Pigs Might Fly
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Pigs Might Fly: The Inside Story of "Pink Floyd" for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
‘Mark Blake brings Floydology into the 21st Century with this handsomely produced volume...’ (The Sunday Telegraph )
‘A detailed, orderly, first-rate read...’ (Q )
‘Thorough and well-researched... Lots of new material...’ (Observer )
'The most complete and extensive work on the history of Pink Floyd yet' - Book of the Year (Record Collector )
'This is, in short, an easy and enthralling read...what really makes Blake's book one of the finest on Floyd there is, is the minutiae of the detail it offers...tasty morsels for Pink Floyd fans to feed on.’ (Classic Rock )
‘A detailed, orderly, first-rate read...’ (Q )
‘Thorough and well-researched... Lots of new material...’ (Observer )
'The most complete and extensive work on the history of Pink Floyd yet' - Book of the Year (Record Collector )
'This is, in short, an easy and enthralling read...what really makes Blake's book one of the finest on Floyd there is, is the minutiae of the detail it offers...tasty morsels for Pink Floyd fans to feed on.’ (Classic Rock )
Q, October 2007
"A detailed, orderly, first-rate read..." 4 out of 5 stars
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was grateful for once that a Q Magazine journalist could tell us a story rather than indulging in musical matters that we can happily make judgements upon ourselves (not that I've read Q in many years but I'd guess they're still writing in the same self-indulgent way).
Plus it's very gratifying to read what the band members themselves have to say and fortunately the biography is peppered with as much of that as is possible.
Having said that, as another reviewer has said, Blake does tend to stray towards negatives and downward slopes in his writing which, I agree, appears less than kind on the page.
Oddly enough though, while I think Floyd's music is mesmerisingly brilliant, I don't think the musicians themselves are geniuses and I prefer the way Blake's writings are realistic rather than flattering when concerning that area. So while, for instance, I'm reluctant to accept that Barrett's 'Word Song' is 'the verbal outpourings of a sick man' I recognise the fact that it may indeed be true.
The cup is always half empty in Blake's biography of Pink Floyd.
And while that's not to everyone's tastes no one can deny that it's a fact. And that indeed IS VERY Pink Floyd.
Plus it's very gratifying to read what the band members themselves have to say and fortunately the biography is peppered with as much of that as is possible.
Having said that, as another reviewer has said, Blake does tend to stray towards negatives and downward slopes in his writing which, I agree, appears less than kind on the page.
Oddly enough though, while I think Floyd's music is mesmerisingly brilliant, I don't think the musicians themselves are geniuses and I prefer the way Blake's writings are realistic rather than flattering when concerning that area. So while, for instance, I'm reluctant to accept that Barrett's 'Word Song' is 'the verbal outpourings of a sick man' I recognise the fact that it may indeed be true.
The cup is always half empty in Blake's biography of Pink Floyd.
And while that's not to everyone's tastes no one can deny that it's a fact. And that indeed IS VERY Pink Floyd.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Some acts, such as the Beatles, Dylan and the Floyd, have had so many books written about them that it is hard to come up with anything new. This book succeeds in describing two aspects of the Pink Floyd story to a level of detail I haven't found elsewhere:
-The size and diversity of the Cambridge scene; there were many other creative people, e.g. Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis, and the friendships lasted a long time; the Floyd have a long history of supporting old mates on hard times. Syd Barrett was of course the classic instance of this. Blake makes the point that many of the people involved had missing fathers, e.g. Waters and later Barrett, and implies that they may have thus lacked role models and conventional direction; he argues that Barrett was not the only one from the Cambridge scene whose talent failed to fulfil all its promise.
-The power struggles of the post-Barrett group, with Waters and Gilmour as the strong antagonists, Mason as the diplomat, and Wright as the nice guy who would rather avoid all this aggro. This makes one wonder how the group politics would have evolved if Barrett had stayed in the band (like many "what ifs", fascinating but frustrating).
Chronologically, the book was published soon after Barrett's death, so the penultimate event is the "hell freezes over" reunion at Live8. Blake justifiably spends a long time on this, and (bearing in mind that Wright was to die not long after Barrett) Blake's view could be summed up in another well-known song lyric: "It's too late when we die to admit we don't see eye to eye".
Perhaps not the perfect Floyd biography, but probably the best to date, complementing Julian Palacios' excellent Barrett biography "Lost in the Woods". Blake is an ideal biographer, on the one hand being a devotee of his subjects (his website tells us that the first concert he saw was the Floyd performing The Wall in 1980) but on the other able to exercise analytical detachment.
