May–July

Another Lapse Tour

The final leg of what had turned into three years of touring A Momentary Lapse Of Reason took place in Europe between May and July 1989. Shows were slick and Pink Floyd even performed in Moscow where their equipment was flown in and out on Russian military cargo planes. Nick Mason reported that the band were able to visit Monino, the Russian air force museum which, at that time, hardly anyone outside of the Soviet Union had been allowed to see. Appropriately, Delicate Sound Of Thunder was the first rock album to played in space: it had taken off with the Soviet cosmonauts aboard Soyuz TM-7 the previous November!

July

Controversy In Venice

One of the final performances of the spectacular Another Lapse tour was in a suitably spectacular location: Venice. Floyd performed on a moored barge on the Grand Canal in front of St Mark’s Square. Broadcast by satellite and held in such a perfect setting, this concert was a fantastic success allowing the band to see waves of water as well as waves of fans from the stage. Behind-the-scenes wrangling had been typically Italian, with gondoliers demanding money not to blow their whistles during the performance. Despite Pink Floyd’s reassurances to the contrary, the 200,000 fans present and the noise from the concert itself allegedly caused some damage to buildings and bridges.

Personalities | Introducing Pink Floyd
Personalities | Pink Floyd | The Gilmour-Led Era (1990) | Key Events