Tribute to Rick Wright


Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Syd Barrett and Richard Wright
Gilmour said Wright (right) was "gentle, unassuming and private"

Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has praised late bandmate Richard Wright for his "vitality, spark and humour".

Writing on his website, Gilmour said he had "never played with anyone quite like" the keyboardist, who has died from cancer at the age of 65.

"In my view, all the greatest Pink Floyd moments are the ones where he is in full flow," Gilmour added.

He hailed Wright for his songwriting talent, including on two tracks from 1973's Dark Side of the Moon album.

Gilmour joined the band in 1968 - a year after the group's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten
David Gilmour

"No-one can replace Richard Wright - he was my musical partner and my friend," Gilmour said.

"In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten.

"He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound."

Gilmour said the blend of his and Wright's voices, together with their "musical telepathy, reached their first major flowering" on 1971 track Echoes, which took up the whole of the second side of album Meddle.

Gilmour, Waters, Mason and Wright in 2005
The band performed together at Live 8 in 2005 for the first time in 24 years

Released in 1973, The Dark Side of the Moon went on to become one of the best-selling and most influential albums in rock history.

Wright helped write much of the album, but was responsible for two songs in particular, Gilmour said.

He added: "After all, without Us and Them, and The Great Gig in the Sky - both of which he wrote - what would The Dark Side Of The Moon have been?"

Gilmour has now pulled out of the premiere of a concert film, David Gilmour Live In Gdansk, in London on Tuesday.

But the guitarist has asked for the event to go ahead without him in memory of Wright, his spokesman said.

Joe Boyd, who produced the band's early records, said Wright's keyboards were "an integral part of the Pink Floyd sound".

"He was a very nice and easy going person," he said. "It's very sad to hear of his untimely passing."

'Influential musician'

Neil Portnow, president of The Recording Academy, which organises the Grammy Awards in the US, added his tribute.

"Richard Wright was an exceptional instrumentalist, whose distinctive keyboard style was essential to the musicality of this world-renowned band," he said.

"He also scored films and recorded his own instrumental compositions and solo albums.

"Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and fans at this difficult time, as we remember this influential musician."

The group played at the Live 8 event in Hyde Park in London in 2005, when Roger Waters rejoined his bandmates for a one-off, more than two decades after they fell out.

The four musicians all also played at a tribute concert for Syd Barrett in 2007, with Waters playing a solo set and Wright, Gilmour and Nick Mason making a separate appearance.

Wright's death was announced in a statement by his spokesman on Monday.

The spokesman said Wright died after "a short struggle with cancer" but declined to give further details.

i got tagged by
Holy Ash who in turn was tagged by someone who goes by the the intriguing pseudonym ctrl.altered.mind...

the interesting fact is, like holy ash, i had no idea that the term "meme" actually referred to something...presumed it was just one of those funny words that some blogger made up!

but in fact, according to the daily meme, a meme is:

  • An idea that, like a gene, can replicate and evolve
  • A unit of cultural information that represents a basic idea that can be transferred from one individual to another, and subjected to mutation, crossover and adaptation
  • A cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one generation to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation); "memes are the cultural counterpart of genes"

  • before i get to the interesting piece about my
    unspectacular quirks, here are the rules of this particular "games":
    - link the person who tagged you.
    - mention the rules in your blog.
    - describe 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
    - tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
    - leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs to inform them of having tagged them.

    ok, now that i've got that out of the way...


    - the notes in my wallet are arranged in order of denomination, largest on the outside to smallest on the inside. very irritating when i hand it to j and she gives it back with everything just stuffed in (she's noticed this and got better at arranging it the way i like it of late)

    - i like to park my car with the wheels slightly skewed (turned out towards the road). i didn't realize this myself till j and one of her friends pointed in out some years back


    - i use the mouse (not the touch pad, the extra one) with my left hand but the pointers and buttons are default (for normal right-hand use). people get very confused when they try my laptop or watch me working!


    - i don't like sitting facing a wall or corner (in restaurants etc.), i always like having the wall at my back. i even ask folks to get up/ swap places with me if i get in last...


    - i always prefer to sit facing forwards in a train, don't like the seats facing against the direction its moving. if i get stuck in a "backwards" seat, i'm always fidgety.


    - i like my specs to be spotless, so i end up cleaning them all the time. i know this really irritates some folks at work, esp. when i keep on at it - you know when there's this small spec of something that i can never get off and i keep going at it

    hmmm...now its all out in the open...promise not to take advantage!

    so, everyone, i don't know 6 people who blog and haven't done this post already, so i'm not tagging anyone else...thank god, you say?

    "underground" music


    through a drab, touristy day in London, this guy provided an uplifting highlight!



    imagine if:

    you didn't get a guaranteed salary every month

    you didn't have enough money to have a bank account

    you had to perform all day in a dark corner of a london tube station to earn a sandwich at the end of the day

    and if this is what we call the "developed world", imagine the millions back home in India and everything they need to do.

    through last week, there's been a major uproar in the UK about children "as young as 10" working on clothes sold by Primark and how this was "exploitation" and how they should be at school instead.

    who's going to pay for their education?
    who's going to pay to feed them every day?
    who's going to provide the shelter in the summer, monsoon and winter (well, all through the year, actually!) etc.

    after all this bleak stuff, why was this guitar guy a highlight? because he had a smile on his face, he enjoyed what he was doing, and he hailed me with a "cheers, mate!" when i was done filming him and dropped a few pence into his box...

    cheers!

    wysiwyg

    You Make a Great First Impression

    You can handle almost any social situation with grace, even the tricky ones.
    Strangers often find you charming and interesting. You are often remembered fondly.
    Even if you're not naturally outgoing, you can make conversation with anyone if you need to.

    Whether you were born this way or had to work to get here, you are definitely charismatic.
    You're popular and well liked. People definitely look forward to being around you.
    Your social connections bring you a full and rich life. You understand how important it is to make a lasting impression.