![\"Silhouette](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/pink-floyd-pompeii-989073366.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n8<\/p>\n
Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters bangs the gongCredit: Sony Music 8<\/p>\n Guitarist David Gilmour has since returned to the ruins as part of a solo tourCredit: Sony Music 8<\/p>\n Nick Mason remembers the sessions as ‘an easy period for the band’Credit: Sony Music<\/p>\n And another ushers in the most captivating filmed document of the prog rock pioneers in action, the newly restored Pink Floyd At Pompeii: MCMLXXII.<\/p>\n In early October, 1971, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright set up shop in the haunting surrounds of a Roman amphitheatre in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe we thought we were all going on an Italian holiday,\u201d says Mason today. \u201cLike Cliff Richard but in Italy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Though summer<\/a> had passed, he reports that it was still \u201chot and dusty\u201d on the shores of the Gulf Of Naples that year.<\/p>\n Witnessed by only a small crew and a few children messing about in the ruins, Floyd delivered a masterful set of pre-Dark Side material, beginning and ending with one of their most complex soundscapes, Echoes.<\/p>\n Other tracks such as Careful With That Axe, Eugene, A Saucerful Of Secrets and One Of These Days were later interspersed with studio footage from Abbey Road, shot the following year.<\/p>\n In similar vein to The Beatles\u2019 Get Back documentary<\/a>, this gives the film<\/a> a welcome added dimension of unguarded, fly-on-the-wall glimpses of Floyd as they set about making their next album.<\/p>\n You know, THE one I already mentioned, which came housed in a jet-black sleeve with a triangular prism on the outside and, naturally, a spectrum in the form of a heartbeat on the inside.<\/p>\n Mason remembers the sessions as \u201can easy period for the band\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThings were going well, and we were full of ideas,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was before things began to unravel.\u201d<\/p>\n Eerie video reveals Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour’s \u00a310m mansion ‘frozen in time’ after being abandoned by star years ago<\/p>\n The reason I\u2019ve been afforded the chance to catch up with Mason, the musician I consider to be Floyd\u2019s beating heart, is because a spectacular 21st Century upgrade of the Pompeii film hits UK cinemas this week and an accompanying live album arrives on May 2.<\/p>\n \u201cTalk about the passage of time,\u201d sighs the amiable 81-year-old.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had no idea back then that anyone would be looking at this material 50 years hence. This is the only record of how we played during that period, what we did and what we looked like.\u201d<\/p>\n But he adds with a chuckle: \u201cClearly no one was in charge of the wardrobe \u2014 or the wardrobe was still on its way from Dover.\u201d<\/p>\n In Mason\u2019s case, he performed with inventive intensity while sporting a mop of dark shoulder-length curls, a bandana and a blue T-shirt emblazoned with a rainbow-coloured butterfly.<\/p>\n Across various scenes, you\u2019ll also notice what he calls \u201cmy vast array of moustaches\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIn \u201971, we didn\u2019t have smart cameras or smartphones so you could more or less capture everything you did,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n But he is thrilled with the restored Pompeii sequences. \u201cI\u2019m amazed at the sound in particular,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the surprise of the whole thing. It\u2019s so old but it has so much going for it.<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n Bassist Roger Waters, later the band\u2019s chief songwriterCredit: Sony Music 8<\/p>\n Keyboard player Rick Wright, the least extroverted of the fourCredit: Sony Music<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I have to say that it\u2019s a tribute to Abbey Road (known in those days as EMI Studios) because so much of their technology<\/a> was carried out to Italy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking for the band, Mason affirms: \u201cWe are really pleased we did it and slightly taken aback.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were very engaged, but it was not something we brought to the table, which was unusual for us.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of the time, we were deciding what to do next by ourselves. So, we look at it in a bemused way.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the actual footage, Mason says: \u201cThe extraordinary quality is partly down to modern technology but also to (director of restoration) Lana Topham.<\/p>\n “I think she\u2019s been working on that footage for most of her life!\u201d<\/p>\n Mason explains that the original project was \u201cnot driven by us\u201d but by film director Adrian Maben.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I look at it now, I\u2019m a bit ashamed at our casualness. We seemed more interested in teasing Adrian than doing any work.\u201d<\/p>\n The story goes that Maben had been trying to persuade Floyd to co-operate in a film showcasing their otherworldly sound but, as Mason admits, \u201cWe initially said no\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAdrian\u2019s vision had involved a bit more art and a bit less of us messing around,\u201d continues the drummer.<\/p>\n \u2018Done in one take\u2019<\/p>\n Then, during a holiday to Naples, Maben visited the Pompeii amphitheatre and, as he strolled around the eerie ruins looking for his missing passport, he sensed that he\u2019d found the ideal setting for his ambitious plans.<\/p>\n \u201cHe probably persuaded our manager Steve O\u2019Rourke that it was a good idea and then found the money<\/a> to fund it,\u201d says Mason.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had no way of anticipating how it would turn out, but it became a happy union between a slightly rough venue and not having the problems of a live audience.<\/p>\n \u201cIt meant we could stop and rerun if we wanted to but, in reality, virtually all of it was done in one take.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201crough venue\u201d was originally designed to host brutal gladiatorial contests in front of 20,000 baying spectators, providing the, er, heartbeat of a beautiful but doomed city.<\/p>\n In capacity terms, it was the open-air equivalent of London\u2019s 02 Arena \u2014 but with added gore.