Pink Floyd: Behind the Music – A Review by Natalie Lyons

The hot Pink Floyd read of the summer comes courtesy of Gemini Books – shiny new British publishers of lovely coffee table books and serial killer pulp biographies. “Pink Floyd: Behind the Music” is firmly in the former category. It’s the work of Mike Evans (not to be confused with the Zombie sci-fi or evangelical Christian authors of the same name), who has an impressive pedigree as a musician, music journalist and author of books on The Beatles, the Beat Generation and Woodstock.

“Pink Floyd: Behind the Music” is a brief yet concise autobiography, tightly written and free of fripperies like wild revisionism or conspiracy theories. Evans doesn’t deviate from the main plotline and the book is obviously meticulously researched. The chapters are organised chronologically by album, with sidebars detailing dates personnel and chart position. It’s pretty much up to date, finishing with the release of “Hey, Hey, Rise Up” in 2022 (but predates the release of the “Live at Pompeii” soundtrack in May of this year).

Though the text is relatively slim, the book is delightfully chunky (but not too cumbersome to lug about) thanks to the lavish array of photographs of The Lads. It’s not just the usual pics (though I’m bored of seeing that Pink Sheet photo adorning the cover of so many Pink Floyd biographies), there are some little-seen snapshots from European tours in the 60s, and press photos of the guys in their 80s rock star glory.

Evans manages to remain impressively unbiased in the Waters vs. Gilmour debate (though he constantly refers to David as Dave – a Floydian slip?). I’d have liked a little more Barrett action, but his story has been told umpteen times already and is, after all, only a small portion of this epic tale.

“Pink Floyd: Behind the Music” doesn’t contain any shocking revelations or new insight, but it’s a high quality, lovingly put together book that is a worthy addition to the Floydian library.

Review by Natalie Lyons

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