January

World Tour ’88 Begins

Although the A Momentary Lapse Of Reason tour was to be one of the most financially successful of the Eighties, Nick Mason revealed in his autobiography Inside Out (2004) that the seed capital to finance the employment of musicians, road crew, set, light and cinematic construction came from Dave Gilmour and himself. Potential backers would have, at this stage, been made nervous by Waters’ legal threats against the tour. Mason raised his half by selling ‘my most prized possession, and an old family friend’: a rare classic 1962 GTO Ferrari, and ‘had little trouble in financing my half of the tour set-up costs’. By the time of the World Tour that took up most of 1988 the band were well into profit.

Inflatable Bed Promo

The A Momentary Lapse Of Reason world tour was promoted with a rather unique photo opportunity for journalists. A giant inflatable of one of the beds photographed by Storm Thorgerson for the album cover shoot was manufactured, filled with helium and on 28 January 1988 was floated down the River Thames in front of the Houses of Parliament. Gilmour, Mason and Wright were not present as they were already playing the third date of the tour in Sydney, Australia, on that day.

November

Delicate Sound Of Thunder

Released on 22 November 1988 Delicate Sound Of Thunder captured a fully road-tested, Gilmour-led Pink Floyd. The band were recorded over five nights at the Nassau Coliseum, New York, and the best tracks were selected from this material, although elements of some were slightly tweaked at Abbey Road Studios. This hardly mattered to Floyd fans who, along with the latest album, were treated to a selection of classic material including ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, ‘Money’, ‘Wish You Were Here’ and ‘Time’, all sung by Gilmour. The album peaked at No. 11 in both the US and UK charts.

Personalities | Introducing Pink Floyd
Personalities | Pink Floyd | The Gilmour-Led Era (1989) | Key Events