Nick Sedgwick - In the pink (book)

[crofloyd]

There's a story on the internets about the release of Sedgwick's book "In the pink" about PF 1974 tour - any official info? Any insights?

[twcc]

^^^
Indeed, there was a reference to this in the interview recently published in Mojo No.285

I contacted the official Roger Waters site and got a very odd reply -

Jamie (Support)
Jun 26, 1:58 PM PDT
Hi Tim,
Sorry, but our customer support representatives do not have the resources to assist with your request. Please let us know if you have any questions about an online store order. This seems like it might be a question for the label.
Best,
Roger Waters Store Support Team

... and then, by magic, it was listed in the official store -

https://store.roger-waters.com/collecti ... k-sedgwick

[A Syd Casualty]

I saw the book in the V&A shop on Tuesday, I think they're selling it online too.

[drafsack]

I saw the book in the V&A shop on Tuesday, I think they're selling it online too.

its not listed online at the moment

[A Syd Casualty]

I saw the book in the V&A shop on Tuesday, I think they're selling it online too.

its not listed online at the moment

I'd keep checking that they had loads on their shelves.

https://www.vam.ac.uk/shop/in-the-pink- ... 51133.html

[drafsack]

Got this today after a quick look it looks quite interesting

[scarecrow]

I was in London a couple of days so stopped by the V+A to pick up a copy. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to fork out £20 for it, was a bit tempted by the RSD Interstellar 12", certainly wasn't going to spend £25 on the exhibition...

Having read most of the book in one setting, I'd say Sedgwick is more articulate and well-qualified to frame the Cambridge roots of Floyd (first section of the book) than anything I've read elsewhere, the middle section about the extended holiday in Greece is less compelling (I have skipped over it for now), and the DSOTM tour diary is indeed 'dynamite'.

I could write a load more about it, haven't got time right now.

I think the tour diary is good journalism. (Having read through other comments made about it) I'd say Sedgwick mostly lets the story unfold, with some observations and opinions here and there, there are large sections dominated by dialogue amongst the band and crew. With the benefit of hindsight, the sense of hierarchy within the band, the roles, contributions and differing motivations of each member are all very evident.

On one hand there's probably no great revelations or significant incidents that a casual Floyd follower wouldn't already be aware of, but I think it's a fascinating insight into the band at that particular moment, the challenges of touring in the UK, band members laying into each others' technical and other deficiencies in no uncertain terms, the probably pretty intimidating upper-middle class jokery and apparent disdain for almost anyone outside their inner circle, the band's attitude towards Syd and the mythology which was gaining traction at this point, Roger and band struggling to figure out how to make an impact in the live medium, and to move 'beyond rock'n'roll' for adult audiences (I could write a very long thing on this subject).

Also re Barrett and his experience in the band, you get the impression that the band might not be the easiest bunch to share a van with driving around the country to un-enthused audiences. And a band in which (at least in 1974) each member had to fight their corner to stay afloat.

The fact that you can easily dip into bootlegs of most of this tour on youtube adds to the enjoyment. (It'd be good to hear a recording of the Cardiff show featuring a brief sermon by the Mayor of Cardiff, sadly unavailable it seems?)

It also spells out that *POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT* Roger was already fairly sure by this point that he wanted to finish with Pink Floyd, and confirmed that although Floyd had a 'career' spanning several decades, they only really functioned as a band (as in a collaborative project between all members) from, say '66 to '73, and then again for a short period in the early 90s.

WYWH and Animals were nearly all written by this point, and this tour experience seems to be the turning point where Waters maybe considers that starker and more concise songwriting based on him and an acoustic guitar might be more powerful for both live and recorded media than meandering and elaborate long-form band pieces. (eg Pigs on the Wing, and at least the starting point for WYWH (song) and much of the Wall).

Who knows whether this also may have been motivated by his relationship to the Syd solo records...don't remember the exact quote but along the lines of 'it took me 10 or 15 years to reach the level of humanity in those records'...

I think Waters basically comes out pretty well in this book, despite many LOL moments with his 'managerial style' (see also Waters' rants of the 70s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hh3z5I_7Hk).

There were apparently allegations of bias from other band members, which are understandable but perhaps unreasonable. Apparently the dialogue was taped and is all accurate. You could say its vindication that Waters really was the driver of the band (also taking on a lot of tour managing, hiring and firing, issuing 'directives' and 'orders' to the crew etc duties) and the others were not especially motivated, at least when it came to composition. Although if they hadn't got stuck in the album/tour cycle for the rest of the 70s, perhaps the others might've stepped up.

Also it struck me this morning that Louder than Words (I don't think considered a great Floyd song musically and lyrically by anyone) is a final dig at Waters, as Gilmour's vision of what the band was about (music important, words/ social comment not so much). Personally I'm with Gilmour when it comes to The Wall (a good idea and some great songs which turned into a somewhat overblown and lengthy whinge).

Anyway, the book is now on the V+A online shop site, perhaps it's a bit cheaper on there with postage, who knows how many copies have been made, assuming the exhibition is going on tour.

https://www.vam.ac.uk/shop/exhibition-r ... d.html?p=2