The show on French TV

1968 is a pivotal turning point in the history of Pink Floyd. After the disruptive impact of “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” on the global psychedelic scene, the English band's internal balance quickly starts to crack. Syd Barrett, the main author of the debut, is increasingly absent, undermined by serious psychological instability worsened by heavy drug use. So in December 1967 Nick Mason reaches out to a young musician named David Gilmour, a longtime friend of Barrett's, with whom he'd shared travels and busking in the south of France back in 1965. The initial idea is to add a second guitarist alongside Syd, to shore up the increasingly unpredictable live shows. In effect, a kind of stopgap: Gilmour is brought in to cover for Barrett's growing onstage lapses and to double the vocal parts. The initial deal: 30 pounds a week. The situation, however, evolves rapidly.

There are three dates that changed the history of Pink Floyd forever, all concentrated in the first half of 1968. The first is January 26, 1968. The band members are about to get into a van bound for Southampton, where they're due to play at the local university. Before setting off, they ask themselves: “Should we swing by and pick up Syd?”. The question hangs in the air, but the practical answer is a “no”. Gilmour himself, in a 1995 interview with Guitar World, would recount the episode this way: “Someone in the car said: 'Shall we pick up Syd?' and someone else said: 'Let's not bother'”. Embarrassment and a lack of nerve meant no one told Barrett that his contribution was no longer needed in the band he himself had helped found. Keyboardist Richard Wright, who shared a flat with Syd, had to lie to his friend that day in January 1968, as he stated in the documentary “A Very Irregular Head”: “I had to say things like 'Syd, I'm just going to get a packet of cigarettes and then I'll be out.' But in the end he understood perfectly well what was going on”.

The initial idea is to keep Syd on as principal songwriter, in a setup similar to the one adopted by the Beach Boys when Brian Wilson stopped touring to focus on writing “Pet Sounds”. But the balance doesn't hold.

On February 24, 1968 – here's the second date – in the studios of the French TV show “Bouton Rouge”, David Gilmour makes his official debut as a full member of Pink Floyd. The show, which aired from April 16, 1967 to May 18, 1968 and was hosted by Pierre Lattes, was one of the few European TV slots devoted to international rock. In just over a year it hosted key names of the international scene: Rolling Stones, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Doors, Yardbirds.

The footage from the time documents a delicate moment. Pink Floyd look visibly tense, almost stiffened by the absence of their founder. And yet, in the opening minutes of the performance you can already glimpse the future direction: Roger Waters takes the mic for “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” and “Let There Be More Light”, tracks destined to appear on the second album, “A Saucerful Of Secrets”. The sound is darker, less playful than the lysergic fantasies of the debut; the writing grows more structured, the mood more unsettled.

The show, however, also called for material from the debut “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn”. For “Astronomy Domine” it was Richard Wright who handled the vocal part, as he had already done in the studio. The decisive moment, though, came with “Flaming”: a track entirely bound up with Barrett's own imagery, which saw Gilmour stand in for its original author. His performance is controlled, almost held back; Gilmour looks focused, still not quite at ease in a role that wasn't his own.

But it's precisely this rigidity that captures, with pinpoint accuracy, the sense of a band in transition. On the set of "Bouton Rouge" you can already sense that the group has taken a different path. It's the moment when the first incarnation of Pink Floyd gives way to a lineup with a different balance of power, songwriting and leadership.

Syd Barrett's departure would be officially announced on 6 April 1968. The original leader had written almost the entire debut, "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" (1967), and would still contribute "Jugband Blues" to the second album, "A Saucerful Of Secrets", released in June 1968. It's his final contribution. From that point on, creative direction would gradually pass into the hands of Roger Waters. Barrett's exclusion would spark plenty of criticism and remain an uncomfortable sword of Damocles hanging over Pink Floyd's entire career. Even for those - by then millionaires - who would go on to remember him by telling him "Wish You Were Here" and dedicating "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" to him.

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31/03/2026