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Pink Floyd Shine On: The Definitive Oral History
A Mojo Book of the Year 2025
“Informative, funny, bitchy and sad. I love it” David Quantick
“Michelangelo's David of the genre” Record Collector
“A compelling retelling of the story” Mojo
The definitive oral history of Pink Floyd as told by friends, associates, family members and the band themselves through exclusive, never before published interviews.
Bestselling music author Mark Blake has been an associate and collaborator of Pink Floyd for over thirty years. Shine On takes on the behemoth task of capturing the most comprehensive history of the band ever compiled, drawing on huge amounts of new, archive and unpublished interview material with Gilmour, Waters, Mason and Wright. No other writer has interviewed the members of Pink Floyd as often nor as thoroughly, which is candidly apparent in this textured, gripping and consistently surprising biography. For the first time, the band's story is told as an oral history with each chapter presented through the words the band, their friends, contemporaries and supporting musicians. The accessible structure and high level of detail means that the narrative is both approachable to casual readers and magnetic to the committed.
Shine On is comprised of a significant amount of previously unpublished material, including a rare interview with Rosemary Breen lamenting that her younger brother Roger, aka Syd Barrett, should have never become a musician as well as exclusive new interviews with the band and their associates, reflecting on their enduring legacy and rather more complicated recent twists and turns in the bands story.
Shine On is a skilful retelling of one of the most turbulent and enduring groups in rock music history, a complex history that only someone as skilled and insightful as Blake can navigate.
“Informative, funny, bitchy and sad. I love it” David Quantick
“Michelangelo's David of the genre” Record Collector
“A compelling retelling of the story” Mojo
The definitive oral history of Pink Floyd as told by friends, associates, family members and the band themselves through exclusive, never before published interviews.
Bestselling music author Mark Blake has been an associate and collaborator of Pink Floyd for over thirty years. Shine On takes on the behemoth task of capturing the most comprehensive history of the band ever compiled, drawing on huge amounts of new, archive and unpublished interview material with Gilmour, Waters, Mason and Wright. No other writer has interviewed the members of Pink Floyd as often nor as thoroughly, which is candidly apparent in this textured, gripping and consistently surprising biography. For the first time, the band's story is told as an oral history with each chapter presented through the words the band, their friends, contemporaries and supporting musicians. The accessible structure and high level of detail means that the narrative is both approachable to casual readers and magnetic to the committed.
Shine On is comprised of a significant amount of previously unpublished material, including a rare interview with Rosemary Breen lamenting that her younger brother Roger, aka Syd Barrett, should have never become a musician as well as exclusive new interviews with the band and their associates, reflecting on their enduring legacy and rather more complicated recent twists and turns in the bands story.
Shine On is a skilful retelling of one of the most turbulent and enduring groups in rock music history, a complex history that only someone as skilled and insightful as Blake can navigate.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
432 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 9, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 24, 2025
enjoyed this oral history of the band from origins in Cambridge to the re issues in 2025
June 20, 2026
Thoughts I had while reading this book:
Atom Heart Mother is the first listenable Pink Floyd album. How lucky were they to be given the chance to become songwriters while signed to a major label?
I never would have made it as a hippie. If I had seen them at UFO, I would have rolled my eyes and walked away. But from Meddle through The Wall - sheer genius.
Why did/do all these people worship Syd Barrett? I understand the friendship of those who grew up with him - but everyone else? They're hearing something in the music that I am not. I should mention that I listened to all the albums for the first time in a long time while reading this book.
David Gilmour is a softie, a genuinely good guy. Rogers Waters is not as bad as everyone thinks. He's passionate and created some of Pink Floyd's best songs and albums. He's sometimes an asshole. He enjoys being contrarian, but I don't think he's a bad guy. But what do I know after reading one book?
David and Roger are both harsh critcs of Pink Floyd, but seemingly evaluate their albums honestly and accurately.
Why only three stars? I few times I considered putting it down. I'm not an uber fan, so some parts were just plain boring.
Atom Heart Mother is the first listenable Pink Floyd album. How lucky were they to be given the chance to become songwriters while signed to a major label?
I never would have made it as a hippie. If I had seen them at UFO, I would have rolled my eyes and walked away. But from Meddle through The Wall - sheer genius.
Why did/do all these people worship Syd Barrett? I understand the friendship of those who grew up with him - but everyone else? They're hearing something in the music that I am not. I should mention that I listened to all the albums for the first time in a long time while reading this book.
David Gilmour is a softie, a genuinely good guy. Rogers Waters is not as bad as everyone thinks. He's passionate and created some of Pink Floyd's best songs and albums. He's sometimes an asshole. He enjoys being contrarian, but I don't think he's a bad guy. But what do I know after reading one book?
David and Roger are both harsh critcs of Pink Floyd, but seemingly evaluate their albums honestly and accurately.
Why only three stars? I few times I considered putting it down. I'm not an uber fan, so some parts were just plain boring.
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June 28, 2026Because this book is about Pink Floyd, obviously I cannot give it a rating. I will say though that it doesn’t help you like the members of the band as PEOPLE …
June 4, 2026
A tremendous insight into the story of Pink Floyd with no stone left unturned. The story told in quotes from band members and associates in time order interspersed with observations and interpretations by the author. The result is a fascinating, interesting and informative record of one of the most influential and important groups to straddle the 20th and 21st centuries.
April 6, 2026
I thought I knew everything there is to know about Pink Floyd after reading dozens of biographies over the years, including another one by Mark Blake. This book dug a lot deeper and I especially enjoyed the back stories from the 50s and 60s.
January 18, 2026
great insight and interviews
Really good to just dip in and pick up anywhere. Great interviews and insight from all the main members plus lots of supporting staff.
Really good to just dip in and pick up anywhere. Great interviews and insight from all the main members plus lots of supporting staff.
June 15, 2026
Great back story and goes into great detail.. RIP Syd & Rick 💛
June 20, 2026
it makes me sad when we talk about syd barrett. he could have done so much if people just listened to him
January 1, 2026
Great Information from the Guys Themselves
It’s great that this exists, Mark Blake did a good job prying the stories out of a band that’s very reticent. This is not the best history of Pink Floyd, Comfortably Numb is still that. Oral Histories just don’t work that way do the limitations of their format. I look at this more as a very robust appendix to that book.
It’s great that this exists, Mark Blake did a good job prying the stories out of a band that’s very reticent. This is not the best history of Pink Floyd, Comfortably Numb is still that. Oral Histories just don’t work that way do the limitations of their format. I look at this more as a very robust appendix to that book.
March 23, 2026
Mildly interesting but a bit tedious, so gave up early
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews