Quality. Universal themes. I can understand it. It's good stuff. People listen to Neil Young and Joni Mitchell the same way. We're in a fine, select group - it's great for every new generation to investigate. I'm happy to be considered part of it.
What's your view of the mystical side of it? You've always seemed to keep a respectful distance.
Our music has depth, and attempts philosophical thought and meaning with discussions of infinity, eternity and mortality. There is a line which people cross that turns it into some magical, mystical realm, for which I can't claim responsibility - and don't hold any great truck with.
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All of your best-known material was honed on the road, wasn't it?
That's slightly a myth. Dark Side was fashioned out on the road, because we started playing and honing it, but it wasn't that common. Things like 'Echoes' we had done live, and later, with the Animals stuff, we had done the two tracks on the '74 tour. They were part of the oeuvre before being unleashed officially, but Dark Side Of The Moon was the one where that belief comes from - and it did help make it better, as we were pretty well conversant with the music.
In the middle of all that honing, you made Obscured By Clouds. What do you make of it now?
Good fun. Chateau De Herouville. We never catagorised film soundtracks in the same way, that's why they never make it onto collections.
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With the success of your in-concert DVD, how long before the Floyd venture into the DVD market?
Pulse will come out. It's so over-the-top that we haven't managed to do a decent test yet, getting the vision and visuals on to DVD. Pompeii is not owned by us, we have no control over it, but it's being turned into a new, groovier version. Adrien Maben, the director, said he'd find lots of extra footage, but he's lost it. So he's making up footage of ludicrous architectural designs of what Pompeii might have looked like. Just stick with the original! This new form is not approved by me. There is lots of stuff we'd love to get our hands on, sitting in some tin can somewhere in a vault.
We shot the original in Italy, did cutaway shots and sound mixing in France, and then did the extra shooting while we were at Abbey Road - and the company that originally made it was German. No one has an idea where the ____ it is!
There is quite a fair bit of footage in the studio during the making of Dark Side Of The Moon. It's a bit of a con - it wasn't the real recording. It's me sitting on a stool re-doing an overdub to 'Eclipse', with the same guitar, but when the record was actually finished. And those bits of Roger pretending to do 'On The Run' where he hadn't done it in the first place!
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How did you feel about the Echoes collection?
I was delighted with the whole package. It's pretty near the perfect Pink Floyd primer. I mostly put it all together and got my way 99% of the time. It's a very good career overview. I'm surprised that these things sell, as I think just about everyone who would want it has already got it in its proper place. There are people who sit at computers all day and make their own best-ofs, as I do with other people's stuff. I made a great Beach Boys one, so it's nice for me to do it for others.
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He also talks about Joker's Wild and Syd Barrett. Nothing new, though, really.
I'm tired.
(I know, I know...) so I can't wait for the DVD, it's ALL new to me!! 