On this day in 1979, Pink Floyd released The Wall

By the mid 1970’s Pink Floyd had earned the reputation of a prolific band with a number of hit songs and albums. After a rough tour in mid-1977 the band took a break to work on various other projects, and wouldn’t reconvene until July 1978, where bassist and singer/songwriter Roger Waters presented two ideas for concept albums.  The first concept was a 90 minute demo Waters had named Bricks in the Wall, which was chosen to become their eleventh album.

Waters decided to bring in another producer to help manage the massive project, hiring Bob Ezrin at the suggestion of his wife who had worked as Ezrin’s secretary. They set about working on the album’s story, which they called a rock-opera, broadening it and creating a script.  They set about recording in early 1979 across several studios in France, New York and Los Angeles. The sessions were plagued with budget issues and disagreements within the band, particularly between Waters and drummer Richard Wright, culminating in Wright’s departure from the band.  Regardless, work was completed by November and the album was ready for release.

The complex plot of the rock-opera focuses on a depressed rock star named Pink, who is driven insane by past trauma and the pressures of stardom and constructs a physical and emotional wall to protect himself. This plot was reflected in the complex stage show for the album as well as in the 1982 film of the same name. While some executives at Columbia Records were unimpressed by the album at first, they were soon relieved when Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 went to number one in the UK, US, Norway, Portugal, South Africa and West Germany.  The popular reception continued, with the song going platinum in the UK the following month and the US three months later. The album itself topped the Billboard Charts for 15 weeks, selling over a million copies within two months of the release, becoming Pink Floyd’s best selling album after The Dark Side of the Moon.