Pink Floyd have a strong association with Cambridge.
Founding members went to local schools.
This website unpicks some of the locations they are connected with as a sort of walking tour of the city.
Band members Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and David Gilmour were raised in Cambridge, and many of their Cambridge friends, including girlfriends, roadies and album cover designers Storm Thorgerson and ‘Po’ Powell, became part of the Pink Floyd extended creative family. In London they met up with Nick Mason and Rick Wright. But while students, here in Cambridge—they forged the unique Pink Floyd sound against the backdrop of the late ‘60’s counter-culture and succeeding decades.
There are connections with particular places in the city and songs:
King’s College Chapel, which has a lawn in back where Roger Waters said inspired “the lunatic is on the grass“, (from the song Brain Damage) and Pink Floyd played a May Ball gig—Which “... went down quite well. Everyone was pissed,”
David Gilmour went to the Perse School on Hills Road, and back in June 2022, Chris Kington led a tour for the local GA Cambridge Branch where he pointed out Syd Barrett's home - also on Hills Road.
One of the places where they are linked with is a pub called The Flying Pig - just further down the road.
Back in 2022, there were fears that the pub would be demolished.
Images: Alan Parkinson
For a long time there was a plan to try to save the pub. It is now in an incongruous position, dwarfed by the huge redevelopment behind it.
Image: Daily Mail
The final link of course is with the album 'Animals'. More to come on that in December...
Richard King's 2019 book explores British music and its link with the landscape of Britain. Here's the 4th post connected with the book.
There is a chapter on the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
This is the track most people will associate with the band.
The album this was from was released in 1978, and called 'Music from the Penguin Cafe Orchestra'. Credit was given to Simon Jeffes. He was an acolyte of the composer John Cage.
The front cover of the album features a painting by Emily Young.
The follow up also featured Emily Young art work.
She was the inspiration for the early Pink Floyd song 'See Emily Play'.
The second album featured the track 'Telephone and Rubber Band', used in TV advertising.
The book explores the story of the "found harmonium". In 1982, Jeffes found it abandoned in a Kyoto side street while in Japan collaborating with Ryuichi Sakamoto. He picked it up the following day and took it to his apartment and then back home to London. It was then taken across the world. This piece was to do with found objects (objets trouvés).
There were connections with the new age music released by Windham Hill, and Brian Eno and Michael Nyman's music.
The book is available from all the usual places and comes highly recommended.
I've been planning to head for Dungenessfor quite a while. I took this picture back in 2012, when flying over the cuspate foreland. I finally made it there in early August as part of a Kent road trip with my son.
Image: Alan Parkinson
I found there were a lot of musical connections with the place.
Dungeness appears quite often in music videos, album covers and adverts. It featured on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1981 album A Collection of Great Dance Songs.
British band The Soup Dragons shot the videos for their top 5 1990 hit '"I'm Free", and follow-up top 20 1991 hit "Mother Universe" on Dungeness.
The shingle beach and fishermen's shacks feature extensively in the Lighthouse Family promotional video for their 1998 song "High".
The acoustic mirror at Dungeness is featured on the cover of the album Ether Song by the British indie band Turin Brakes.
Dungeness appears on the covers of albums as diverse as So Much for the City by The Thrills and Aled by Aled Jones.
The Prodigy's single "Invaders Must Die" video was filmed here and shows both the acoustic mirrors and the lighthouse.
In 2011, the music video for the song Walk the River by British band Guillemots was filmed on the headland.
In 2012, Nicki Minaj's single Freedom was filmed on the beach and with the acoustic mirrors. It has rude words in it.
Athlete have a song on the album Vehicles and Animals called "Dungeness" which is about the area.
After 80 days and 4,000 km by kite-ski, she and Matthieu Tordeur reached Hercules Inlet, completing Under Antarctica: the first French crossing of Antarctica’s interior by kite-ski, the first kite-ski expedition dedicated to polar science, and a female first on this exact route. For nearly three months, they moved at the rhythm of wind, cold, and ice, scanning the Antarctic ice sheet to better understand this key continent in the face of climate change.
On her website, she has shared what she was listening to while out on the continent.
She says:
Juba from Cigcola from Smelly Feet Records got in touch about a series called The Expansion, asking a simple question: what were you listening to out there? I sent back an embarrassingly long answer. Three months on a kite, eight to ten and sometimes twelve hours a day, with a landscape that barely changes — you have a lot of time to fill. So I'd treated Antarctica as a blank page and used it to catch up on every book I'd ever meant to read.
Mostly audiobooks, if I'm honest. Music gets repetitive fast when it's the same songs day after day, but a good story could carry me for a week. I started with the heroic age — Endurance, In the Kingdom of Ice, Icebound — until I got quietly fed up with those explorers complaining about the cold while I was there just as frozen.
