Prog-rock legends Pink Floyd have released a new video for their Syd Barrett–inspired epic "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," presenting it as one 25-minute-long song for the first time in history.
The track serves as a prelude to the 50th-anniversary edition of Wish You Were Here, which comes out next month. The 1975 classic — which has sold 20 million copies to date — is set for reissue with a new Dolby Atmos mix by James Guthrie, who began working with the band on 1976’s The Wall. Originally, the track was split into two, with parts 1–5 opening the album and 6–9 closing it out.
“Shine On…” was written about former Floyd guitarist and vocalist Syd Barrett. Its lyrics were penned in light of his mental health issues, which began to manifest publicly during the band’s ill-fated U.S. debut and led to his departure in 1968. Gilmour, who had been hired for guitar support as Barrett’s health declined, became his full time replacement.
The song centers on what Rick Beato calls “the most famous chord in rock history,” though Gilmour himself describes his electric guitar passage as an arpeggio, given the fact that he never strums through the intriguing note cluster: G F Bb E. Instead, he plays each note individually, with spine-tingling results.
“I stumbled upon that one by accident,” he told Guitar World of the Gm7add6 chord/arpeggio in 2006. But speaking to Rick Beato last year, he went into more detail about that fateful moment, and how his bandmates seemed to know he was onto something special.
“I was in a rehearsal room doing all sorts of little things, and that one [came] out,” he explained. “Something in your brain goes, There’s something to that! You do it again, and after a while, other people in the room stop.
“You can see this thing on people’s faces, this awakening moment. People are going, ‘there’s a possibility here. There’s something here’. The whole of 'Shine On' grew out of that moment.”
Writing the album in the wake of the life-changing success of The Dark Side of the Moon caused problems for the band.
"We were in a very strange place,” Gilmour admitted to NPR, referring to the group's sudden ascension in the charts. “The ‘difficult second album’ thing springs to mind. It wasn’t a second album or anything, but it was the second album after having the knock-your-socks-off, fulfill-all-your-dreams sort of album, right? ‘The Dark Side of the Moon.’”
He said there was “lethargy in the studio” as the respective members battled existential questions of whether they were in the game for fame, money or a pure love of music.
Speaking to Guitar Player in 2024, Gilmour reflected on the brief period in which he and Barrett were members of Pink Floyd with an air of sadness.
“It was tragic, really,” he said. “We’ve got a bit of film of Syd in a dressing room somewhere at one of those gigs, and he dances this little jig — a little dance — and he’s all smiling and laughing.
“But you just look at him and go, ‘Oh God, no, tragic.’ Poor chap. I can’t remember much about it. I was brand new, and I think they knew I’d be taking it over.”
In the end, they only played five shows together.
Wish You Were Here's half-century reissue arrives on December 12 via Sony Music, which bought the rights to the band's back catalog for $400 million in October 2024. The album will be available in several formats, including a Deluxe Box Set and a Blu-ray edition featuring three concert films from the supporting tour and a short film on Storm Thorgerson, the artist behind most of the band's iconic album covers.
Meanwhile, Gilmour’s feud with former Floyd bass guitarist Roger Waters has dashed any lingering hopes of a reunion. Gilmour is already hard at work on a follow-up to his latest solo album, Luck and Strange.
