Inside Out

Nick Mason says: ‘I started making notes for this book in 1994. We had just finished a world tour, and for the first time in many months I was not involved in trying to stuff another bundle of free T-shirts, tour jackets, hotel soaps and towelling robes into my suitcase.

With a certain amount of leisure time beckoning, I thought it might be time to start dealing with the questions I’d been asked for thirty-odd years – “How did the band get its name?”, “Where’s Syd?” and “What’s it really like?”. It’s only taken ten years to come up with some answers. ‘I eventually decided to avoid a rundown of every gig, venue, weather condition and moustache’.

Our Verdict: 10/10  Amazon Paperback  USA | UK | Canada

Inside Out by Nick Mason. SPECIAL EDITION

For some years now visitors to AFG have been able to order a signed dedicated hardback copy of Inside Out, Nick Mason’s brilliant book about Pink Floyd. Many happy fans have ordered a signed copy and been delighted that not only has Nick signed the book, but he has in fact written a personal dedication (of your choice).

Take the following links to order Nick Masons ‘Inside Out’ and receive a personal greeting from Nick himself!  Nick is happy to write just about anything your heart desires when he personally signs your book, so be creative. Our personal thanks to Nick and company for making this possible.

World Orders | North America Only

The Raging Storm – Our View

Storm Thorgerson’s new book The Raging Storm (Co-written with Peter Curzon) is here, and we stuck out noses into this latest offering from Stormstudios, and have to say were more than impressed. The first thing that grabs you is the landscape format, it’s very much like opening a gatefold album (Ah, those were the days!) and so you get a much wider view of the graphics. And what graphics they are! The book is PACKED with images ‘executed’ (Storm’s word) over the last 4 years. Just about all images are accompanied by explanations from Storm and, true to his style, are hilarious. This is not a Pink Floyd book, but images associated with them are liberally interspersed throughout. In addition, also featured are Biffy Clyro, Pendulum, Wombats, Shpongle, Disco Biscuits, Powderfinger, Muse, Steve Miller and Pink Floyd and many others. It’s 160 pages of pure magnificence and can be ordered direct from TheRagingStorm

Our Verdict: Love the landscape style – Love The Book. 9/10   Amazon USA | UK | Canada

Ron Geesin is probably best known as the orchestrator and organizer of Pink Floyd’s “Atom Heart Mother” (1970). ‘The Flaming Cow’, a new book by Ron, offers a rare insight into the brilliant but often fraught collaboration between Pink Floyd and composer Geesin, the result of which became known as Atom Heart Mother – the Floyd’s first UK number one album. From the time drummer Nick Mason visited Geesin’s damp basement flat in Notting Hill, to the most recent performances of the piece in France, this book is an unflinching account about how one of Pink Floyd’s most celebrated compositions came to life. Alongside unpublished photographs from the Abbey Road recording sessions (the only ones taken) and the subsequent performances in London and Paris, Geesin goes on to describe how the title was chosen, why he was not credited on the record, how he left Hyde Park in tears, and why the group did not much like the work. The Flaming Cow also explores its recent performances, and its new-found cult status that has led to it being studied for the French Baccalaureat. With a foreword by Nick Mason, this book is a real joy to read. Full of amusing anecdotes, it will have you smiling as you enjoy each and every page. Add this one to your collection! (Review by Col)

Our Verdict: A great and amusing read! 9/10

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This is an annoying but well written book. Annoying, because it’s a collection of material lumped together in obscure sections. For example, what does ‘What are some forgotten gems from the Floyd collection’ mean?, (as one chapter is called). I found it very difficult to work out where the author was coming from and how he arranged his chapters. That being said though, this is very well written, with an easy flowing narrative, if you forgive the layout. Treat this book as a story to be read from start to finish, rather than open it and look for specific facts, that way you will enjoy it. Soft Back 329 pages. (Review by Col)

Our Verdict: A somewhat disjointed, but well written book. 7/10

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Hipgnosis produced timeless rock iconography–everybody knows at least one Hipgnosis cover, thanks to Dark Side of the Moon. The firm’s inventive takes on the themes or titles of any given album opened up a new visual language in album cover art, one in which theatrical tableaux, trick photography and logo design played notable roles. For the Love of Vinyl is the first book to survey Storm and Powell’s output in detail, focusing on more than 60 package designs–from cover to label–described with entertaining detail by the team who created them.

