In 1975, Pink Floyd Wrote an Entire Album About Hating the Music Industry

In 1975, Pink Floyd released Wish You Were Here, their second conceptual album following The Dark Side Of The Moon from 1973. The album touched on quite a few themes, notably of isolation, lack of camaraderie in the group, and the insidiousness of the music industry.

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Additionally, the album is a tribute to Syd Barrett. The iconic yet brief frontman had left the band seven years earlier due to his mental health. The long, ambling “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” is about Barrett, featuring lines like “You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.”

On the flip side, Wish You Were Here is also Pink Floyd’s critique of the music industry. From “Shine On”, the album transitions to “Welcome To The Machine”. This song remains poignant and deep even years later, as it epitomizes the industry’s obsession with greed and success. It also illustrated a lack of personality and real emotion among people.

Pink Floyd Paid Tribute To Former Member Syd Barrett, but Also Provided Commentary on the Toxic Industry With ‘Wish You Were Here’

Wish You Were Here also included the song “Have A Cigar”, which demonstrated the lack of awareness in industry executives. It includes a series of cliches and questions that Pink Floyd were often asked, tying into a sense of cluelessness from those in power.

The title track, “Wish You Were Here”, depicted warring emotions and identities. Allegedly, it referenced greed and the need for success battling against idealism, compassion, and vulnerability.

According to David Gilmour, there were some issues with the previous album, The Dark Side Of The Moon, that he wanted to rectify with Wish You Were Here. As he said in a 2002 issue of Classic Rock magazine, “One or two of the vehicles carrying the ideas were not as strong as the ideas that they carried [on ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’].”

“I thought we should try and work harder on marrying the idea and the vehicle that carried it, so that they both had an equal magic…” he continued. “It’s something I was personally pushing when we made ‘Wish You Were Here’.”

Nevertheless, both albums are legendary works from a legendary band.

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