The Infamous Pink Floyd Concert That Inspired 'The Wall'

[@philippelabelle9177]

This is a great recap of what happened in Montreal and how the idea of The Wall came about in Waters mind. I was there, @ that infamous Olympic Stadium show in July of 1977. Let me outline a few things about my own personnal experience: - This was the first major concert to be held at the Olympic Stadium after the Games were held in the summer of '76. - For people who were seated in upper rows surrounding the field, it was an acoustic nightmare, with sound delays, reverb, echoes (no pun intended) etc - But for the people who were lucky enough to be seated directly on the field, facing the stage, as I was, the sound was perfect. - As part of their routine, the band played their new album Animals, in its entirety but not in album order, for the first part of the show. - My friends and I were seated about 200 feet from the stage. We really enjoyed the show. Despite what the band members might have said about their performance and the attitude of the crowd, Pink Floyd delivered a great performance, nonetheless. - But, some people got angry and frustrated over the sound quality, the band was tired from touring and in turn they were frustrated by the attitude of some people in the crowd. - It was while Waters was singing Pigs On The Wing (Part One), a slow acoustic ballad, that an idiot chose to set off some firecrackers. Waters interrupted his song and shouted his exasperation to the crowd. He said: «I know some people here care to hear our songs being played and that's what I'm here to do!» He started his song all over againd but his voice was fluttering, from anger and frustration. - The inflatable pig was first used during this tour and it wasn't entirely successful. - The second part was Wish You Were Here, also in its entirety, in album order, and it went without incidents. The crowd cheered them and Pink Floyd came back to do a few encores from Dark Side of The Moon. - They exited the stage and roadies were prepared to dismantle the equipment but the crowd shouted for more. There was a giant screen in the upper levels of the Stadium and it printed in french words: «The show is over. Thank you, good night!» - The crowd still cheered and wouldn't leave. The band finally came back on stage and they did a little blues number improvisation while the roadies started to remove equipment. At some point, they took away Gilmour's guitars, so he waved to the crowd and left. Same thing for the keyboard player Rick Wright, two roadies came and took him away in their arms before rolling away with his piano. At the end, only Waters playing bass and Nick Mason left with a single snare drum and cymbal were still playing on stage. Untill, they too had to hand over their instruments and leave the stage. What a great way to end a concert! All in all, despite everything that's been said, it was a great night of music and it gave us one of the greatest concept album in rock history. My only regret is that The Wall tour never came to Montreal in 1980-81. It would've been appropriate that it be played in its birthplace, the Olympic Stadium, but with no spitting contest or firecrackers being blown, this time. 😉

[@kiddo_91]

Thank you so much for the details!

[@kenjackson6256]

I'm a lucky guy, I saw Pink Floyd in '75 & '77. Roger Waters in '86 and Gilmour's Pink Floyd in '87 outside in the pouring rain. Some of my favorite concerts...

[@markrheaume3711]

I was there, waaay back in the rafters. It sounded and looked great from there and apart from Roger balling out the audience, it didn't seem like anything was amiss. To that point, it was the greatest concert I'd ever seen.

[@AY-uf4oz]

I was also there way up in the rafters, but I remember the sound not being good. I wasn't aware of the spitting incident until I read about it years later.

[@casienwhey]

This was really well done. I have always considered The Wall to be the finest concept album ever made. Pink Floyd was at the height of their creativity and musicianship. I would give a lot to be able to go back and see it live with the original members when it came out.

[@WrayEllis]

Thanks for including me! Great work as always.

[@DiscoverMontréal]

@@WrayEllis Thanks Wray!! Love your commentary!

[@djallen16]

Excellent work.cheers

[@leolopez_0728]

One of the most amazing and memorable shows of my concert life. More than just a concert, it was an event for the ages like Woodstock was. I was there very early but didn't get that much stoned, since it was July, sunset was at about <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="540">9:00</a> pm when Pink Floyd played the opening notes of sheep. I was on the floor about 20 rows from the massive stage and could see the video screen at a good distance. I never saw the 1980 Wall shows but did see Roger's Wall shows twice in 2010-2012. Plus Pink Floyd four more times (73, 87, 88 and 94) plus Roger waters 6 times being the last "This is not a drill" that my son was with me, also in Montreal!

