Rick And Nick
Watching the news just now and the ticker tape flashes running through I saw a sad and strange coincidence.'Founder Pink Floyd member Richard Wright has died at the age of 65 after battling with cancer' followed by 'The soldier killed in Afghanistan has been identified as Nicky Mason'
One a guy whom I met many times and the other a young man whose life had hardly begun before it was ended in a most terrible way, and whose name just happened to be the same as Pink Floyd's drummer.
I first saw the Floyd in late '68 or early '69 with Syd at All Saint's Hall in Powis Square shortly after EBB moved to Notting Hill. It was my first real experience of the psychedelic era and I was completely blown away.Later when we were managed by the same people at Blackhill and began recording at Abbey Rd we collided with the Floyd many times. Once, while we were all recording at separate studios we placed a transistor radio in the 'echo room' on the plate that was wired to the studio they were using. This meant that every time they wanted to listen to echo in their control room they found that they were picking up a radio station as well. In the sound industry this is known as RF or radio frequency which was a common problem with electronic equipment in those early days. The resident Abbey Rd boffins were summoned to the Floyd's studio from their legendary basement HQ to find and fix the 'problem' and the session ground to a halt. Some hours later the boffins finally discovered the radio sitting on their plate but the guys were too busy planning their revenge to continue. Suddenly the door of Studio 3 where we were working burst open and in burst a full camera crew with cameras rolling and lights blazing, scaring us shitless! It was of course the Floyd in full flight getting their own back.Definitely could not afford to do that these days at current Abbey Rd rates!Anyway, very sad to hear the news about Rick and best wishes and condolences to all the very many people who will be saddened on hearing of his passing, especially the rest of the guys.And of course the same wishes for the families of all those who have perished in the terrible wars around the world, both military and civilian. One day we might all wake up to a better world wherein we will have learned that war achieves nothing worthwhile for anyone and the scars are too much to bear, the sacrifices too huge and that all human life should be loved and celebrated no matter what our differences.
One a guy whom I met many times and the other a young man whose life had hardly begun before it was ended in a most terrible way, and whose name just happened to be the same as Pink Floyd's drummer.
I first saw the Floyd in late '68 or early '69 with Syd at All Saint's Hall in Powis Square shortly after EBB moved to Notting Hill. It was my first real experience of the psychedelic era and I was completely blown away.Later when we were managed by the same people at Blackhill and began recording at Abbey Rd we collided with the Floyd many times. Once, while we were all recording at separate studios we placed a transistor radio in the 'echo room' on the plate that was wired to the studio they were using. This meant that every time they wanted to listen to echo in their control room they found that they were picking up a radio station as well. In the sound industry this is known as RF or radio frequency which was a common problem with electronic equipment in those early days. The resident Abbey Rd boffins were summoned to the Floyd's studio from their legendary basement HQ to find and fix the 'problem' and the session ground to a halt. Some hours later the boffins finally discovered the radio sitting on their plate but the guys were too busy planning their revenge to continue. Suddenly the door of Studio 3 where we were working burst open and in burst a full camera crew with cameras rolling and lights blazing, scaring us shitless! It was of course the Floyd in full flight getting their own back.Definitely could not afford to do that these days at current Abbey Rd rates!Anyway, very sad to hear the news about Rick and best wishes and condolences to all the very many people who will be saddened on hearing of his passing, especially the rest of the guys.And of course the same wishes for the families of all those who have perished in the terrible wars around the world, both military and civilian. One day we might all wake up to a better world wherein we will have learned that war achieves nothing worthwhile for anyone and the scars are too much to bear, the sacrifices too huge and that all human life should be loved and celebrated no matter what our differences.
posted by Steve Broughton at 7:09 PM
2 comments
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