Biography
Pink Floyd were an English rock band formed in London. They achieved international acclaim with their progressive and psychedelic music. Distinguished by their use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, extended compositions and elaborate live shows, they are one of the most commercially successful and influential groups in the history of popular music. Pink Floyd were founded in 1965 by students Syd Barrett on guitar and lead vocals, Nick Mason on drums, Roger Waters on bass and vocals, and Richard Wright on keyboards and vocals. They gained popularity performing in London’s underground music scene during the late 1960s, and under Barrett’s leadership released two charting singles and a successful debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). Guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour joined in December 1967; Barrett left in April 1968 due to deteriorating mental health. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd
Album & Cover
This is the first of several Pink Floyd album covers that were designed by Storm and Po and led to the creation of Hipgnosis. It was initially offered to a good friend of Storm’s, the painter Dave Henderson who did the lettering and was the lone figure at the bar in led Zeppelin’s ‘In Through The Out Door’. It is a single cover design for one vinyl. “Dr. Strange” & “A Saucerful of Secrets”:if you looked closely at the cover of Pink Floyd’s A Saucerful Of Secrets, you can see the good doctor hidden in Storm Thorgerson’s clever cover design. Just a few years after Dr. Strange first appeared on the scene, in 1967, Storm used an image of Dr. Strange — taken from Marvel’s Strange Tales #158, illustrated by Marie Severin and published the year before — for the cover of Pink Floyd’s second album. Dr Strange shows up on the right side of the front cover — additionally, you can also see the character Living Tribunal, who are facing off over the future of the Earth. In a 2010 Interview, Storm gives an insight into the design, saying
“…The cover is an attempt to represent things that the band was interested in, collectively and individually, presented in a manner that was commensurate with the music. Swirly, blurred edges into red astrology/Dr. Strange images merging into images, a million miles away from certain pharmaceutical experiences. Beginning with Saucerful, they were beginning to experiment with more extended pieces and the music would cascade and change from thing into thing.” Additionally, Pink Floyd also made another reference to Dr. Stephen Strange in their song “Cymbaline,” on the soundtrack to the movie More, with these lyrics “…and Doctor Strange is always changing size.” Source: nightflight.com
The album was recorded before and after Syd Barrett’s departure from the group. Owing to Barrett’s behaviour becoming increasingly unpredictable, the guitarist David Gilmour was recruited in January 1968. As a result, A Saucerful of Secrets became the only non-compilation Pink Floyd album on which all five band members appeared, the first for Gilmour, with him appearing on five songs (“Let There Be More Light”, “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”, “Corporal Clegg”, “A Saucerful of Secrets” and “See-Saw”), and the last for Barrett, with him on three (“Remember a Day”, “Jugband Blues” and “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”). “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” was the only song all five members appeared on together. Drummer Nick Mason declared A Saucerful of Secrets his favourite Pink Floyd album.
Cover Location: Studio and photo shoot of the band at Hampstead Heath.
Who Did What: Multiple c-type colour print superimposition printing by Colin Mitchell. Typography by Dave Henderson. Photography – A.Powell/S.Thorgerson. Cover Design – Hipgnosis.
Label: Tower ST5131(US), Columbia SCX6258/Columbia SX6528(UK)
Source: Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue: Aubrey Powell. Hipgnosis – Walk Away Rene, Compiled by Hipgnosis
Tracklist
| Side One Let there be more light Remember a day Set the controls for the heart of the Sun Corporal Clegg |
Side Two: A Saucerful of Secrets See-Saw Jugband Blues |
Credits
Roger Waters – bass guitar, lead vocals
David Gilmour – lead guitar, lead vocals (incorrectly spelt Gilmore on the album)
Rick Wright – piano, organ, mellotron, vibraphone, lead vocals
Nick Mason – drums, percussion, vocals
Syd Barrett – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Norman Smith – Producer