[@susanwallace507]

I was fortunate enough to see this Live In Concert, and a ton of others! What a Ride It was!

[@dan4345]

I was born and raised in Montreal about 5 minutes from the Olympic Stadium. I used to toboggan down the hill that the stadium was built on. Didn't get to that infamous concert but I remember hearing about it. Those were amazing times. I feel bad for kids today, not much good music to get excited about and a world that going to hell!

[@Daryl_Phillips_]

Have a little mom faith and hope for the future. It’s people like you that are going to ruin it for the rest of us

[@raymondtucker7056]

This is the band that has been in my life since I bought my first album that was the newly released Dark Side of the moon I will always love the way they helped guide me through my life ❤️

[@dwaynewladyka577]

This was awesome. Pink Floyd are a great band. Cheers!

[@MultiPetercool]

“If you don’t eat your meat, you can’t have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?”

[@Realmphukng]

YOU!! 👆😂

[@Michael-yi4mc]

My meat has white pudding

[@richardupton3323]

@@Realmphukng YYEESS YOU

[@Realmphukng]

@@richardupton3323 STAND STILL LADDIE!!!

[@richardupton3323]

@@Realmphukng poems no less, the laddie reckons himself a poet.

[@scottsweeney122]

I was at that concert...will never forget it

[@dinosaur6756]

While I listened to The Wall, I was a little too young to have seen the live show. I first saw Waters on the Pros and Cons tour with Clapton on guitar and Gilmore at his About Face tour. I always thought if there were one concert I could go back in time to see, it would be Floyd on The Wall tour or their show at Ivor Wynne in Canada.

[@rodnyg7952]

born and lived in Montreal for 58 yrs. Seen Floyd perform twice & Waters once. Has always been an odd feeling of pride that such powerhouse album was partly influenced by Water's & Gilmour's experience of surreal chaos at the Big-O

[@markwalton8644]

My First Memories of Pink Floyd was hearing Another Brick in The Wall on the Radio, which was nothing like I'd heard before, the next was them Playing at Live Aid in the UK. I was completely amazed at the Lazers and the experience. I never saw them again until 1995 for the Pulse Tour where i saw them Twice in Rotterdam and Earls Court. An experience I'm so Glad to have had😊

[@ricardolopes7558]

A good father loves all of his sons equally. The same goes to Pink Floyd albuns. Love them all! Long live Pink Floyd!

[@e-mail881]

A father is one who creates. You didn't create squat, let alone the Pink Floyd albuns, so shut up about "father's" love. You're nothing but a fan, and fans are pathetic creatures.

[@billmay7364]

I was Blessed to see and experience PINK FLOYD 1980. THE WALL Dortmond West Germany. Unforgettable Concert ❤.

[@winstonhewett6679]

These guys were great, but they could have taken a page from RUSH! Keep the egos out of the band business!

[@MarkSpor]

Awesome band wish they would have kept going

[@brianduffield-l7v]

Saw the Wall at Earls Court. My wife’s first ever concert. I told her she need never go to another concert, it will never be bettered.

[@BoxxerCore]

I REALLY would have absolutely loved to see The Wall show live. I was just born a little to late 81'

[@reynaldocastaneda4712]

For me, the closest I have ever experience Pink Floyd was when they premiered the movie, The Wall, in the newly opened Experimental Cinema here in Manila, Philippines. And it blew our minds!

[@bluemoon-20]

While I didn't attend this show, I did attend the June 1977 show at the Philadelphia Spectrum (6th row floor seats) in which Roger was very sick, having a bad reaction to the stomach meds a doctor prescribed. Along with nausea, his arms "felt like two balloons". Roger never made it through the concert, and the incident inspired the song "Comfortably Numb". It was the same show that someone lobbed a cherry bomb or ashcan on stage while Roger was starting to play/sing "Pigs on the Wing". Despite an explosive going off close by and feeling so sick, Roger very politely asked the rowdy Philadelphia crowd to "please refrain from throwing explosives on stage", and then continued playing. If that happened today, it would be the end of the concert. Only in the 1970s... PS- there's an audio copy of this concert on KZbin here; you can even hear the explosion as Roger begins to sing "Pigs on the Wing". And Wikipedia also tells the story of this June 1977 concert that led to Roger creating Comfortably Numb. Incredible. Did I mention that we were also tripping on mescaline during this Floyd show? My friend who scored these 6th row seats was a Marine stationed in Philly, and was also a drug dealer. And in case I start doubting my own story (I was only 17), I still have my ticket stub...

[@billyz5088]

~~ for many older fans - the 'Animals' record is preferred over 'The Wall' - but that's not taking anything away from The Wall - a record does not sell over 30 million copies by accident - but The Wall did perhaps suffer from overplay on FM radio - and the film would have been much better if the original concept of a concert film had been done - a real film maker & crew made 'Live at Pompeii' a decade earlier - so one or more of the original Wall performances could have been filmed properly if the right people had done it ..

[@walteravrith7581]

was there on the floor near the middle sound was good

[@petertuckergoettler5720]

Merci beaucoup.

[@Michael-yi4mc]

I was in Basic Training at Fort Dix on that faithful day of the infamous spit.

[@jimmyviaductophilelawley5587]

lol..Another great thing to happen on my birthday! (6 July) along with Lennon meeting McCartney and both Henry I and Edward VI and Louis Armstrong dying

[@TheCdecisneros]

The wall is the wall we build around our selves.

[@nicholast.9827]

Don't be ashamed about that (spitting on the audience) Roger, you have done way worse after that

[@stellaboulton9531]

So true.

[@fredzep01]

Take it, you have an axe to grind ? Are you one of those strange folk who think Jewish people can do no wrong? Every race on earth have some bad traits, but god forbid me if I were to point out Jewish people's faults, so does that now make me anti-Semitic ?

[@nono86753]

Yes, like shaming people who didn’t conform in getting the jab.

[@joilsonsandim3998]

Pink Floyd é uma paixão avassaladora!! Amo David,mais Roger é o cara

[@terrencereardon6374]

David Gilmour remembers the performance as a bad gig and he had equipment malfunctioning and also hit many bad notes on the performance

[@Ontariosound]

Which is why he did not participate in the “encore”

[@colinadkins9491]

Love the music. Hate the man..

[@efoneofour]

By a happy coincidence this video also came out on the 6th of July. 😜

[@frankievallium]

Rajotte's not dead. It was his birthday 3 days ago.

[@efoneofour]

@@frankievallium My bad, I misread the title in the papers.

[@mtnlyon9951]

To this day nobody seems to know who that particular fan was.

[@stigflambard9799]

9m 54s It still sounds like Roger says "Come back Pig" to me, not "Kid".

[@fm00078]

A 'spark' is such a minuscule amount of time but can inspire a new Nation. So can a mindless moment of stupidity which interrupts the enjoyment of 10s of thousands which near immediately begat "The Wall". Roger may very well been tired on that last show but we all know that, that show would mean a HECK OF A LOT to him personally and wished to finish with the best performance possible. Currently I really can't stand him with his ignorant HATE FILLED political rants but as a musician I applaud him greatly. I was able to chat with Dave about Rogers very tart political views several years ago, we both finished our chat hoping he'd chill out. That damage was done and simply cannot blame Dave for never wanting to be around Roger ever again. To all of the Pink Floyd members alive & passed on, THANK YOU DEEPLY for your moving music. 😉👍

[@andrewhaines3259]

I wonder why the guy who was spat at, has never come forward?

[@stigflambard9799]

i often wonder that.

[@popjaw1andOnly]

Legend has it that a few years after the Floyd fiasco, he went to GnR show and taunted Axl Rose, who understably plunged into the audience and beat the clown into a coma, where he lamely lies to this day. That might be it.

[@mountart2]

Thing is, Roger yes, might have been a bit of a bully, but the facts are, no one else at the time had anything to contribute and Richard Wright was sacked because of his drug use, which was causing a lot of problems.

[@fredzep01]

Yes, you're right, it was ricks cocaine addiction and his infidelity that rubbed roger up the wrong way...

