Pink Floyd's "Games For May" - 40th anniversary concerts |
Written by Matt | |
Wednesday, 02 May 2007 | |
The Games for May concert, which took place at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 12th 1967, was one of the most significant concerts held by Pink Floyd. Described as a "Space age relaxation for the climax of spring - electronic composition, colour and image projection, girls and the Pink Floyd", the show has become one of the legendary events that many fans would love to have seen. To mark the fortieth anniversary of the concert, a selection of musicians are recreating the concert in a pair of shows being held at the end of this month, at the venue which saw the original show. The concert (setlist below) featured material from the band's debut album, "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" (which came out later that year) and was a ground-breaking multi-media event. With a primitive yet revolutionary sound mixer, quadraphonic sound was used to wow an audience whose senses were already being assaulted by a light show, taped effects, on-stage carpentry, the distribution of hundreds of daffodils (which were trodden into the carpets) and bubbles filling the air (and stained the upholstery!). Nick Mason once said of the concert: "I think Games for May was one of the most significant shows we ever performed".
Acknowledging this significance, a selection of "special guest
artists" will be recreating the show on May 26th and May 27th,
at
7:30pm each evening. The first night features Robyn Hitchcock and
Graham Coxon, and the second, The Melvins. Whilst the concerts should
stick to the setlist below, we don't yet know if there are plans to
include similar lighting or physical effects (such as the daffodils and
bubbles, the combination of which got Pink Floyd banned from performing
again at the venue!). Tickets are now available through www.southbankcentre.co.uk, where you will also find more information on the shows and the venue itself.
Here's what the original setlist consisted of: Dawn (tape recording) (Thanks to our friend Werner from Pulse&Spirit who alerted us to these shows!) |