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In the Pink
Featuring historic recollections and never before seen photos, IN THE PINK (not a hunting memoir) is a never before published book by Nick Sedgwick which chronicles Nick’s time spent with Pink Floyd during the original Dark Side of the Moon Tour and his time with Roger Waters in Greece in 1974.
- GenresMusic
272 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 7, 2017
For die-hard Floyd fans only. this book by longtime Roger Waters friend Nick Sedgwick was written shortly after the 1974 British Winter Tour and then, more or less, put on hold until his recent death. (Roger incidently makes a major mistake in the forward when he says the tour was before the release of the album; it actually wasn't-- makes you wonder how closely Roger, who added footnotes throughout, really read it)
The book is divided into two parts: The first is a poor and rather over written account of a holiday Nick took with Roger and his then wife Judy in Greece in the summer of 74 and chronicles the breakup of said marriage. He goes on at great length though about life in Cambridge, about his, (Nick's) college days and girlfriends before getting to the nitty gritty of the Greece trip.
The better half is the first hand account of the backstage incidents of the British tour. Of interest is how in conversations between the band members Roger's alienation with the rock audience (they're too young, he quips) and the whole rock and roll lifestyle begins to show.
David Gilmour, Floyd's guitarist, has said this book is rather one sided (it should be called My friend Roger, he has said) and he has a point but some of the revelations are interesting to Floyd fans. (I was surprised in fact with how poor their live sound was in those days and how ruthlessly the band fired roadies.). Worth it for the second half.
The book is divided into two parts: The first is a poor and rather over written account of a holiday Nick took with Roger and his then wife Judy in Greece in the summer of 74 and chronicles the breakup of said marriage. He goes on at great length though about life in Cambridge, about his, (Nick's) college days and girlfriends before getting to the nitty gritty of the Greece trip.
The better half is the first hand account of the backstage incidents of the British tour. Of interest is how in conversations between the band members Roger's alienation with the rock audience (they're too young, he quips) and the whole rock and roll lifestyle begins to show.
David Gilmour, Floyd's guitarist, has said this book is rather one sided (it should be called My friend Roger, he has said) and he has a point but some of the revelations are interesting to Floyd fans. (I was surprised in fact with how poor their live sound was in those days and how ruthlessly the band fired roadies.). Worth it for the second half.
April 14, 2018
For me the book has three parts, and not two as some reviewers say. In a long and winding (and slightly dull) introduction Sedgwick remembers the Cambridge days with Roger, David, Syd, Storm and the other clan members of what David Gilmour later baptised the Cambridge mafia. Nick was a bit an outsider in the group, more an observant than a participant. (...)
Several years later Dark Side Of The Moon turns the band into a worldwide success. It not only makes the band members instant millionaires, it also obliges them to overthink their careers, their future and their role in the band. Especially Waters is not very happy with the situation and when Nick Sedgwick contacts him out of the blue he is more than happy to renew the friendship with someone who is not a part of the band's inner circle. They will remain close friends for the next decades to come.
The second part of the biography is about this renewed friendship. Roger Waters more or less clings to Nick and wants to have him around as much as possible. Sedgwick is a much needed confessor to whom Roger Waters can ventilate his opinions about the band, the world in general and the ineluctable breakdown of his marriage with Jude. (...)
As I am around for most of the time, why don't you give me a job?, Nick Sedgwick may have thought, and for once, Roger Waters agrees. After a sabbatical Pink Floyd is back on tour and Waters has the idea to make a book about their life on the road, in his words (quoted by Mark Blake): ‘the definitive book on the experience in Pink Floyd’. (...)
It is agreed that Nick Sedgwick will follow the band, first on the 1974 British Winter Tour, then on the early 1975 North American Tour. His impressions of the British Tour are the third part of this book. These are detailed notes – gig by gig - about the Floyd's performance, the sound quality of the concerts, the backstage quarrels and discussions from the band and roadies.
Just before the American 1975 tour starts, Nick Sedgwick hands over his notes to the band. David Gilmour and Rick Wright are not amused, as a matter of fact they are quite angry and find the account biased. The book project dies a silent death although nobody really tells it with so many words. Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way. (...)