<\/p>\n As you may have guessed, the theatre<\/a> was buried in ash when Vesuvius erupted in AD79 \u2014 but it literally rose like a phoenix by the time excavation was completed in 1816.<\/p>\n If Pink Floyd<\/a> were the first rock band to play the ruins, both David Gilmour, as part of a solo tour, and Mason with his band Saucerful Of Secrets, have returned there in recent years.<\/p>\n Looking at that initial performance in 1971, I\u2019ve been left with striking impressions of each band member.<\/p>\n Guitarist Gilmour stripped to the waist, his long, straight, fairish hair<\/a> blowing across his face, playing his black Fender Strat like the personification of a rock god.<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n The band during filming for their Pompeii footageCredit: Sony Music 8<\/p>\n Pink Floyd filming in the Pompeii amphitheatreCredit: Sony Music<\/p>\n Bassist Roger Waters, later the band\u2019s chief songwriter but here taking a more egalitarian approach, silhouetted against the setting sun and banging a mighty gong.<\/p>\n Keyboard player Rick Wright, the least extrovert of the four, adding ethereal vocals to Echoes and providing the gorgeous organ part for the Celestial Voices finale to A Saucerful Of Secrets with Gilmour\u2019s cry leading the wordless vocals.<\/p>\n Drummer Mason occupying a central position and driving each song to greater heights with just the right amount of tempo, subtlety and power, the person who knits the whole shebang together.<\/p>\n If a lot of bands keep the rhythm section in the shadows and push the show-offs \u00ad\u00ad\u2014 the singer and lead guitarist \u2014 to the front of the stage, there\u2019s a remarkable equality on display at Pompeii.<\/p>\n Mason says: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here now if I hadn\u2019t gone to a gig at Regent Street Poly, where I was studying at the time, and Cream came on. I modelled myself on Ginger Baker.<\/p>\n We liked being a band that played together rather than one with a frontman and a drummer sitting on a table at the back.<\/p>\n Nick Mason<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cWe liked being a band that played together rather than one with a frontman and a drummer sitting on a table at the back.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember Gary Wallis [Pink Floyd percussionist 1987-1994] saying to me, \u2018A band is bass and drums and then some novelty acts\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking of novelty acts, the Pompeii movie includes a track called Mademoiselle Nobs.<\/p>\n While in Paris<\/a>, Floyd suggested they would like to film a performance of a short blues song featuring a howling dog with Gilmour on harmonica, in the style of Seamus from their then recent album Meddle.<\/p>\n Adrian Maben happened to know Madonna<\/a> Bouglione, daughter of circus director Joseph Bouglione, who was known for strolling around the French capital with his dog Nobs.<\/p>\n Of the recording, Mason says: \u201cIt\u2019s very strange. Original dog Seamus obviously had to bring in a deputy to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cFifty years later, I thought I might have to ring Noel Fitzpatrick, the Supervet, to find out if dogs<\/a> don\u2019t like howling.<\/p>\n \u201cIt did worry me slightly that we were torturing these poor animals \u2014 but I think they enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n So, whose idea was it to bring in the canine helpers? I venture. \u201cI\u2019m not sure,\u201d confesses Mason. \u201cI had a conversation with Roger a few weeks ago and I\u2019m happy to say his memory is even worse than mine.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, we turn our attention to 1972 studio footage when Abbey Road was Floyd\u2019s musical playground as they created their eighth album, The Dark Side Of The Moon.<\/p>\n You witness a band of seasoned campaigners high on confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cWe seemed to think we knew it all,\u201d acknowledges Mason. \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t entirely justified.<\/p>\n \u2018Strong following\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something quite prevalent in bands \u2014 you move on from starting something to gaining confidence, either through record sales or bigger crowds.\u201d<\/p>\n Mason has this assessment of the post-Meddle, pre-Dark Side period: \u201cWe had conquered Europe<\/a>, particularly France<\/a> where we had a very strong following.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we were still lagging behind in the States. Quite a lot of Americans thought Dark Side was our first album because that\u2019s when they hooked on to us.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore that, we could be described as an underground band playing big venues, but not stadiums.\u201d<\/p>\n Dark Side also represents the transition from Pink Floyd as a democratic unit to one dominated by Waters\u2019 songwriting.<\/p>\n There\u2019s some great shots of the band experimenting with early synthesisers such as the EMS VCS3, which helped them make electronic instrumental On The Run.<\/p>\n The band talk avidly about how these amazing contraptions \u201ccan\u2019t think for themselves\u201d, all the more pertinent because of the current dismay at AI \u201cscraping\u201d the work of musicians.<\/p>\n We didn\u2019t have access to the finer instruments of the period, but it was easier for us to use the simpler ones properly<\/p>\n Nick Mason<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And, as Mason points out, On The Run wasn\u2019t as ahead of its time as you may think.<\/p>\n![\"Pink](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0cbecc61-56c4-4805-b90e-6afd64454465.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Pink](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/e5278caf-699e-4e37-afe2-d27e2f77c92c.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Roger](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2319dc4e-6c1b-48a3-a8ad-e28f93c8e81e.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Pink](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/abb9f4fd-8aef-4f2d-a1f0-858e30178f67.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Pink](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/09905784-be39-459d-882a-b6e2d72d343d_15700d.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Pink](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ffed993e-31b3-4a7a-bbd7-059480110912.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n
![\"Pink](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/pink-floyd-pompeii-989073347.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n