link here: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24357241-16947,00.html The English keyboard player, who died at home from cancer on Monday aged 65, was a founding member of Pink Floyd in the early 1960s, along with bassist Roger Waters and drummer Nick Mason. He was an integral part of the group as it journeyed from the pubs of London in the 60s to stadiums the world over throughout the 70s and 80s, and featured on many of Floyd's biggest-selling albums, including Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. The unassuming Wright, who also recorded three solo albums in his career, was initially a driving force of Floyd music, before singer and songwriter Syd Barrett took them on a more psychedelic path with early hits such as Arnold Layne and See Emily Play. Following the departure of Barrett in 1968 and the arrival of guitarist Dave Gilmour, Wright sang on many of the band's songs, including Echoes and Time from Dark Side of the Moon. Unlike other prog-rock keyboardists of the 70s era such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman, Wright added synthesiser and organ textures to many of Pink Floyd's songs rather than adorning them with flashy solos. Acrimony beset the band in the late 70s as they became superstars and Wright was at the centre of it. He was sidelined to being a session musician by Waters for The Wall in 1979. "We fought during The Wall," Wright was quoted as saying, "which was an album Waters wrote, based on his family story. We clashed long before that, during the period of the Dark Side and Wish You Were Here. Actually, we never got along." He once described the band as being "like a marriage that's on a permanent trial separation". Once Waters had left Pink Floyd in the mid-80s, Wright rejoined Gilmour and Mason in a new version of the band. Legal battles ensued between the rejigged line-up and Waters over rights to the name and material. Wright's resistance to the limelight, despite his commercial success, was perhaps best reflected in his scepticism towards the profession he had chosen. "The fact that people still know us is, in my opinion, a result of our music and of the big money that runs the music industry today," he once said. "The people who control the industry are accountants who recycle everything in new, nostalgic packages, and everything else, to make more money." Wright married three times, most recently in 1996 to Millie, with whom he had a son, Ben. Also in 1996, his daughter Gala, from his first marriage to Juliette Gale, married musician Guy Pratt, who had replaced Waters as Pink Floyd's bass player.
ive already made this thread! http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?t=324318&f=229 that being said the man deserves much more than just one thread. he truly will be missed. edit: haha i just read skamikaze comment and we have like the exact same post. teach me to not read the 4 posts in a thread
