Richard Wright - Fired During Recording The Wall Album

[mosespa]

It's not Roger's best performance, vocally speaking; but it's worth it for Snowy's solo.

[Kerry King]

^ Thanks. Just checked it out. Snowy sounded great. I'm glad Waters sang it.

[layne1]

So, he should have quit, then. The very minute "The Wall" was chosen, he should have said "right. I'm not doing this, then" and left.

That simple.

Sorry for butting in but it's not really as simple as that, especially considering Rick's mental state at the time. He still had some affection for Pink Floyd judging by how he agreed to still play on The Wall tour.

[mosespa]

He agreed to play on the Wall Tour for the fans, not the band.

I get what you're saying and I'm not even sure that I disagree with it; but as Rick "wasn't allowed to contribute anything" to Animals and how obvious Waters' power-grab was on WYWH, he should have seen the...writing on the wall, I guess...and tactfully bowed out. Especially after the way he was treated over the whole "he's not producing, he's just sitting there thinking he's producing" thing.

That would have been a huge red flag to me. But, I'm not Rick; obviously. *shrug*

[Kerry King]

He still had some affection for Pink Floyd judging by how he agreed to still play on The Wall tour.

He was getting paid.

[ZiggyZipgun]

He agreed to play on the Wall Tour for the fans, not the band.

He said that he asked to be on the tour to give himself time to come to terms with his exit, rather than just walking out and never seeing any of them again; he was also surprised and confused that Roger agreed to it. Fans didn't know who any of them were, or Roger would've put it out as a solo album. He probably feels that it's tainted by the others' presence.

[penguinzzz]

Wright was needed for the Wall shows as 'Pink Floyd' had to be playing, with the masked 'surrogate band' shadowing them in the fascist bits. It wouldn't have made sense if the 'real' band wasn't intact. This aspect of the show was, I imagine, planned before Wright was let go. The programme in 1980 listed 'Pink Floyd' as the four members with the extra musicians listed separately, again I imagine this was designed before Wright left. In 1981 the new programme simply named all the musicians in one list.

[ZiggyZipgun]

Again, virtually no one knew their names at that point and the band wasn't visible for over half of the show. They even maintained that Rick was still a member into late 1982 when they presented the film at various festivals. The record sleeve also had lyrics for songs that weren't on it, so I'm sure if Roger didn't want Rick on the tour, he would simply not have been there. No one would have noticed at the time.

I think Wright's position during the making of the album was the same one that Gilmour was in during The Final Cut - they were completely underwhelmed with the process and the material itself. The vast majority of Wish You Were Here and Animals had been written and worked out as a band prior to June 1974. Dave and Rick didn't want to present complete songs to the band and dictate how the others should play them, because they'd never worked like that; they also didn't want to bring in things they'd been working on and have them lost in the mix of an album they didn't care for. They were both writing more than ever at that time, so it's not that they didn't have anything to contribute - they just didn't want it used on Roger's project where they would lose creative control of it. Some of Dave's demo recordings from that period ended up on Roy Harper's next album, because the re-recorded versions didn't sound as good. They were both probably at the height of their creative powers, they just weren't on the same page with each other or Roger.

Keep in mind that the other Beatles fucking hated Paul McCartney's "concept" for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, they didn't like his songs, they didn't like how their songs were being treated, and all three of them briefly quit at different times shortly afterward. A few years later, Paul announces in the newspaper that he's quitting the band. Sound familiar?

[Kerry King]

virtually no one knew their names at that point

if Roger didn't want Rick on the tour, he would simply not have been there. No one would have noticed at the time.

This is false. Plenty of pink floyd fans knew all of their names and plenty would have noted Wright's absence from the Wall shows. You don't think people read album credits in the 1970s? They looked at pictures, too.

[mosespa]

You don't think people read album credits in the 1970s? They looked at pictures, too.

I realize I'm far from "average," but I started reading at age 3; not coincidentally, this was around the same age that I learned how to operate my grandparents stereo and noticed that their records had writing on them...so, I started reading those, too.

[penguinzzz]

Again, virtually no one knew their names at that point and the band wasn't visible for over half of the show. They even maintained that Rick was still a member into late 1982 when they presented the film at various festivals. The record sleeve also had lyrics for songs that weren't on it, so I'm sure if Roger didn't want Rick on the tour, he would simply not have been there. No one would have noticed at the time.

Again, the idea 'virtually no one knew their names' among the people who had paid to see the Wall show is as wonderfully daft as anything else you've posted. Obviously it's delusional nonsense but keep going, it's always a good read.