This certainly is a book for Floydian anoraks and not for the occasional fan. Reading it forty-four years after it has been written one can ask now what the hassle it was all about. But it is true that the band and its organisation don't come out like professionals. There is also a fair share of coke and other drug use, mostly by the roadies, but band members, their manager and the author all have a go at it, despite the Floyd's reputation of being choir boys.
The last – third - part of In The Pink is the one that was written for the aborted Hipgnosis Pink Floyd book, but what we really read is a 2004 reworked manuscript of the 1974 original, so we will never know what has been amended from the version David, Rick and Nick got to read. But, amended or not, for those who like a lot of gossip of life on the road it can be quite an eye opener.
(This is a shortened version of my review at The Holy Church of Iggy the Inuit: Roger is always right.)
Several years later Dark Side Of The Moon turns the band into a worldwide success. It not only makes the band members instant millionaires, it also obliges them to overthink their careers, their future and their role in the band. Especially Waters is not very happy with the situation and when Nick Sedgwick contacts him out of the blue he is more than happy to renew the friendship with someone who is not a part of the band's inner circle. They will remain close friends for the next decades to come.
The second part of the biography is about this renewed friendship. Roger Waters more or less clings to Nick and wants to have him around as much as possible. Sedgwick is a much needed confessor to whom Roger Waters can ventilate his opinions about the band, the world in general and the ineluctable breakdown of his marriage with Jude. (...)
As I am around for most of the time, why don't you give me a job?, Nick Sedgwick may have thought, and for once, Roger Waters agrees. After a sabbatical Pink Floyd is back on tour and Waters has the idea to make a book about their life on the road, in his words (quoted by Mark Blake): ‘the definitive book on the experience in Pink Floyd’. (...)
It is agreed that Nick Sedgwick will follow the band, first on the 1974 British Winter Tour, then on the early 1975 North American Tour. His impressions of the British Tour are the third part of this book. These are detailed notes – gig by gig - about the Floyd's performance, the sound quality of the concerts, the backstage quarrels and discussions from the band and roadies.
Just before the American 1975 tour starts, Nick Sedgwick hands over his notes to the band. David Gilmour and Rick Wright are not amused, as a matter of fact they are quite angry and find the account biased. The book project dies a silent death although nobody really tells it with so many words. Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way. (...)
This certainly is a book for Floydian anoraks and not for the occasional fan. Reading it forty-four years after it has been written one can ask now what the hassle it was all about. But it is true that the band and its organisation don't come out like professionals. There is also a fair share of coke and other drug use, mostly by the roadies, but band members, their manager and the author all have a go at it, despite the Floyd's reputation of being choir boys.
The last – third - part of In The Pink is the one that was written for the aborted Hipgnosis Pink Floyd book, but what we really read is a 2004 reworked manuscript of the 1974 original, so we will never know what has been amended from the version David, Rick and Nick got to read. But, amended or not, for those who like a lot of gossip of life on the road it can be quite an eye opener.
(This is a shortened version of my review at The Holy Church of Iggy the Inuit: Roger is always right.)
November 12, 2018
I didn't get on with this book at all during its opening chapters. I just couldn't find the author's voice and fretted that despite being a huge Floyd fan I was (gulp) going to find this a bit of a slog. By the time Sedgwick joins Roger Waters and wife Judy on holiday in Greece though it all fell into place. Often music biographies fall into the trap of being detailed about an artists pre-fame life and then once they become the person you're actually interested in reading about it all becomes a bit, album, tour, album, tour with very little detail about the actual person.
That's where this book really works, the people in the narrative feel genuine. Almost half of the book is devoted to the DSOTM British tour and is superb. Sedgwick manages to paint pictures with his words that make you feel like you are standing in the cold hall, or on the threadbare backstage carpet with him.
That's where this book really works, the people in the narrative feel genuine. Almost half of the book is devoted to the DSOTM British tour and is superb. Sedgwick manages to paint pictures with his words that make you feel like you are standing in the cold hall, or on the threadbare backstage carpet with him.
