Pink Floyd have revealed a video of a brand new poem commemorating the band by the UK's Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage.
The poem itself forms part of the collectors' ephemera that is included in the upcoming Wish You Were Here 50 Deluxe Box Set, which is released through Sony Entertainment on December 12.
Speaking about the band and his new poem, Armitage says, “I was thinking about the album and their noise, and what effect that has had on people right across the globe. I didn't know whether I could put into words what that music sounded like. I only get involved with projects if I think I can't do them, so this was a natural invitation.
"I wanted to write something that was album-shaped, that would fit onto the side of an LP and bleed right to the margins of a square. I was trying to mimic the noise of Wish You Were Here - there are no gaps in it. Like a wall of warm sound. I wanted the text to be a physical manifestation of that.
"The bigger voice in the piece is all fans in the world trying to say something. I was the generation that caught the tail end of punk - a sort of a musical resetting of the clock, for me. That's how I wanted everything at that time. Then eventually you get to 17, 18, and you want something more introspective. That came in the form of Pink Floyd. It was so profound, so thought-provoking. There aren't many artistic experiences in the form of noise that send shivers up my spine and make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. But when I put Wish You Were Here on as a record, and it begins, I get that feeling every single time.”
As well as the Deluxe box set, Wish You Were Here will also be released as a Blu-ray edition, which features three concert screen films from the band’s 1975 tour, plus a Storm Thorgerson short film, and on 3LP and 2CD formats, which include the original album and nine studio bonus tracks.
Pink Floyd previously shared a previously unheard demo of Welcome To The Machine, entitled The Machine Song (Roger’s demo), the first home demo of the song that Roger Waters originally brought to the band, which is one of six previously unheard alternate versions and demos included in the Deluxe box set.
Pre-order Wish You Were Here 50.