So I widened out: the Apollo missions, Vikings, Mandela, Michelle Obama, Marcus Aurelius, the suffragettes, Inuit mythology before heading to Greenland, and a stack of books on climate solutions. And Shantaram, which I first read on my very first expedition in the Himalaya fifteen years ago, and which was a completely different book this time.
And what about the music that she listened to?
The music had a different job: to make me feel warm, and to make me want to dance. Muse, Daft Punk, Pink Floyd, Hans Zimmer, Les Misérables, Taylor Swift, Raye, Madonna (Confessions Tour live), ABBA Voyage setlist on heavy rotation. It had to be loud enough to hear under a helmet.
Smelly Feet Records created a podcast weaving the books and music together.
Led Zeppelin released their last proper studio album: 'In through the Out Door'
Supertramp's 'Breakfast in America' was released, and was in the charts several times that year.
Pink Floyd's'The Wall' was one of the main albums released this year. This included several tracks which are now famous. The first featured some students from a school in London.
The students were from a school in London
They sang
We don't need no education We don't need no thought control No dark sarcasm in the classroom Teacher, leave them kids alone
There's an interesting connection between David Gilmour and my present school: King's Ely. For his most recent album (at the time of posting) he wanted some choristers to add to the 'vibe' of the first track to be released.
He came to the Lady Chapel in Ely Cathedral, where he recorded the choristers singing, and they had to keep this secret for months.
Here's the result...
Here are some colleagues and students along with David Gilmour.
The school's media team shared this update.
Pink Floyd star, David Gilmour, has released 'Luck and Strange', which is his first original album in nine years. The album features eight new tracks, along with a beautiful reworking of The Montgolfier Brothers’ ‘Between Two Points’, and has artwork and photography by the renowned artist, Anton Corbijn.
Keen to have Cathedral acoustics on the album, David recorded four of the songs at Ely Cathedral.
Thanks to our Director of Music, Mr Neil Porter-Thaw's contacts, King's students, Ivana Peat, Kit Attwater, Olivia Williams, Isobel Holland, Elizabeth Raynes, Alastair Wright, Freddie Wright, and Teacher of Music, Mrs Kirsty Wright, were invited to record with David. Old Elean and former Cathedral Chorister, William Gardner, did the choral arrangements.
Speaking about the once-in-a-lifetime experience, Mrs Wright said: "Our evening of recording with David was an amazing experience. Some of the younger singers had never been part of a recording session that required the use of individual headsets, so we immediately felt like rock stars! They meant that we could hear David and the team singing and playing in one ear all of the time, and we sang "with" him, which was such a thrill! As with all recording sessions, there were a lot of takes, and every so often David would give us the thumbs up or ask for a specific note or lyric to be highlighted, and when he did the next take it was always a really good one! Polly Samson, David's wife, was there taking photos and videos, which can already be seen in the music video for 'A Piper's Call'. We sang in both the Lady Chapel and under the Octagon. Even though it was a lot of concentrating and a late night, it was a musical experience that we will never forget, and I know that we are all very grateful to Mr P-T for organising and conducting us, to Will Gardner for his fabulous choral arrangements, and particularly to David for trusting us with his very precious songs."
The classic track from the album is of course 'Comfortably Numb' - a point towards which all Pink Floyd / David Gilmour concerts build....
A film of 'The Wall' was made by Alan Parker. I went to see it at the cinema in Huddersfield when it was released with Bob Geldof playing a lead role. I saw a lot of films around that time and had a Halliwell's guide where I highlighted all the films I saw.
When I was a student at the Polytechnic I was a member of the film club. I remember the first time I saw Carrie at one of their events: a great film which produced a great response in those watching.
As a post script, this version of 'Another Brick in the Wall' was something I used in my teaching for a while...
By Eric Prydz.
What other key albums were released in 1979 which deserve a mention here? Let me know...
The highlight of course was this banger... a multi-million seller which spawned 50 years of music and a business empire...
Listen to Side 2, as Side 1 has already been posted...
I've blogged elsewhere about how this album has been in my life for 50 years, and single-handedly helped determine my musical preferences and taste, with its nods to minimalism, its changes of tone, wonderful guitar solos and emotional arc and final release... which was honed to perfection on 'Ommadawn' several years later.
Also out this year were a range of other classics.
In January, the Sweet released this classic from school discos of the time... and we all dressed like that in the 1970s....
John Martyn released 'Solid Air'.
I saw John perform many times, including at Sheffield Crucible theatre and Devonshire Green in a tent.
March saw the release of another perennial classic... I had this on a good vinyl version with the poster and stickers.
Jethro Tull released 'A Passion Play', Yes released 'Yessongs', Rick Wakeman released 'The Six Wives of Henry the 8th'.
The latest guest blog from Carl Lee - thanks as always to Carl for his support of the project.
