Home / Pink Floyd Timeline / Pink Floyd History 1979
In 1979, Pink Floyd released their iconic album “The Wall” on November 30th. This rock opera, primarily written by Roger Waters, explores themes of isolation and abandonment. The album was a commercial success, reaching number one in the US and number three in the UK. It featured hit singles like “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2”, which became Pink Floyd’s only UK and US number-one single. The Wall was also notable for its elaborate live performances, which included theatrical effects and a massive wall constructed on stage in 1981. This album solidified Pink Floyd’s status as one of the most influential rock bands of all time.
Tensions Building in the Band

The previous year, David Gilmour and Richard Wright had released solo albums and hadn’t contributed to the follow up to Animals. Roger penned most of The Wall and The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (released as his first solo album). The fact that Roger turned up with a relatively polished concept for The Wall album, there was little room for the others to contribute even if they wanted to or could.
Nick Mason wrote, “The level of contributions by other members of the band would become a bone of contention. Perhaps the very completeness of Roger’s demo made it difficult for David or Rick to contribute much. But certainly David later felt his musical contributions, especially to Run Like Hell and Comfortably Numb was not being fairly recognised. This potential volcano of future discord was, however, still dormant when we started making rough versions of some of the tracks for The Wall at Britannia Row during the autumn of 1978″.
Here are some of the biggest selling albums of 1979:
- “The Wall” by Pink Floyd: This rock opera was a massive success, selling over 33 million copies.
- “Spirits Having Flown” by Bee Gees: This album sold around 20 million copies and was another major hit of the year.
- “Off the Wall” by Michael Jackson: Michael Jackson’s breakthrough solo album also sold about 20 million copies.
- “Breakfast in America” by Supertramp: This album sold approximately 19 million copies.
- “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC: This album sold around 9.4 million copies.
- “The Long Run” by Eagles: This album sold about 7.8 million copies.
- “Communique” by Dire Straits: This album sold around 7 million copies.
- “In Through the Out Door” by Led Zeppelin: This album sold approximately 6.6 million copies.
- “Christopher Cross” by Christopher Cross: This album sold about 6.2 million copies.
- “Van Halen II” by Van Halen: This album sold around 5.4 million copies.
Sources –
- Comfortably Numb A History of The Wall Pink Floyd 1978-1981 by Vernon Fitch and Richard Mahon.
- Brain Damage article on recording The Wall