Pink Floyd went into the studio to begin recording sessions for their album Wish You Were Here on this day in 1975. The album was released in September of that year.
The early sessions of the album, according to guitarist David Gilmour, were “painful” (source). Although their most recent album, Dark Side of the Moon, had been a smash hit, the band nonetheless lacked confidence going into the project. They also lacked definite ideas at the beginning, reportedly feeling quite lost. However, it was in part these feelings of loss, combined with post-hit album confusion, which eventually became central themes of the album (source). The thoughts dovetailed nicely with their apparent disillusion with the recording industry as a whole and their thoughts on the fate of their former bandmate Syd Barrett (source).
Recording took place in Abbey Road Studio 3, which Gilmour described as a “shitty little hole” (source). The comment probably says more about the band’s state of mind at the time than it does about the actual state of the studios.
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