Moon age daydream
Artemis 2, NASA’s re-pitching of the USA as the head of the global space race, spent a fortnight or so in April 2026 at the head of the news as it took a tour of the 'dark side of the moon'. To get a good news story out of the USA was going some at that time and it reminded me to look back at Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield’s 2013 version of David Bowie’s song ‘Space Oddity’ that he recorded on the International Space Station.
This is a version that Bowie himself described as “possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created”.
“All my life I have stared at the moon, from slivers of new moons through to ‘super’ full moons, whether peaking out from scudding clouds in a rain swept Sheffield, or in the sharp clarity of a clear Himalayan sky. You probably have to, wherever you live”.
Editor comment: I have a copy of the book and it's well worth reading as a companion piece to Carl's earlier book 'Home' based around a year in the city of Sheffield - Alan
This is a precursor to a short essay on how the image ‘Blue Marble’ taken by astronaut Eugene Cernan helped to develop a global sense of place, and acted as a spur for the burgeoning environmental thinking, and social movements of the 1970s, even though, ironically, Cernan, on retiring from 'astronauting' became an avid promoter of fossil fuel energy interests, even becoming the vice-president of an oil company. Truly an ‘all-American hero’.
Unsurprisingly the Moon is a perennial topic of musical inspiration because as Paul Simon put it in his “Song About A Moon’:
“If you want to write a song about the human race, write a song about the moon”.
The early Greeks grasped this with their Orphic Hymns including one to the moon, which is a “goddess queen diffusing silver light”. Yet you don’t have to journey so far back in history to explore the songs of, about, and inspired by, the moon.
It’s a musical ‘parlour game’ as to what might be your favourite moon songs.
Please let us know your favourite moon songs in the comments, or by filling in the Google Form at the bottom of the post.
If I were pushed to name mine, three distinctly different versions of moon music would have to vie for any definitive parlour choice.
The sensuous beauty of Van Morrison’s ‘Moondance’ with its twinkling jazz piano, late night vibe, and sultry evocation of a mysterious moonlight assignation would have to be a contender. The song was first released as the title song on his third studio album in 1970 but didn’t become a single until 1977.
Neil Young’s ‘Harvest Moon’ (1992) has a similar romantic quality but set within its country frame.
The inverse to the romantic qualities that the moon projects, is the dark side of the moon.
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Bad Moon Rising’(1969) is a prime example with ‘trouble’ on the way and the end ‘coming soon’. This is the moon of werewolves, horror movies and dark deeds. It is also the moon of Echo and the Bunnyman’s ‘The Killing Moon’ with its dark refection on the moment of death.
“The killing time,
unwillingly mine.
Fate up against your will.”
Other folk may have different interpretations of Ian McCulloch’s lyrics but I’m going to stick with my existential howl at the moon.
A more prosaic lyrical moon song is Gil Scott Heron’s rap poem, with a variety of musical settings, of ‘Whitey On The Moon’. Here I’ve opted for the JDilla’s modern take with its video reference to Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk, the ultimate triumvirate of space-obsessed white men.
As I muse in “ …So Where Are You From”:
“ Will Musk bestride Mars? Will Bezos be mining rare minerals from the moon? Will Virgin Galactic be running day trips to the moon?”
And all the while whilst wondering whether the more mundane challenges of living on Earth: the environmental, social and economic realities, are perhaps more pertinent to the billions who are part of the 80% of the global population who have never even flown in a plane let alone aspired to bestride the moon. Although all of them will have stared at the moon, on a monthly basis.
Musk et al will probably be more comfortable with Sting from The Police’s exhortation that “giant steps are what you take, walking on the moon” (1979) whose video is shot ad hoc at the Kennedy Space Centre where Artemis moonshots are launched from. Stuart Copeland mimes the drum on the hulking body of the Saturn V moon rocket.
It is all an oddity, a veritable moon age daydream.
Carl Lee is retired but was a lecturer at The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University, taught A level Geography for 20 years at Sheffield College, is the author of five books about geography and has a PhD in economic geography. He has been nuts about music since buying his first single in 1973: 10cc’s 'Rubber Bullets' if you were wondering.
Editor comment: I'd probably go for Bruce Hornsby's 'Circus on the Moon' - excellent from the album 'Halcyon Days', plus Mike Oldfield's 'Moonlight Shadow' and Yusuf/Cat Stevens' 'Moonshadow' - Alan
Please let us know what you would pick in the Google Form below or add a comments.
Record shops used to be a much bigger part of the fabric of towns and cities. Some cities still have some decent record shops. Norwich does fairly well for vinyl emporiums...
Perhaps the most stylised and 'perfect' of these on screen is the one in Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange'.