September 26, 2018
Written by a close associate of Pink Floyd from their early days, this is an intimate, two part book largely covering the period around "Dark Side of the Moon." The first half is an account of a summer the author spent in Greece with Roger Waters and his then wife, Judy. It describes a bit of the early days of Waters' newfound wealth, and the advantages it affords, as well as Waters' cynical attitude towards it and his career. This section also delves into the beginning of the end of that marriage, as well as Sedgwick's insecurities career- and relationship-wise.
The second half is a sort of tour journal from the British leg of the "Dark Side of the Moon" tour, an up close perspective of the band's complicated and chaotic inner workings. This part, originally intended to be a project in cooperation with Storm Thorgerson, casts an unflinching eye on the world of this particular touring band. It reveals fascinatingly abrasive working relationships, stunning disorder, and certainly heavily hints at the beginning of the cracks in the band itself. I suppose in that respect the book overall is an account of various fracturing entities.
I found Sedgwick to be a wonderful writer, often making insightful observations with amusing, deft descriptions of places and events. The book is also chock full of personal photos, and much of it is annotated in candid fashion by Waters himself, a close friend of the author. This is a unique read for Floyd/Waters fans, and certainly makes me wish he'd written more.
The second half is a sort of tour journal from the British leg of the "Dark Side of the Moon" tour, an up close perspective of the band's complicated and chaotic inner workings. This part, originally intended to be a project in cooperation with Storm Thorgerson, casts an unflinching eye on the world of this particular touring band. It reveals fascinatingly abrasive working relationships, stunning disorder, and certainly heavily hints at the beginning of the cracks in the band itself. I suppose in that respect the book overall is an account of various fracturing entities.
I found Sedgwick to be a wonderful writer, often making insightful observations with amusing, deft descriptions of places and events. The book is also chock full of personal photos, and much of it is annotated in candid fashion by Waters himself, a close friend of the author. This is a unique read for Floyd/Waters fans, and certainly makes me wish he'd written more.
November 13, 2018
This is a special book in that it contains lots of old photos and also scribbling from Roger Waters and even a couple of drawings! Admittedly the first section is very hard going and I wondered if I'd enjoy it or even be able to continue - the author covers old ground from the days in Cambridge and I found it very hard to adjust to his style of writing - some of the sentences need to be shorter I think. However, when the author then goes to spend Summer of 74 in Greece with Roger Waters and his wife it becomes very interesting and a great read. You almost feel the sadness and sense of loss once the holiday is over. The second half of the book is notes of the authors observations (and tape recordings) following the band on the UK leg of the dark side of the moon tour. Insightful it is, and in many parts funny, it will be of great interest to fans. 1st half of first section aside - the rest is good.
August 4, 2020
First few chapters are turgid and florid, yipes. Then it gets interesting, although you're getting a reluctant eyewitness account of a rock star marriage blowing up for ... not exactly the same reasons you'd usually run into. You end up with a bit of empathy for my favorite jerk, Roger Waters, as his wife assures him over and over that what he does isn't art, and then wanders off with other men (not that he hadn't cheated by that point).
The second half of the book is witnessing parts of the Dark Side of the Moon tour and wow, what a bunch of jerks. it's entertaining but you understand why people who worked with Pink Floyd came out a bit battered - and it was in no way just down to Roger Waters. Whole band is as cruel as a frat party. Entertaining though.
The second half of the book is witnessing parts of the Dark Side of the Moon tour and wow, what a bunch of jerks. it's entertaining but you understand why people who worked with Pink Floyd came out a bit battered - and it was in no way just down to Roger Waters. Whole band is as cruel as a frat party. Entertaining though.
March 19, 2021
I'd need to read it again to fully appreciate it. The Dark Side tour chapters are insightful. It's certainly a rare glimpse into such a private band. Not for the casual Floyd fan as it delves pretty heavily into Roger and Judy's mid-life self worth/identity crisis. Recommended.
April 10, 2021
Not a bad book, but I find I'm just past the point of wanting to read anything and everything about Pink Floyd, as they drift more and more into being a (great) thing of the past.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews