HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: The Division Bell – Pink Floyd
It’s early 1993. On the banks of the River Thames, on a converted grandboat named Astoria, three men convene to write and record their band’s fourteenth album. There are two basic goals – to improve on their previous record and, crucially, to rubber stamp PINK FLOYD‘s place at the top of global rock music. Eight years previously, they were on the brink of dissolution; now, they were reaching an improbable second peak.
When PINK FLOYD bassist and founding member Roger Waters left the prog-rock legends in 1985, citing them as a ‘spent force, creatively’, many presumed that would be the end. But guitarist and vocalist Dave Gilmour wasn’t about to let the band die on the decision of one man and a year later, along with drummer Nick Mason, began to work on the follow up to 1983’s fractious The Final Cut. Waters was outraged, assuming the duo wouldn’t have the necessary qualities to continue, and began legal proceedings saying no music could be released as PINK FLOYD unless he was involved. He dropped the case when EMI Records intervened and whilst the resulting record, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason (1987), was closer in feel to a Gilmour solo record than a PINK FLOYD album, its subsequent success breathed new life into the group: the album broke into the top five of multiple countries and preceded a world tour of sold out arenas and stadiums that culminated in a high-profile performance at the legendary Knebworth House in Hertfordshire.
Perhaps more importantly, though, keyboardist Richard Wright was back. Waters‘ increasingly domineering leadership of the band had forced him out November 1979 with his confidence shattered, but he was offered the chance to tour as one of the backing musicians for PINK FLOYD in support of A Momentary Lapse… and that, once all legal boundaries had been overcome, opened the door for him to come back into the fold. Also critical to the album’s development was Gilmour‘s wife Polly Samson, who had worked wonders in bringing the frontman out of the depression and cocaine addiction he slumped into following his divorce and legal disputes with Waters; although initially just glancing an eye over her husband’s lyrical content, she would eventually end up co-writing nearly the whole album with him.
The title, The Division Bell, was suggested by author Douglas Adams in exchange for a £5,000 charity donation to the Environmental Investigation Agency. Although not a full concept album as such, the theme of communication (or lack thereof) was prevalent across the record and led to many tracks dealing with Gilmour‘s personal demons, whether that be the collapse of his previous marriage and subsequent recovery in Coming Back To Life or the emotional ode to former, estranged band member Syd Barrett in Poles Apart; there was even an attempt to reach out to Waters in Lost For Words. This olive branch was subsequently refused. Instrumental track Marooned would win the 1995 Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance and there was even a cameo from Stephen Hawking on Keep Talking. So moved was Gilmour by the words spoken by the scientist on an advert for BT, he sought – and was granted – permission from the company to use them. But it’s High Hopes, the final track and a beautiful reflection on the band’s early days in Cambridge, that remains the overall highlight; heavy and tender in equal measure, it was the final track written for the album and the last original PINK FLOYD song for nearly two decades.
Released on March 28th, 1994, The Division Bell received mixed reviews – although stronger than its predecessor, many criticised its supposed self-indulgence and suggested the band were just going through the motions. Entertainment Weekly said it was ‘notable primarily for its stomach-churning merger of progressive rock pomposity and New Age noodling’, Rolling Stone said ‘only on What Do You Want From Me does Gilmour sound like he cares’ and, ever the outspoken individual, Roger Waters dismissed it as ‘just rubbish…nonsense from start to end’. Nevertheless, it would top the charts in 21 different countries and go on to sell over seven million copies worldwide, in many places going platinum multiple times over.
PINK FLOYD spent the rest of 1994 touring The Division Bell, a run that would see them, albeit briefly hold the title of the biggest tour ever undertaken, generating a worldwide gross of £150million. Playing a career spanning set that changed from night to night, many of the shows saw the band’s 1973 classic The Dark Side Of The Moon played in full during the second half of the show. The tour finished with a 14-night run at London’s Earls Court where, infamously, a section of the venue collapsed on opening night and had to be rescheduled; the critically acclaimed live CD and video Pulse was recorded on the night of October 20th during this residency.
Despite the overwhelming success of the tour, PINK FLOYD would quietly disband after this show, save for their one-off appearance at Live 8 in 2005, release of final album The Endless River in 2014 and surprise 2022 single Hey Hey, Rise Up!. In that time, views on The Division Bell have warmed considerably – it may never stand up with the likes of The Dark Side Of The Moon or Wish You Were Here (1975), but it’s the jewel of PINK FLOYD‘s twilight years, a layered and dexterous record that continues to impress after all this time.
The Division Bell was originally released on March 28, 1994 via EMI Records.
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