RIP Richard Wright, 65

[Rockmjd23]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7617363.stm
Floyd founder Wright dies at 65

Wright wrote songs on albums including Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd keyboard player and founder member Richard Wright has died aged 65 from cancer.

Wright appeared on the group's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967 alongside lead guitarist Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and Nick Mason.

Dave Gilmour joined the band at the start of 1968 while Barrett left the group shortly afterwards.

Wright penned songs on classic albums including Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here.

Wright's spokesman said: "The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness that Richard died today after a short struggle with cancer.

"The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."
I don't know Floyd as much as many here do I'm sure, but wow what a huge loss. RIP

[Drexl]

This is at least the second time I've posted a thread and had someone else do one about the same topic at the same time.

[cungar]

Wright was a great keyboardist and a true gentleman.

Glad they got the reunion gig in before he died. Pink Floyd is truly dead now.

[Matt Millheiser]

Fuck. :(

[tommyp007]

:rip:

[tronmaster]

Very sad, I grew up listening to Pink Floyd. Enjoyed all their incarnations from Syd to Roger to David. I wish I saw Pink Floyd live but went with the hope they will play one last time.

I know Rick was helping David with his current solo tour, and I enjoyed his "Wearing The Inside Out" on The Division Bell. May Rick Wright R.I.P.

[pinata242]

Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells

[mickey65]

Thanks for the cool tunes Rick...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_britain_pink_floyd

[TheMadMonk]

Rip.

In the next 10 years or so we are going to see the loss of a ton of influential musicians. :(

[Mondo Kane]

Always liked the sound of his voice. It will be missed.

[drfunky17]

With this and Danny Federici, rock and roll has lost too many great keyboardists this year.

Rest in Peace

[clckworang]

So sad to hear about this loss. :(

There was a time when I virtually didn't listen to anything besides Pink Floyd. Even though those days are long past, the group has always had a special place for me. Last night, an old friend and I resurrected old times. We went for a long drive, just like high school, and listened to Pink Floyd. It was so easy to fall back into those familiar Floyd rhythms. Those songs still have such a meaning to me in many different ways.

This just makes me even more relieved that I was able to see Pink Floyd in 1994. Obviously there was no Roger, but at least I got to see the rest of the guys perform together.

[pinata242]

Is it foolish to hope for a silver lining here in that Dave and Roger realize (realise, I suppose in this case) that it's all too short for petty shit and reconcile once and for all.

Or, is this truly the end of Pink Floyd and any far-fetched hopes of future efforts?

[astrochimp]

Sad to hear of this :(

[cungar]

Is it foolish to hope for a silver lining here in that Dave and Roger realize (realise, I suppose in this case) that it's all too short for petty shit and reconcile once and for all.

Or, is this truly the end of Pink Floyd and any far-fetched hopes of future efforts?

The Live 8 reunion was a fitting end to the band. Why can't people just accept that a band is over long after their prime? Every band should use the Beatles as a mold. They did great work and they left a great legacy without tainting it. Pink Floyd milking it for 15 years past their prime after their principle songwriter left was embarassing.

[Cardiff Giant]

Damn had no idea he was sick. He's probably hanging out with a hopefully now sane in the after life Syd Barrett somewhere.

[Sean O'Hara]

The Live 8 reunion was a fitting end to the band. Why can't people just accept that a band is over long after their prime? Every band should use the Beatles as a mold. They did great work and they left a great legacy without tainting it. Pink Floyd milking it for 15 years past their prime after their principle songwriter left was embarassing.

Syd quit the band 40 years ago.

[TomOpus]

"Dark Side of the Moon" is as near a perfect recording as I've ever heard. It's a timeless masterpiece.

RIP Richard, thank you for the great music... you will be missed.

[NoirFan]

Syd quit the band 40 years ago.

The band quit him.

[wm lopez]

The Live 8 reunion was a fitting end to the band. Why can't people just accept that a band is over long after their prime? Every band should use the Beatles as a mold. They did great work and they left a great legacy without tainting it. Pink Floyd milking it for 15 years past their prime after their principle songwriter left was embarassing.
They put out an album like once every seven years so PINK FLOYD didn't milk anything.

[Scorpio]

No wonder they are playing Dark Side - Classic Albums on VH1C right now. They just flashed the news on the screen. Damn. :-(

[fiver]

Wow - there aren't too many celebrity deaths that pack a wallop for me, but Pink Floyd has been a very important favorite for me and my wife since we met.

I was first introduced to Floyd by a friend my senior year of high school in '92/'93 and went to see them in '94 with my wife shortly after we met. She was already a Floyd fan and, even without Waters, that was one of our favorite concerts ever.

I feel like listening to "The Great Gig in the Sky", definitely one of my favorite songs from this great band.

Michael

[tofferman]

It was just last week that David Gilmore said he had no intention of touring with Pink Floyd again. I guess it's kind of moot now... :(

[ike0000]

This sucks. I hadn't heard he was sick. I never did really check out his solo stuff much. RIP Rick Wright, RIP Pink Floyd. The greatest band of all time.

[redhenry]

The Live 8 reunion was a fitting end to the band. Why can't people just accept that a band is over long after their prime? Every band should use the Beatles as a mold. They did great work and they left a great legacy without tainting it. Pink Floyd milking it for 15 years past their prime after their principle songwriter left was embarassing.

I *WISH* they milked it. There have been no tours, albums and very few live DVDs in god knows how long? I would kill ot have some more Floyd!

[idvd420]

Very sad to hear this news tonight. "Dark Side of the Moon" is my favorite album of all time. In the past, whenever I was having a rough time or I needed to make some decision about my life I would get in the car, put the CD in, and just drive. I even got to where I could start the CD leaving the house, listen to the whole thing, and pull back into the driveway as the final heartbeats were sounding. I'm glad that I got to see them in '94 even though it wasn't the full lineup.

[Snowmaker]

Rip.

In the next 10 years or so we are going to see the loss of a ton of influential musicians. :(



Unless your demands are met? :sarcasm:

[mndtrp]

He made a lot of great albums. It was good to have him here as long as he was.

[harpo787]

Just here to add my .02 on how this loss is devastating. For those who have said they didn't know he was sick, I remember reading the BBC's website on this saying that he passed after "a short battle with cancer." It always seems to me that people die after a long battle with cancer, but clearly this was not the case.

Unfortunately, as far as a Pink Floyd reunion is concerned, I don't think it will it happen. In watching the documentary on the "Remember that Night" dvd, there was a meeting between Waters and Gilmour caught on camera briefly (1:47 runtime):

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p3FL0Tezc6A&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p3FL0Tezc6A&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Just watching, you can feel that dis-ease between them. It all seems rather awkward, and it would appear the two could hardly maintain eye contact. I could be wrong...I'm no psychologist.

But, back to point: sad to hear of Rick's passing. Like others, I'm glad I got to see them once in '94, even without the full line-up; it was truly an amazing concert/experience.

RIP Richard Wright.

[tcoursen]

I know this won't happen, but what would be nice is if the remaining three would get together and do 1 nice big concert as a fundraiser for whatever form of Cancer Wright had, or just cancer in general. they could raise a tremendous amount of money and give fans one very nice concert.