trying to make some sort of grand spectacle 777 00:56:07,638 --> 00:56:10,013 had never got as ambitious or overblown, 778 00:56:10,048 --> 00:56:11,379 depending on which way you look at it, 779 00:56:11,568 --> 00:56:14,007 as that before, but certainly in terms of a kind of touring show 780 00:56:14,042 --> 00:56:15,868 that you can sit in an auditorium and see, 781 00:56:15,968 --> 00:56:18,345 'The Wall' was almost preposterously ambitious. 782 00:56:21,647 --> 00:56:25,082 When the show came to its end, the wall came crashing down, 783 00:56:25,182 --> 00:56:27,488 only to be rebuilt again the next night. 784 00:56:29,260 --> 00:56:34,168 It was the ultimate theatrical show that Floyd could put on, that's for sure. 785 00:56:34,537 --> 00:56:36,385 Where could you go from there? 786 00:56:37,842 --> 00:56:40,250 The cost of the performance was prohibitive, 787 00:56:40,350 --> 00:56:43,027 and the show was seen in just four cities, 788 00:56:43,127 --> 00:56:45,322 and then only in massive arenas. 789 00:56:46,581 --> 00:56:51,423 Many questioned whether rock theatricality had gone a brick to far. 790 00:56:52,620 --> 00:56:58,164 With 'The Wall', the great irony was that part of the inspiration 791 00:56:58,264 --> 00:57:04,891 was Roger Waters' increasing distaste for the way that stadium performance 792 00:57:05,638 --> 00:57:10,295 was isolating the band from the audience. 793 00:57:11,332 --> 00:57:13,741 # When we grew up and went to school, 794 00:57:13,841 --> 00:57:15,853 # There were certain teachers who 795 00:57:15,953 --> 00:57:19,100 # Would hurt the children anyway they could 796 00:57:19,473 --> 00:57:24,842 So in order to dramatise this, he created this huge theatrical spectacle 797 00:57:24,942 --> 00:57:29,556 which effectively alienated the band from the audience 798 00:57:29,656 --> 00:57:35,717 more effectively than anything staged by any band beforehand, ever. 799 00:57:35,752 --> 00:57:37,895 # But in the town it was well known 800 00:57:37,930 --> 00:57:40,009 # When they got home at night... 801 00:57:40,919 --> 00:57:44,118 Rock music and performance was now light-years away 802 00:57:44,218 --> 00:57:47,644 from the light shows pioneered by the Velvet Underground. 803 00:57:51,346 --> 00:57:55,372 It had picked up glamour and style from David Bowie and Roxy Music, 804 00:57:56,521 --> 00:57:58,529 gone surreal with Genesis, 805 00:57:59,438 --> 00:58:02,964 and reached epic scale with the Pink Floyd shows. 806 00:58:09,386 --> 00:58:13,321 The ideas and innovations begun in the 1960s and 70s 807 00:58:13,421 --> 00:58:16,925 created a whole new dimension for popular music. 808 00:58:18,192 --> 00:58:22,455 Its pioneers were the godfathers of rock. 809 00:58:42,111 --> 00:58:45,005 Next week on 'Seven Ages of Rock' all bets are off 810 00:58:45,105 --> 00:58:47,615 as "punk" joins the party. 811 00:58:50,482 --> 00:58:52,712 To find out more about 'The Seven Ages of Rock' 812 00:58:52,813 --> 00:58:55,590 and see some extra stories featuring artists in the series, 813 00:58:55,691 --> 00:58:59,626 go to "bbc.co.uk/sevenages". 814 00:59:00,914 --> 00:59:04,414 Transcription and synchronization by Fry.