Pink Floyd may be releasing a new record this fall, according to guitarist David Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson, who tweeted (and possibly leaked?) the news earlier this morning.
“Btw Pink Floyd album out in October is called ‘The Endless River'” Polly Samson tweeted. “Based on 1994 sessions is Rick Wright’s swansong and very beautiful.”
Consequence of Sound reports that touring vocalist Durga McBroom-Hudson, who sang backup with the band throughout the 1980s and 1990s, provided further proof on her Facebook page later in the day, posting a photo from a recording session, confirming that the record will consist of “all unreleased material,” and adding:
“The recording did start during ‘The Division Bell’ sessions (and yes, it was the side project originally titled “The Big Spliff” that [Floyd drummer] Nick Mason spoke about). Which is why there are Richard Wright tracks on it. But David and Nick have gone in and done a lot more since then. It was originally to be a completely instrumental recording, but I came in last December and sang on a few tracks. David then expanded on my backing vocals and has done a lead on at least one of them. That’s the song you see being worked on in the photo.”
The band’s longtime engineer Andy Jackson also confirmed the album’s release via fan site Floydian Slip; while the band’s current label home, Warner, has yet to confirm the release, Gilmour’s manager hinted to the site that a proper announcement would come this monday (July 7). Billboard has reached out to the label and will update as the story progresses.
If the reports are true, “The Endless River” would come just in time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s final album, 1994’s “The Division Bell”; the “new” material would have been recorded around the same time. Gilmour currently has a solo album in the works; no word on whether Roger Waters will have been included, but his last appearance on a Floyd record was in 1983 with “The Final Cut,” and he reportedly has a new solo album in the works.
Keyboardist Rick Wright — whose membership in Pink Floyd fluctuated over the years, thanks to a brief exit in 1979 stemming from clashes with Waters while recording “The Wall,” a stint as a live session musician while the band toured that album, and an official reentry into the band by the time “Division Bell” was released — died at 65 of cancer in 2008.??
Fantastic news for any Pink Floyd fan especially having input from the late Richard Wright. Let’s just await further confirmation though. The Endless River is at this moment but a trickle.
