Fifty Years of Pink Floyd- who crossed many fronteras
I am pretty sure I have attended two Pink Floyd Concerts. I say “pretty sure” because I absolutely remember the Shrine Exposition Hall Pinnacle Dance Concert in LA in July 1968, but the April 1975 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena concert Wish You Were Here tour is a bit hazy. We were high on grass in ‘68, and really, really high on acid and other stuff in ‘75, but I remember it (I think) because it was my first huge arena concert with full effects and projections. I know I didn’t attend the 1980 Sports Arena concert because the stage caught fire, and I don’t remember that at all.
Why am I nostalgic about the 1975 concert? Because I am a 50-year Pink Floyd Fan and they just released the “Wish You Were Here 50” 50th anniversary collection on December 12, almost exactly 50 years after the original album’s September 1975 release. And Pink Floyd played in Mexico – Pink Floyd’s relationship with Mexico reached its peak on April 9, 1994, when the band performed at what was then called the Nuevo Foro Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (now Foro Sol) in Mexico City, which has a sizeable fan base here and several tribute bands like the Echoes of Pink Floyd in Ajijic.
The Wish You Were Here 50 50th anniversary collection is a celebration of one of rock music’s most iconic albums. The release features an extensive collection of unreleased material, comprising a total of 25 bonus tracks, including nine studio rarities and 16 live recordings captured by bootlegger Mike Millard at Pink Floyd’s Los Angeles Sports Arena concert on April 26, 1975, now receiving their first official commercial release.
I am excited because, to me, Pink Floyd is one of the most influential and groundbreaking bands in rock history, alongside the Beatles, who fundamentally transformed what music could be through sonic innovation and artistic ambition. They were influenced by the Beatles, and cross-fertilized with the Beatles (and recorded at Abby Road, sometimes in adjacent studios). I see now, 50 years later, that The Beatles established the vocabulary of studio experimentation, and Pink Floyd developed specialized dialects of progressive and concept rock. And I love it.
This is apparent in how they pioneered experimental use of studio technology, synthesizers, and unconventional sound effects to create atmospheric soundscapes that went far beyond traditional rock, essentially inventing the concept album as a unified artistic statement with The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall.
The band revolutionized live performances, transforming concerts into immersive multimedia experiences with elaborate staging, laser shows, and surround sound systems that set new standards for what audiences could expect – especially if the audience was stoned, which many of us were. Plus, Pink Floyd pulled off the neat trick of massive mainstream success while maintaining artistic integrity—selling over 250 million albums worldwide and remaining on the charts for unprecedented lengths of time.
But I think that what truly makes Pink Floyd special is their lyrics that take on profound, often uncomfortable themes about mental health, alienation, war, and the human condition. They wrote music that was sonic, revolutionary, earworm-psychedelic, and lyrics with remarkable sensitivity and intellectual depth. Not easy.
They were part of a community of artists of their era that demonstrated that rock music could serve as a platform for genuine art and social commentary, including The Beatles, Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Carly Simon, and Annie Lennox. This group, and especially Pink Floyd, influenced generations of musicians from Radiohead to The Flaming Lips, who continue to treat albums as cohesive artistic works and performances as complete theatrical statements. Their legacy proves that popular music need not sacrifice intelligence, complexity, or emotional resonance for commercial appeal—a philosophy that fundamentally changed the possibilities of what rock could achieve and continues to inspire musicians and challenge audiences to this day.
So, we now have the Wish You Were Here 50 collection. It’s in multiple formats so everyone can enjoy it their way: a 3-LP vinyl collection on clear vinyl, a 2-CD version, a Blu-ray, a digital download option, and a comprehensive Deluxe Box Set that includes all physical formats plus exclusive bonus material. The digital version includes a newly created Dolby Atmos mix by James Guthrieand of all 25 bonus tracks. The Blu-ray edition also features three concert films from the band’s 1975 tour and a short film by legendary album art director Storm Thorgerson. There is also a replica Japanese 7-inch single of “Have A Cigar” b/w “Welcome To The Machine,” a hardcover book with previously unseen photographs, a comic book tour program, and a Knebworth concert poster.
Wow. Maybe now I can remember if I really was there.
Patrick O’Heffernan
Banner: Pink Floyd in LA April 2975, Photo from John Kallman, FB.
