The restoration effort uses the original 35mm footage, accompanied with newly mixed audio, courtesy of Steven Wilson. The 2025 version of the film will be the fourth iteration, and with the upcoming film featuring documentary footage of the band working on ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’, it seems it will be a remaster of the 1974 edition, which was the most commercially successful cut too. The accompanying soundtrack album marks the first time that an album has been released alongside a theatrical cut too.

The film was directed by Adrian Maben, who also conceived of the project. Maben envisioned the would-be concert as an “anti-Woodstock”, where the amphitheater itself could be used as an instrument, and the band would play amongst the natural sounds of their environment. Drummer Nick Mason revealed that Maben described the idea as being “where there would be nobody present, and the music and the silence… would mean as much as, if not more than, a crowd of thousands.”

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Filmed in 1971 and released in 1972, the first version of the film featured just the performance. Two years later, at Maben’s suggestion, the film was recut, now including 20 minutes of documentary footage of the band in the studio recording ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’.. In 2002, a special director’s cut was released which introduced new edits, including footage from the Apollo missions, and heavily edited the setlist included from the performance, including omitting some songs entirely.   

The music video for the recently released ‘One Of These Days’ has racked up 300k views on YouTube in four days, and has been noted for its focus on the drumming of Nick Mason. One X user noticed the lack of footage of the rest of the band, which consisted of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright, and Mason. Another Floyd fan responded that the original footage had been lost before the original cut had even been released. Still, the video gives one of rock’s greatest, yet often under-appreciated drummers, his dues.

  Despite the various revisions of the order in which the tracks appear in the film, ‘Echoes’ always bookends the film, with the first part always appearing as one of the opening two tracks, and part two as a finale. The accompanying soundtrack album seems to match the original cut’s track listing, meaning ‘Echoes – Part One’ will play after the opener, ‘Pompeii’. It also appears that all of the tracks have gone under a remastering process too, with all album tracks labeled as ‘2025 Mix’ on streaming platforms.

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Pink Floyd’s performance in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius remains one of the band’s many iconic moments, and has inspired a range of artists, including Radiohead, Beastie Boys (whose inspiration is evident in the music video for ‘Gratitude’), and even David Gilmour, who returned to the venue in 2018. In Nick Mason’s own words, the film is a “rare and unique document of the band performing live in the period prior to ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’”.

Waters spoke to The Telegraph about embarking on this project, saying, “not enough people recognised what it’s about, what it was I was saying then.” He believes this to be the perfect opportunity to point fans in the right direction, stating in the accompanying caption to the snippet of ‘Us and Them’ that reworking the album would provide a good opportunity to “re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album.”

Waters acknowledged that “it’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable.”

He continues, “But it is a way for the seventy nine year old man to look back across the intervening fifty years into the eyes of the twenty nine year old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my Father, “We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us”. And also it is a way for me to honor a recording that Nick and Rick and Dave and I have every right to be very proud of.”

Relationships between the ex-band members haven’t always been the best since Waters’ exit in 1985, with Waters anticipating backlash to this rerecording project. He told The Telegraph, “I wrote ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’. Let’s get rid of all this ‘we’ crap! Of course we were a band, there were four of us, we all contributed, but it’s my project and I wrote it. So… blah!”

Waters also revealed to The Telegraph that this project had been “secretly” in the works for months, reworking the entire track list “from scratch” unbeknownst to ex-band members David Gilmour and Nick Mason.

He is reportedly “planning a lavish vinyl release” of the rerecording, with the release date pushed back from March to May as Waters keeps “tinkering with recordings.”

To celebrate the 50^th anniversary of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon,’ Pink Floyd have also announced a reissued version, due to be released on 24^th March. The reissue will also include a live recording of Pink Floyd’s 1974 Wembley Stadium show.

A book will also become available on 24^th March, titled ‘Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon: 50^th Anniversary.‘ The book will include rare and unseen photos taken during tours between 1972 and 1975.

Additionally, harking back to Pink Floyd’s successful stargazing events at the London Planetarium in 1973, fans will also be able to experience ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ stargazing events at planetariums around the world.

Full details of the 50^th anniversary reissues and events can be found here.

Purchase tickets for Roger Waters’ tour here.

31/05/2023 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham

02/06/2023 – 03/06/2023 – SSE Hydro – Glasgow

06/06/2023 – 07/06/2023 –  The O2 – London

10/06/2023 – Manchester AO Arena – Manchester

Stream ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ here.

Most people must be questioning whether it may stand against the original piece from 50 years ago, which contained the whole bands instrumental work. There is no doubt that Waters was the back bone of the famous band, however, the essence of the ensemble wouldn’t have been completed without Gilmour’s and Mason’s contributed engrace. Water’s writing was the substancial building of the 1973 album. But this will be a version, having taken away the musicality and delicacy from the rest of the bands input, of Water’s interpretation toward the piece.

The band first formed in 1964 and remained active until the split up in 1985 due to Waters departure. They became one of the biggest progressive rock bands of all time, and still are, were they to get back together. Known for their philosophical – and occasionally political – lyrics, their experimental procedures, innovative album covers and elaborate live shows. Gilmour and Roger were simply a pair of musical geniuses with colliding creative ambitions to do so.