[@zarni000]

​@@fredzep01e didn't say that

[@fredzep01]

@@zarni000 what did e say then ? All I said is historical fact... I know you should never talk ill of the dead, but his marriage was collapsing because he was slamming coke and banging other tarts behind his wife's back...

[@ms8596]

Gee, that's funny. The greatest song off the album is Comfortably Numb, which Gilmour wrote the music for. He also wrote the music for Run Like Hell, Young Lust. Why did both Gilmour and Wright have less to contribute? Solo albums. Wright - Wet Dream (1978); Gilmour - David Gilmour (1978).

[@fredzep01]

@@ms8596 I thought "Bring The Boys Back Home" was always considered the greatest song from the wall, ??

[@disklamer]

soulsearching is underrated

[@jorgejohnson451]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="853">14:13</a> Kurt Loder, best-suited for MTV (“money for nothing;chicks for free”), wasn’t the only clueless critic. I remember reading a critique of The Wall in a new avante garde college publication that a friend produced. The piece was written by this dude who clearly didn’t understand the album. I thought from the start the album had “1984” images all over it.

[@Roadghost88]

All the old rock stars love playing live now that the income from record and CD sales have evaporated.

[@billyz5088]

~~ that is one thing that has not changed - most bands make their money by playing live as much as they can stand - and even back in the 60's / 70's it was that way for many seemingly successful bands - some of it was they had bad record deals and poor management - but only a select few like Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin & Floyd made a lot of money from record sales ..

[@gwimbly519]

The spit was during Money. There's footage of it. In that recording he's talking to the pig as he frequently did in other concerts.

[@michalmorawski7569]

It was during Pigs (Three Different Ones).

[@John-ky1ry]

Money was the encore to which Gilmour did not take part. Snowey white played and sang it while Gilmour sat at the mixing console because he was angry with the way the audience was during the performance

[@sanesociety-oo2ym]

So what happened to the poor guy who got spat on and inspired one of the greatest rock albums in history?

[@FishGalleon]

His insanity is starting to glare. Great musician!!! Not so for a man. ☃️

[@robertcowart1]

I was a big fan with Ummaguma(sp) and Dark Side, but after that Roger Waters began to be obnoxious. I saw the Animals tour right after seeing Genesis's Wind and Wuthering tour. To me there was no comparison. Much of Floyd's songs are just so slow and lame compared to Genesis. Now i don't know the entire Wall album, but the few hits with Gilmore singing are fine enough, but the ones with Waters screaming i can't stand. Particularly the title track!

[@jonw8694]

Hats off to Roger Waters, I guess....The man who broke up Pink Floyd and who hasn't had an original music idea since 1981. As you can tell, I'm pro-Gilmour.

[@Midge1k]

The Division Bell in 93 was good - High Hopes

[@therealdeadheaddad9601]

So who gives a fuck…

[@atravelerofbothtimespace4172]

Roger's input was the most imperative and valuable

[@dremeysen]

Weeeell, if you call "Amused to Death", for instance, a non-idea... Don't get me wrong: Gilmour is the musical genious. But as to songwriting and lyrics? That's Waters. No doubt.

[@marysell2465]

That's my sexy looking babe Roger Waters and band.they was great back then Roger still is the greatest to me. I seen that concert back then.

[@JasonPruett]

the wall was about syd but why would they lie about what it was about ?

[@DiscoverMontréal]

😐😐😐

[@John-ky1ry]

It was about Waters life not Syd it had references to Syd like elastic bands keeping my shoes on

[@raphaelbouza8551]

AC/DC did great stuff until 1981, and it was done. Then only BS (even Thunderstruck). Many Others the same. (For example Dire Straits after 1986) And split : almost every band. Beatles, Doors, Led Zep, Genesis, Soundgarden, etc. And it happened to Pink Floyd too : After 1981, nothing. Neither the album Final Cut, nor the solo stuff of both Waters or Gilmour, nor the stuff of PFloyd later without Waters. That’s the sad truth. The personality of Waters (Plutonian in astrology, which is like a Scorpio) became too dominant, obsessive, possessive, passionate, egotistical, competitive, extreme, aggressive, cruel, destructive, morbid, etc. And it was done. He killed PF as a good Plutonian Hadès, god of the death and transformation. Everything must die. Sad We miss the AcDc and PF of the 70’s ! It was huge. Never be repeated.