-The size and diversity of the Cambridge scene; there were many other creative people, e.g. Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis, and the friendships lasted a long time; the Floyd have a long history of supporting old mates on hard times. Syd Barrett was of course the classic instance of this. Blake makes the point that many of the people involved had missing fathers, e.g. Waters and later Barrett, and implies that they may have thus lacked role models and conventional direction; he argues that Barrett was not the only one from the Cambridge scene whose talent failed to fulfil all its promise.
-The power struggles of the post-Barrett group, with Waters and Gilmour as the strong antagonists, Mason as the diplomat, and Wright as the nice guy who would rather avoid all this aggro. This makes one wonder how the group politics would have evolved if Barrett had stayed in the band (like many "what ifs", fascinating but frustrating).
Chronologically, the book was published soon after Barrett's death, so the penultimate event is the "hell freezes over" reunion at Live8. Blake justifiably spends a long time on this, and (bearing in mind that Wright was to die not long after Barrett) Blake's view could be summed up in another well-known song lyric: "It's too late when we die to admit we don't see eye to eye".
Perhaps not the perfect Floyd biography, but probably the best to date, complementing Julian Palacios' excellent Barrett biography "Lost in the Woods". Blake is an ideal biographer, on the one hand being a devotee of his subjects (his website tells us that the first concert he saw was the Floyd performing The Wall in 1980) but on the other able to exercise analytical detachment.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have read a fair few Floyd books now including Nick Masons and i have to say this is by far and away the best and most comprehensive. It starts right back at the begining in the mid 60's right through to 2007, covering literally everything. It also covers their solo ventures during and after Floyd and also gives great info on how all the albums faired in the US and the UK (Solo's included). He must have been working on this book for years. I was very impressed that he mentioned Dave Gilmour turned up on Parkinsons show in 1999 as a session guitarist for Paul McCartney who was having a full show dedicated to him. Dave Gilmour was never mentioned on the show and i only noticed myself that he was there playing. Very impressive research. I learn't a lot about the band and its members that i never knew and will have to read it again as its hard to remember everything. Its a great story and also quite sad (Syd's decline). Roger Waters comes out of it the worst, looks like he gave Gilmour a very hard time and the rest of the band also. His ego and tempermant being his main problem. And considering the abuse he has taken, Dave Gilmour comes out of it with dignity in tact.
If your a Floyd fanantic or a casual music listener with a passing interest in the band, its a must buy.
If your a Floyd fanantic or a casual music listener with a passing interest in the band, its a must buy.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
LOST YOUTH VOLUME 2 LONDON
LOST YOUTH VOLUME 2 LONDON was written while listening to the early creative music from the Cambridge legend that was Syd Barrett. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Geoff McDonald
Pigs Might Fly: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd
This is the closest thing to a definitive Pink Floyd biography currently available. The author is excellent on the early days and follows the later career elegantly and without... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Dave Gilmour's cat
THE BEST FLOYD BOOK YET!
This is the best book I've ever read about Pink Floyd and possibly the best about rock music in the sixtys and seventies. I cannot believe I didnt read it when it came out. Read more
Published 13 months ago by SK Powers
Was it all that miserable?
Ultimately, I found this book depressing.
Written chronologically with a 'flash forward' at the start of each section, it tells the tale known by most Floyd fans: the... Read more
Written chronologically with a 'flash forward' at the start of each section, it tells the tale known by most Floyd fans: the... Read more
Published 17 months ago by J. Franks
Informative? Yes. Uplifting? No.
This biography by Mark Blake is the first on Pink Floyd I've bought and read, mostly due to some glowing reviews. Read more
Published 24 months ago by J. R. P. Wigman
A great gift for any Floyd fan!
Bought this for a Floyd fan and he loved it. He recommends it other Floyd fans!
Published on 24 April 2010 by F. Hornby
Very apt title
I love Pink Floyd but after reading this I'm absolutely amazed they ever managed to create and complete any album, never mind brilliant ones. Read more
Published on 6 April 2010 by J. A. Rae
Pigs Might Fly
Blake does the most comprehensive, objective job thus far with narrative covering events almost up to Richard Wright's death. Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2010 by Nicholas Mitchell
Enjoying my sixth Pink Floyd book...
Alongside Nick Mason's Inside and Out this is the best book on Pink Floyd. The two of them add up to more than the sum of each. Other nice books have little to add to the pair.
Published on 18 Nov 2009 by Wingård Urban
Loads of quiet desperation here
Most of these reviews say mostly the same thing: it's a very good book, detailed occasionally to the point of tedium in some places and mainlining more on the personalities than... Read more
Published on 2 Nov 2009 by Lonesome Twin
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