The filming location for the record shop scene was the basement of the Chelsea Drugstore on London's Kings Road which was designed by architect Antony Cloughley and designer Colin Golding. It was inspired by Le Drugstore on Boulevard St Germain in Paris, Chelsea Drugstore opened in 1968 and included bars, a chemist, newsstands, record stores and food outlets, and was open up to 16 hours a day.
The store closed down in 1985 and was a McDonalds for a while. Located on the corner of Royal Avenue and King’s Road in Chelsea, several high profile bands and artists met each other for the first time within its walls.
A record store condenses all forms of culture and counter-culture into one perfect space. You generally encounter interesting people in these places and conversations can be struck up quite easily.
It was also frequented by The Rolling Stones and is mentioned in their lyrics for You Can’t Always Get What You Want as well as in The Kinks’ Did Ya (“Now the Chelsea Drugstore needs a fix…”).
I teach at King's Ely in Cambridgeshire. I've been there for 13 years now. Lots of trips to and from my home in Breckland across the Fens to Ely in all weathers.
Some years ago, in the Sixth Form centre of the school, which is housed in the old Bishop's Palace opposite the west door of Ely Cathedral, there was an exhibition of photographs that he had taken, with some original prints of classic album covers. It was wonderful to see these close up, just sitting in the corridor with students walking past them - often paying them no notice at all.
Amongst the album covers he worked on were covers for Peter Gabriel and Led Zeppelin.
I have an excellent book which I bought from the shop at the Pink Floyd exhibition at the V&A. This features album covers they designed as well as details of their creation.
He has also directed music videos, and been the creative director of music tours for artists such as Paul McCartney.
He directed a video of Yes's Magnification concert - complete with an orchestra.
One of the other links with Hipgnosis and Ely is the album cover for 'The Division Bell' by Pink Floyd. I'll post more about that in a separate post...
Pink Floyd's concert in Venice. was an interesting moment in music history and one which also links with the history of the city and its complex issues.
The band had been trying to play in the city for some time but could not get permission for fears of the damage it may cause to the city.
In 1987, the band released their album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason".
The band toured the album around the world. I attended the tour when it reached Manchester, with a concert in the old Maine Road stadium which was home to Manchester City at the time. It took place on the 8th of the 8th, 1988 (and the concert started at 8 minutes past 8. More on that in August.
Here's the setlist that I saw: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/pink-floyd/1988/maine-road-manchester-england-3bd76478.html
I've previously shared the story of the album cover's creation.
There were real concerns over the possible environmental impact of the concert on the ancient city itself.
The free concert was held in St. Mark's Square in Venice. This was to be a free concert so people travelled in various ways to be there.
The concert is shown periodically on Sky Arts on Freeview.
Local Italian news media were not impressed...
Despite local protests, they were allowed to play a free concert from a barge in the lagoon opposite St. Marks square, from where an estimated 200.000 people watched this concert. The concert was nearly cancelled on July 13th when the City's Superintendent of Monuments claimed that the vibration could damage buildings.
To pacify critics Pink Floyd played a reduced volume, but there were still claims of damage to marble cladding after the concert.
Lamp-posts were also broken by fans climbing them for a better view. The city authorities failed to provide facilities for the visiting fans, many of whom slept in St. Marks square. They left behind them 300 tons of litter, which had to be cleared by the Army. After a seven-hours sitting, the council apologized to Venice residents for the inconvenience, promising that no similar concert wouild ever be allowed. Therefore, this concert can be placed in the books as UNIQUE. The alderman in charge of Venice's Culture Committee, Mr. Silvan Ceccarelli, resigned, explaining: "I feel that I have to go, because I'm one of the people who gave the go-ahead for this concert."
Despite initially refusing to do like wise, the rest of the council went soon after, leaving the city in the hands of an ad-hoc administration.
Over 100 million viewers in 23 countries saw the show on TV.
Pink Floyd also famously played at Pompeii, and the movie of that concert recently had the 4K treatment and a re-release. It's a memorable concert with the band looking remarkably young.
OK, so I've already had a Pink Floyd album in this feature, but this is another iconic one.
For decades after this, the building (which is a power station) lay empty after it was decommissioned. There were numerous plans for its redevelopment, but eventually money was raised for its redevelopment.
Here's an image of mine from 2015 when work was underway.
It's now finished and a high-end destination for shopping and entertainment. I recommend the beers and sausage rolls at the Brewery.
There was also the classic escape of an inflatable pig called Algie.
That was the good headline for a piece on Simon Armitage's poem from October 2025 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of Pink Floyd's 'Wish you were Here' in December 2025.
The Poet Laureate, who is a geography graduate, has written about the music which meant a lot to him growing up in Huddersfield. He talks about the punks (who I remember were still very visible in the city centre of Huddersfield in 1982 when I arrived there to start my degree at the Polytechnic), and was also involved in music himself.