[@raphaelbouza8551]

If you look at bands who followed, like Rolling Stones or the Cure, and others, they always did great things until a certain date and it was done. RS until 1987 and Cure until 1992. All what came after was bad. Some last longer, like REM or U2 or Sting, but even them have reached their peak long ago. Society has changed too and changed them of course. Today is really hard. Just look at Coldplay associating with the stupid Korean boys band BTS… what the…

[@caramanico1]

This is not even close to being thier best album. 13 tracks. Three are slight variations of the same song (Another Brick...). That leaves 10. Then you got exactly three tracks that are actually fleshed out as full and good songs - Young Lust, Hey You and Comfortably Numb. That leaves seven tracks of filler, which is over 50% of the total number of tracks. Ha, ha - charade you are (if you believe the hype. Dark Side..., Wish You Were Here and Animals are all much, much better. I would also take A Momentary Lapse of Reason, The DIvision Bell and Meddle before The Wall. Matter of fact, ANY FLoyd studio album - save for the first 2-3 "finding their feet" psychedelic albums. The problem was Waters - like a lot of guys he was at his best when collaborating with the right people. Then it all went to his head and we got crapola like... the Floyd albums after Animals but before he left, and his solo junk. We were all his psychotherapists - except WE paid to buy and listen to the albums with his garbage on it instead of him going to a true therapist like people do.

[@johnvitarelli1553]

In respect to the wall album you are somewhat correct.What is lost in some of your opinions is that The Wall performed live,especially Roger's latest version is a visual and musical accomplishment.It is best viewed live now as compared to the early 80s.Not withstanding there are some so so cuts that musically speaking,don't make the cut.

[@ricknorris1466]

I was at an original Wall show in 1980. Greatest show on earth! Saw them on the 1973 DSOTM tour as well a 1975 Concert.

[@seanmcguire6998]

…and all the songs/poems/rants did not make it on the album. I dunno, however crude and unfinished and spit-polished the forgotten work was, I definitely heard some gems that (I think, anyway) should have been added to regular radio rotation. Sure, alot of the “fluff” could have been omitted, too. The band continuing without Roger was great, but what could it have been with him still intact? And what could they have been/done if Syd never left?

[@philfyphil]

In your misguided opinion.

[@jcapone0101]

And what if Waters therapized pre DSOTM? I'm a fan of his musically however personally he is an instigator of anything that might trigger you. A narcissist's narcissist to the Nth degree. A hypocrite. I have found the most disturbed artist are very successful because they appeal to those things inside of all of us we don't have the balls to put on display for all to shame and critique

[@crapotin59]

"How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!" kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGbHmoB_or58f6M

[@christineorourke225]

Wot a trip lol not so funny

[@kitten643]

I never understood Pink Floyds success, puts me to sleep. Not rock music.

[@doscwolny2221]

I don't understand why people need repetitive beats, they bore me to tears. 😢

[@hanklee5400]

man o man... 45 yrs if music immersion... this is my ultimate, ofc ending at the wall. barrett or macgilmour incarnations. the progression of, the anger of and the confrontational presentations about the (M)asses. making money hand over fist in mere moments then waiting for the time of day when the color of the sky was about to run thru the pastel spectrum to drop hero amounts of setas mágicas to have their music and words reaffirm the necessity to amass resources for escape velocity. --- yes yes, the doors are wide wide open for chowderheads to assuage their own conditions by uhm, i guess attack is the simplest word, attacking what i have said. no band has ever dropped on the societal structures better than this.

[@Porkcylinder]

My most hated album of all time not just pink Floyd but everyone ever!

[@popjaw1andOnly]

Really? I can think of many worse albums by worse artists. It's all relative and subjective; a simple matter of opinion and taste. My opinion: You're probably a Nickleback and/or a Creed fan. 🤣

[@SivaKumar-pf3ze]

Pink Floyd is Roger Waters