Our Verdict: We love Storm 9/10

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Brief, but one of the best Pink Fink books ever penned. Barry Miles was “of the time” at “Underground London Ground Zero,” when it all first exploded. The author has a deep, organic, understanding of how bands like the Pink Floyd formed and flowered.  He offers a fantastic description of the UFO club and gives insight into how the famous Floyd “sound” originated.  Miles links it to their environment, Grantchester Meadows, Cambridge He provides neat pictures of the bands childhood homes.You get incredible quotes like this one by Gilmour about Barrett: “We spent a lot of time together as teenagers listening to the same music.  Our influences are pretty much the same. I don’t want to go into print saying that I taught Syd Barrett everything he knows, ‘cause it’s patently untrue but there are one or two things in Syd’s style that I know came from me.” Which illuminates why Gilmour was the perfect replacement for Barrett, and why when you listen to “Piper” and compare it to later discs, it still sounds like the same band. (Review & pic thanks to Michael Forrest)

Michael’s Verdict: 9/10

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Published to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the release of the “Dark Side of the Moon”, this book explores the images of Pink Floyd album sleeves and the artwork they contain. Storm’s memoirs of his time spent with Pink Floyd are combined with all the artworks he created to represent the band at each stage of their career. Thirty years on, Storm revisits the work he created for the album and tells the story behind it. This edition has been updated with extra artworks and memoirs of the recording and production of this groundbreaking album. ‘This is a must for the Floyd fan, particularly if you’re interested in graphic design. Thorgerson talks us through the making of all of the PF covers that were his, explaining how each one was done often with amusing anecdotes relating to bizzare things like giant chairs and immense metal heads. D. Williams

Our Verdict: We still love Storm. 9/10

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Michael’s Verdict: Average 7/10

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The first thing that one notices about the coffee table sized book is it’s enormous weight! And the reason this 368 page tome is so heavy, is because every page of this impressive book, is full colour, printed on beautiful glossy stock.I picked the book up, knowing full well I was about to read something by somebody highly regarded in the Pink Floyd community, who already has an impressive track record. Full of high expectations, I flipped the book open to read the research notes, and for some reason started to get the idea I was about to read a dreary list of dates and venues. Boy, was I mistaken! Not only has the author managed to dredge out every last concert date (of both the band, and individual members) but he has also managed to tease out just about every detail that is known about each concert or appearance. Packed with hundreds of wonderful full colour photos, Glenn Povey has managed to spin the Pink Floyd story in a way that’s never been told before. He cleverly weaves his tale around the concert & appearance dates, ensuring the reader never gets bored by reading a list of cold facts.

Our Verdict: Awesome book, deserves it’s 10/10

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This sensational book includes interviews with Waters and Gilmour and many of Syd’s friends and girlfriends including Lindsay Corner (correct spelling) and characters such as Jock and Sue. There’s material that rewrites the history of the four-piece Floyd, as well as previously-unseen lyrics by the young Waters and writings by the young Barrett. Beautiful, charismatic, and talented, in 1966 Syd Barrett invented the British Psychedelic scene—founding Pink Floyd—before collapsing into madness two years later. This book traces the history of rock’s lost genius, through exclusive access to those closest to Syd throughout his life. Willis’ main achievement is to separate fact from fiction and present Syd’s story in a straightforward way, skipping the myths and presenting actual information.

Our Verdict: We really enjoyed this book, although some didn’t. 9/10

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Through a series of interviews with a wide range of people connected to Pink Floyd in their earliest days (including Nick Mason, Peter Jenner, Jenny Fabian, Storm Thorgerson, Duggie Fields and Peter Whitehead), John Cavanagh paints a vivid picture of how this remarkable debut album was created. He brings to life the stories behind each track, as well as Pink Floyd’s groundbreaking live performances of the time. ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is a wondrous creation often seen through the distorted view of later events. These things have served to overshadow the achievement of The Pink Floyd on their debut album: an outstanding group performance; a milestone in record production; and something made in much happier circumstances than I had expected to find This is NOT another book about “mad Syd”. This, instead, is a celebration of a moment when everything seemed possible, when creative worlds and forces converged, when an album spoke with an entirely new voice. “Such music I never dreamed of,” as Rat said to Mole.’

