The foil jacket for the re-release of Pink Floyd's 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn'. Image courtesy of Record Store Day / Pink Floyd Music Ltd. (2016)
Record Store Day has become a firm fixture in any vinyl junkie’s calendar. Last year the annual celebration of all things LP celebrated its 10th anniversary, so a decade of championing indie labels, indie record stores, record collectors and the culture that surrounds these.
Each year sees a Record Store Ambassador appointed too, previous years have seen Metallica, Dave Grohl, Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne, Jack White and Chuck D take up the mantle. This year it’s going to be Run the Jewels—EL-P and rapper Killer Mike, with the latter having this to say about record stores, ”Indie stores fostered my love of Rap. Super Sounds in Atlanta [and Decatur] were my havens as a kid. That's where I heard new music, argued about our favorite artists and even met some artists there. I lived for the day I was a poster on the wall."
Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters & Richard Wright on their first ever photo shoot in Ruskin Park, London in April 1967. © Colin Prime
Along with an appointed Ambassador, each year, of course, also sees special, often limited edition vinyls released from celebrated artists covering iconic albums or never-before-released performances. Last year saw new pressings from David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Vangelis, Neil Young, The Ramones, The Beatles, The Animals and Prince.
And this year sees a very special release from Pink Floyd. The legendary group will see their debut album Piper at the Gates of Dawn re-released on vinyl. The record will be remastered from the original 1967 mono mix by James Guthrie, Joel Plante and Bernie Grundman.
Pink Floyd at the mixing desk whilst recording their album 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' in Abbey Road Studios. © Andrew Whittuck
The album, the only one released when Syd Barrett was a fully-fledged member of the band, features seminal track “Interstellar Overdrive” and is heralded as a classic. And this new limited-edition (only 6,000 copies) release will not only give fans a chance to get their hands on the out-of-print mono mix on 12” 180 gram vinyl, but also comes with a poster(!) and foil wallet.
Inside will be the trippy album cover, shot by photographer Vic Sign who used a prism to shoot it given to him by The Beatles’ George Harrison, the image a nod to an LSD experience.
Syd Barrett captured in a candid moment at Abbey Road Studios whilst rehearsing for the recording of 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' in June 1967. © Andrew Whittuck
The album also has another connection to The Beatles, because it was being recorded at Abbey Road studios at the same time as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Nic Mason notes in his autobiography Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd that Pink Floyd even went to watch the fab four record “Lovely Rita”. “We were ushered into Studio 2, where the Fab Four were busy recording ‘Lovely Rita’. The music sounded wonderful, and incredibly professional.” Mason notes, continuing, “There was little if any banter with the Beatles. We sat humbly, and humbled, at the back of the control room while they worked on the mix, and after a suitable (and embarrassing) period of time had elapsed, we were ushered out again.”
The new mono mix of Piper at the Gates of Dawn will be available on Record Store Day, Saturday 21st April 2018, at selected stores. See the official website for more information.
The original band members of Pink Floyd relaxing at Abbey Road Studios whilst recording their debut album 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' in June 1967. © Andrew Whittuck
Rockarchive is delighted to be able to offer these and many more iconic Pink Floyd images as limited edition photographic prints which you can buy here.
