The band originally consisted of university students Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, and Syd Barrett. Founded in 1965, they gained popularity performing in London's underground music scene during the late 1960s. Under Barrett's creative leadership they released two charting singles, "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", and a successful debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). Guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour joined as a fifth member in December 1967, several months prior to Barrett's April 1968 departure due to deteriorating mental health. With the loss of Syd, the band moved from psychedelic pop to a more progressive sound, with many tracks written collaboratively while on tour. With this line-up they achieved critical and commercial success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979). With Animals and The Wall, Waters became the primary songwriter.
Wright was forced by Waters to leave the group in 1979. Following The Final Cut, the group was temporarily disbanded by Waters. Gilmour and Mason reformed in 1985, and were subsequently rejoined by Wright. They continued to record and tour through 1994, despite Waters' failed 1986 attempt to legally prevent them continuing as Pink Floyd; two more albums followed, A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994). After almost two decades of acrimony the band reunited in 2005 for a single performance, at the global awareness event Live 8. Wright died in 2008. Surviving members Gilmour and Mason joined Waters at one of his The Wall Tour shows on 12 May 2011 at the O2 Arena in London; Gilmour performed "Comfortably Numb" along with Waters and "Outside the Wall" with Mason and Waters.
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