Having said that, the ex-Pink Floyd singer songwriter has come forward with his very own execution of the album; “Because not enough people recognised what it’s about, what it was I was saying then” he explains. We’re expecting to see a couple of collaborations with the American producer and multi-instrumentalist Gus Seyffert, a “baptist minister” set to play a Hammond organ and the singer Bedouine, Seyffert’s partner. Having received hints from reports, some tracks will be seasoned together with a bass solo from Roger and fresh lyrics re-imagined on previously instrumental songs.

Long story short, the reconfiguring of such a classic album comes down to such simplicity. It is solely Waters proving that the work is his, as he states in an interview with the Telegraph “Let’s get rid of all of this ‘we’ crap! It’s my project”. He has taken the opportunity to insert his ageing talent and knowledge into a much younger piece of his work.

The album is set to come out in May alongside a live performance of the rework.

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At 2 pm last week, the band’s catalogue was made accessible via the app meaning that users are now able to utilise Pink Floyd’s music within their own creations. TikTok creators can access official sounds from the group’s tracks, all fifteen of the band’s studio albums are featured within the recent collaboration. Included within the full list of tracks accessible to fans are “See Emily Play”, “Money”, “Comfortably Numb”, “Wish You Were Here”, “High Hopes” and the group’s era defining anthem “Another Brick In The Wall (Part II)” plus many more.

The iconic band are no stranger to visually pleasing artforms and have utilised such processes throughout their career. The London formed rockers’ partnership with TikTok continues such creative practices whilst combining their unique aesthetic with modern and digital processes. The band’s first TikTok was posted via their account with the caption “Pink Floyd has arrived”, by the morning of Tuesday 31st May 2022 the band’s profile had acquired over 14,000 followers.

@pinkfloyd Pink Floyd has now arrived #pinkfloyd #learningtofly #fyp ♬ Learning to Fly (Remix 2019) – Pink Floyd

The group have joined a long list of successful artists who have utilised TikTok to benefit their careers, many established acts have seen the potential held by TikTok and have utilised the app’s global reach to propel their popularity. The social media platform has also been responsible for the success of many new artists, with over 1 billion users TikTok has become a vital tool for any new and emerging acts.

The TikTok launch date coincided with another important landmark of Pink Floyd’s storied career, the 30th May 2022 marked the fiftieth anniversary of The Dark Side Of The Moon. It has been half a century since the initial recording stages for the seminal album took place, the band recorded the influential album at the iconic Abbey Road Studios within two sessions. The album was released on 1st March 1973 via Harvest Records and marked the group’s eighth studio album.

Pink Floyd have become known for their talented virtuosic musicianship and humanistic lyrical content, the band’s songs have historically dealt with such issues as social injustice, war, oppression and morality. Formed in the early 1960s, Pink Floyd now consists of surviving members David Gilmour and Nick Mason, both band members have joined a roster full of artists voicing their support for Ukraine.

Earlier in the year, Gilmour and Mason released a song in aid of the recent conflict, “Hey Hey Rise Up” was released with Ukrainian artist Andriy Khlyvnyuk, funds occurred through the track’s sales and streams were donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Relief Fund. Gilmour spoke to Rolling Stone concerning the single, “The following that we have as Pink Floyd — the size of the platform. When I spoke to Nick, and he said he was willing to do it as Pink Floyd, it seemed like a no-brainer, We want to spread this message of peace, and we want to raise the morale of the people who are defending their homeland there in Ukraine. So why not?”

Gilmour has recently stated to Guitar Player magazine his thoughts on the reunion and his ex-bandmates comments on the ordeal. “It has run its course, we are done. I’m all for Roger [Waters] doing whatever he wants to do and enjoying himself. But I absolutely don’t want to go back. I don’t want to go and play stadiums. I’m free to do exactly what I want to do and how I want to do it.”

“It has run its course, we are done” – @davidgilmour says there will never be a @pinkfloyd reunionhttps://t.co/7oidBpATFF

— Planet Rock (@PlanetRockRadio) March 11, 2021

In 1985, bass player Roger Waters left the band, openly stating they would not reunite. Waters took the remaining members to court so they could not carry on using the iconic band name, Pink Floyd. However, he lost and Pink Floyd continued, with Gilmour at the helm from 1985 through to 1994. The band, comprised of Gilmour, Nick Mason (drums), Richard Wright (keyboard) and a range of other musicians for song writing and composition, continued to make iconic, acclaimed albums using the Pink Floyd name. In 2005, the whole band, including Waters, got together for the final time, performing at the Live 8 concert which was organised by Bob Geldof.

The ‘Money’ singer has toured solo since the bands spilt. In 2006, Gilmour embarked on his ‘On An Island’ tour performing both solo and Pink Floyd tracks. In the Royal Albert Hall, the legendary artist David Bowie joined Gilmour on stage for an eerie yet brilliant rendition of Pink Floyd track, ‘Comfortably Numb’. This is believed to be Bowie’s last UK performance before his passing in January 2016.

Pink Floyd shook the world with their most critical acclaimed album, ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon.’ Their revolutionary use of sonic sound and psychedelic rock has influenced many legendary artists from Radiohead, Dream Theatre and most recently, Tame Impala. Whilst it is a shame that the legends will not be reuniting on stage, it is understandable with the past pandemic, the uncertainties of live music touring in Europe and the rich, emotional history Pink Floyd have.

Gilmour has recently released a new single, ‘Yes, I Have Ghosts’, his first new track in 5 years. Originally made as part of his wives, Polly Samson, audiobook ‘A Theatre For Dreamers’, it has now been released online and can be streamed on all major platforms.