Pink Floyd on Channel 4's 100 Greatest albums - result & Gilmour interview
Written by Matt   
Monday, 18 April 2005

Sunday evening on the UK's Channel 4 TV station, the results of their public poll for the 100 greatest albums of all time were revealed.

For many of the albums featured in the four hour show, the artists who created them were interviewed, and for Pink Floyd's entry, David Gilmour's contributions were used.

His comments when it came to the number 75 entry, Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, were also included. David said: "There's some pretty innovative stuff, on that album. She sets out to create a mood, and she does it exactly the way she wants to do it. And she does it - she's never been swayed by the fashions around her".

Dark Side Of The Moon was their only album that figured in the poll, and this reached a very respectable number five. David had this to say about the album: "We wanted to have what's now called a concept album; each song - each part of Dark Side Of The Moon is relevant to one of the stresses and pressures that impinge on us. The sort of universal themes that run through it, that affect everyone in life. The main concept I suppose is madness - the dark side of the moon. Syd's madness affected all of us; things that are relevent to Syd's madness obviously come up in that album."

Next up is Chris Adamson, former Floyd roadie: "We went into the studio, and we all got asked to go in and read it to yourself, and just answer it by saying what it meant to you into a microphone. One was 'What do you think dark side of the moon was?'. My first one was 'Do you think you're mad?' and my answer to that was that 'yes, I'd been mad for fucking years'! It's quite a daunting thought to think I'm swearing in however many million homes!"

The narrative then turns to the supposed syncronicity between Dark Side, and The Wizard Of Oz. David: "I know nothing about it - it's obviously rubbish! Some mad, stoned student spending too much time in his bedroom, with his video machine on, and too much spliff!"

Also in the coverage of the album, Ozzy Osbourne was typically down-to-earth with his comments, called it "a perfect body of work" and also said: "Pink Floyd - GENIUS!".

The Channel Four top twenty was as follows:

RADIOHEAD - OK Computer
U2 - The Joshua Tree
NIRVANA - Nevermind
MICHAEL JACKSON - Thriller
PINK FLOYD - Dark Side of the Moon
OASIS - Definitely Maybe
THE BEATLES - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
MADONNA - Like a Prayer
GUNS N' ROSES - Appetite For Destruction
THE BEATLES - Revolver
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
THE BEATLES - The White Album
QUEEN - A Night at the Opera
COLDPLAY - Parachutes
OASIS - (What's the Story) Morning Glory
ALANIS MORISSETTE - Jagged Little Pill
LED ZEPPELIN - Led Zeppelin IV
THE VERVE - Urban Hymns
JIMI HENDRIX - Are you Experienced
THE SMITHS - The Queen Is Dead

The programme itself was a look at "songs that have changed our lives, from singers and musicians spanning 50 years - from folk to rap, jazz to punk rock, R&B to glam rock" and was a fascinating look through the ages at some classic music.