It was a strong word against the inequalities and limitations of the 20th century liberal democracies. They did not aim it at Stalinism, unlike ‘Animal Farm’. Floyd took a leaf out of Orwell’s book with this one. Waters noted that the inspiration came from a crockery seller in his neighbourhood who used to ask the ladies to pick the plates of their choice by saying, “Take any colour you like, they’re all blue.” In 1977 Pink Floyd came out with Animals, a criminally underrated album considering its scathing delivery of political critique. A musical track on the album, Any Colour You Like reflects the absence of choice or rather the illusion of choice in contemporary society. In May 2020, Dark Side completed a record 950 weeks in the Billboard 200. The album traces the desperate attempts of an individual to hold on to everything dear and how he ultimately has little control over time, which changes everything. It is a reflection of the memory of Waters’ father dying at the Battle of Anzio during the Second World War. The line goes, “I’m alright Jack, keep your hands off my stash.” Us and Them tells the story of how “FORWARD! They cry from rear and the front rank died.” The theme of foot soldiers dying for the wars waged by powerful men, reappears in several of Floyd’s works.

It is like a sick laugh at the obsession with accumulating more and more wealth and the consequent alienation one experiences as he views people all around him as casting a jealous, evil eye towards his money.

Money is a sarcastically worded critique of consumerism. The album was promoted in two singles, Money and Us and Them. In 1973 Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon. Shortly after this, Syd Barrett started showing visible signs of struggle with drug use and the band was compelled to part ways with him, making way for the legendary David Gilmour to fill the place. The controversy provided them with much required publicity, and they rode high on it to produce their first album Piper at the Gates of Dawn, which immediately brought them international recognition. This was not a band however, to shy away from controversy. Pirate station BBC Radio London banned it from air due to its references to cross-dressing. In 1967 Floyd released their first single, Arnold Layne. Pink Floyd, thus made a slow shift to progressive rock, thereby equipping political commentary with equally liberating pieces of music. Nevertheless, Beatles did release, ‘Revolver’ in 1966, but psychedelic rock due to its encouragement of drug use acquired the skepticism of the conservative majority who were influential with the Nixon administration. During the late years of the 1960s a flurry of drug related deaths rocked the image of psychedelic music. They utilised greatly, the emerging mastery in light shows by syncing their experimental instrumental solos to create ambiences offering an authentic psychedelic trip experience. The band was then led by the charismatic and ever flamboyant Syd Barrett, accompanied by Roger Waters, Nick Mason on drums, and Richard Wright on the keys. Pink Floyd started off in the psychedelic music scene in around 1965. Thatcherism was on the rise in Britain and “the 60s are over” became the popular slogan. Progressive and anti-establishment voices were stronger than ever, riding on the dying embers of 1968. The Watergate scandal had left US politics rocked to the core, the Vietnam War drew to a close and the Middle East became more inflammatory than ever. The 1960s and 70s were a world of deep ferment and rapidly shifting sands. It was a fitting tribute to the original song by which has now become an anthem of protest against a failing school education system and to the band, whose art was rooted in the politics of their time.

The band came up with the lyrics, “Hey, Ayatollah, leave those kids alone”, which rapidly hit around 250,000 views on YouTube. In 2010, Roger Waters gave permission to Blurred Vision, a Toronto-based rock band, led by two Iranian brothers, to produce ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ with a different set of lyrics tailored to protest the curbing of freedom in Iran, where rock music is banned.

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