David Gilmour Addresses ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ and ‘Wizard of Oz’ Conspiracy Theory

Well, it looks like an age-old conspiracy theory has been put to rest. That is, if you trust what Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour has to say.

For years, fans have been saying that Pink Floyd’s famed 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon was intentionally written to sync up with the 1939 classic fantasy film The Wizard Of Oz, starring Judy Garland. It’s not an easy conspiracy theory to debunk, either. Tons of videos online feature scenes of the film with certain Dark Side songs overlaid in the background. And it does sound like the album could have easily been the soundtrack to the film.

However, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour has officially debunked this theory on a recent episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

When asked if the theory was true, Gilmour jokingly said “Well, of course it was!”

He noted that the whole thing was a “coincidence” and the connection was not intentional on Pink Floyd’s part.

“We listened to it, Polly [Gilmour’s wife] and I, years ago,” Gilmour continued. “Somebody said you put the needle on and on the third roar of the MGM lion, you put the needle on for the beginning of ‘Dark Side’ and there’s these strange synchronicities that happen. There are these strange coincidences.”

Where Did The Pink Floyd ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ + ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ Theory Start?

The theory is affectionately called “The Dark Side Of The Rainbow”. It likely began back in the 1990s when a newspaper published an article suggesting the theory was true. With that, the rumor became a common point of interest in Pink Floyd fan forums and chat rooms.

Gilmour’s appearance on The Tonight Show was not the first time a Pink Floyd band member has dispelled this famous internet conspiracy theory. Roger Waters eloquently called the rumor “bullsh**” back in the day. Drummer Nick Mason took things a step further by claiming that not only was the album not inspired or based on The Wizard Of Oz, but that it was actually based on The Sound Of Music.

The album’s audio engineer Alan Parsons also denied that the album was intentionally connected to The Wizard Of Oz. He claimed that intentionally syncing the album with the film would have been impossible. The band did not have any means of running videotapes in their studio the year they recorded The Dark Side Of The Moon.

I guess we can chalk it up to a case of accidental synchronicity, which is actually even more fascinating.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns

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