Our Verdict: You really have to be into Pink Floyd in order to appreciate this book. 8/10

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English composer and cartographer of interstellar regions Syd Barrett was an English composer and purveyor of some of the most intriguing music ever written. Famous before his 20th birthday, Barrett led the charge of psychedelia onstage at London’s famed UFO club. With a Fender Telecaster and a primitive Binson echo unit, Barrett liberated the guitar from being, in critic Simon Reynold’s words, ‘a riff machine, and turned it into a texture and timbre generator.’ Syd Barrett disappeared one night into the woods, but the man who created him, Roger Keith Barrett, preferred to live alone, far from the machinations of the world. As he walked down deserted Cambridge roads, Barrett might have thought of the thunder and lightning that was his music, and smile at how he passed it all by.

Our Verdict: A great read for any Floyd fan.10/10

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The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia is an in depth reference work on Pink Floyd, and includes a unique Pink Floyd Reference Encyclopedia, complete concert date listings, a look at Floyd’s equipment over the years, and an examination of the Publius phenomenon.The book also features an exclusive CD of Hawkwind performing Interstellar Overdrive. At its basic level, this book is an encyclopedia about the many facets of Pink Floyd, with hundreds of listings in alphabetical order. Numerous areas are covered. Every Pink Floyd album is listed, with details about cover art, production credits, U.S. and U.K. releases, release dates, studios and recording dates, sales awards, sales charts, songs, etc.

Our Verdict: Full of just about every conceivable Floyd fact, this book is an absolute must for any fan who is serious about the band. Scores a perfect 10/10

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The book traces the history of the early work of the band from when they had recently formed to before the beginnings of “The Dark Side Of The Moon”. An archetypal labour of love, the chronology is a high quality, definitive history of the day to day work of the band. Featuring a fully comprehensive study of recordings available to collectors, rare concert ads, and studious timings and transcriptions. The detail of this book will surpass the high standards that Pink Floyd collectors demand. The authors have painstakingly tracked down long lost reviews, recordings and appearances on television and in films, and have collated them all together in a clear and concise form, whilst offering their own detailed reviews and commentary. All the illustrations in the book including its cover, have not been used in any other book about Pink Floyd. Of particular interest will be a set of photographs taken by Irene Winsby of the band during a rehearsal in January 1967.

Our Verdict: We highly commend this book to any serious Floyd researcher, however, this is not for the casual fan. If you are interested in the early years of Pink Floyd, then this book is well worthwhile. 8/10

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A book containing over 350 fan memories of seeing Pink Floyd live. Collated and edited by music writer Richard Houghton, ‘Pink Floyd – I Was There’ comprises memories of the band in action going back to their earliest days in the Swinging Sixties. Richard, who has compiled similar anthologies on The Who and the Rolling Stones, said: ‘The book is a slightly different take on the history of Pink Floyd, as it’s trying to tell their story as a live act in the words of people who witnessed them in performance. It includes gig memories from the UFO Club and before, and is bang up to date with memories of Roger’s Us+Them tour. Hopefully it captures people’s memories faithfully and will give those who were there fond memories and those who weren’t a sense of what it was like.’

Our Verdict: This one is different. Told from the perspective of fans who were there. (Including me!) A nice easy read that can be picked up and put down at any time. (Col T)  9/10

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Author Mike Cormack takes a deep dive into the music of Pink Floyd, resulting in the first serious appraisal of the band’s immense achievements, whilst also giving an overview of the UK’s concurrent social and political history as seen through the prism of the band. In addition to a song-by-song analysis, Mike also shares exclusive band interviews, a full chronology and gig guide, and a full bootleg guide.

Our Verdict: Everything Under the Sun is a book that manages to be both fun and reverential, accessible yet meticulously researched. It’s unusually jovial for a Pink Floyd book (with the exception of Nick’s witty autobiography). Cormack not only succinctly sums up the appeal of Pink Floyd’s music, but also reminds us what made them colourful and dark, edgy and hilarious, terrible and brilliant all at once.

You can order your copy here: UK | USA