It appears you don't actually understand what's on the cover of the Is There Anybody Out There album. I'm not going to spell it all out again but the main point is: Wright's absence in the show would have meant a rethink / redesign, which neither Waters or anyone else involved thought was worth it - it made sense to pay Wright to stick around. Not the only factor but an obvious one which I assumed was easy to grasp.

The rest of your post is just your usual fantasy PF narrative which I would hope no one here would be tempted to take seriously. I love the bit about Wright being at the 'height of his creative powers' in 1978... higher than any year from 67 to 75? Priceless.

[theaussiefloydian]

Again, virtually no one knew their names at that point and the band wasn't visible for over half of the show.

I'm sorry, what mate?
Perhaps the names of the band members weren't the household idols that John, Paul, George and Ringo were, but absolutely everyone who listened to the band knew their names and probably also their distinctive playing styles too. I bet you anything that people would have written in the press copies for a Wall tour without Rick something to the effect of "It was a solid show but without keyboardist Wright playing for them it lacked a certain something". People would have definitely noticed at the time.
And as for the "surrogate band" thing... that was just part of the show. It is neither here nor there in terms of whether Wright would have been on the tour or not.

I think Wright's position during the making of the album was the same one that Gilmour was in during The Final Cut - they were completely underwhelmed with the process and the material itself. The vast majority of Wish You Were Here and Animals had been written and worked out as a band prior to June 1974. Dave and Rick didn't want to present complete songs to the band and dictate how the others should play them, because they'd never worked like that; they also didn't want to bring in things they'd been working on and have them lost in the mix of an album they didn't care for. They were both writing more than ever at that time, so it's not that they didn't have anything to contribute - they just didn't want it used on Roger's project where they would lose creative control of it.

Most of this strikes me as being half true. Yes, Gilmour and Wright didn't bring much to Pink Floyd at the time, and maybe it was because of Waters. But I think it was less a "oh I don't want to lose control over it" and more a "we know Waters has a plan, we like this plan, let's do it" (except for The Final Cut where Gilmour was vocal about not liking what they were playing). And on top of that Gilmour DID bring some of his music over too - "Run Like Hell" and "Comfortably Numb" came from musical ideas left over from his '78 album, remember?

[ZiggyZipgun]

Yes, they were both at the height of their powers, considering they were able to write more songs in a few months than than they had in the previous ten years.

Dave did contribute two demos to The Wall, and we've heard those demos - they were rough, but the general ideas were there. The ones he gave to Roy were complete enough that they only needed some overdubs to make it onto the album.

And again, very few people were aware of who was in the band, or Waters' and Gilmour's solo tours would have received significantly more attention. They could've had Michael Kamen wearing a mask of himself and no one would have known or cared. Roger Daltrey once mistook Rick Wright for Eric Clapton, so....

[theaussiefloydian]

And again, very few people were aware of who was in the band, or Waters' and Gilmour's solo tours would have received significantly more attention.

That's a false equivalency. I've never seen a solo project from a band receive the exact same amount of hype outside of pop stars such as Harry Styles, and even then it's much more likely - as with The Spice Girls - that their solo projects will not be anywhere as successful as their band work. The fact that Waters' and Gilmour's solo tours weren't as heavily publicised had less to do with people not knowing who they were and more with the fact that Pink Floyd as a whole was not performing. It's as simple as that little switch. It's for the same reason I don't find myself particularly moved to find Roger Hodgson's solo work - I know the members of Supertramp, I like the band, but all the same I don't care for the idea of seeking out their solo work. Same logic applies in general here.

They could've had Michael Kamen wearing a mask of himself and no one would have known or cared.

Even if that's true they would have heard the difference the moment he started playing.

Roger Daltrey once mistook Rick Wright for Eric Clapton, so....

Also, that makes Roger Daltrey a bit of an idiot.

[Kerry King]

And again, very few people were aware of who was in the band, or Waters' and Gilmour's solo tours would have received significantly more attention.

Aussie already pointed out the falseness of this statement but allow me to reiterate. People knew who they were, they just weren't as interested in the solo stuff. I like the Stones but I don't like Jagger's first two solo albums. It's not because I don't know who he is. The Waters and Gilmour albums don't hold a candle to the best floyd albums.

They could've had Michael Kamen wearing a mask of himself and no one would have known or cared.

According to who? You? Talk to some older floyd fans. Why are you being ridiculous? Were you even alive in 1980?