Games for May

Games for May was a concert, which took place at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 12 May 1967,[1][2][3] was one of the first significant concert events held by Pink Floyd.[2] It was set up by Pink Floyd's managers Andrew King and Peter Jenner of Blackhill Enterprises, and promoted by classical promoter Christopher Hunt.[4]

History

Games for May was described as a "Space age relaxation for the climax of spring – electronic composition, colour and image projection, girls, and the Pink Floyd".[3] The concert featured some of the band's early singles as well as material from their then unreleased debut album – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. During the performance, some of the band members created sound effects by chopping up wood on stage,[5] a man dressed up as an admiral gave out daffodils,[2] and the bubbles produced from a machine while the show was in progress stained all the furniture in the hall.[5] As a consequence, Pink Floyd were banned from ever playing there again.[5]

The show included a primitive "surround sound" mixer, consisting of a joystick linked to an organ and effects, which could be used to move sounds around the auditorium, which has now gone down in Floyd folklore as the "Azimuth Co-ordinator".[4] It was the first concert in Britain to feature both a complex light show and a quadraphonic sound system.[2][5] The show was introduced with a series of tape recordings. Roger Waters created the opening dawn tape effects by using bird calls and various natural sounds (an effect he would use in both "Cirrus Minor" and "Grantchester Meadows"). The bubbles at the end of the show were created by Rick Wright while the ending piece was constructed by Barrett.[1] At this time "See Emily Play" was known as "Games for May."[1]

Setlist

[1][2]

Encore:

Quotes

"In the future, bands are going to have to offer more than a pop show. They are going to have to an offer a well presented theatre show" – Syd Barrett on the future of rock and roll live performance.[5]
"I think Games for May was one of the most significant shows we ever performed" – Nick Mason on the concert and its impact.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Unreleased Pink Floyd material: Games for May". Pinkfloydhyperbase.dk. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Chapman, Rob (2010). "Distorted View – See Through Baby Blue". Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head (Paperback ed.). London: Faber. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-571-23855-2.
  3. 1 2 Manning, Toby (2006). "The Underground". The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 37. ISBN 1-84353-575-0.
  4. 1 2 Cunningham, Mark (March 1997). "Welcome to the Machine - the story of Pink Floyd's live sound: part 1". All Pink Floyd Fan Network. Sound On Stage. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Manning, Toby (2006). "The Underground". The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 38. ISBN 1-84353-575-0.
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