The most played Pink Floyd songs on TV and radio are revealed
To coincide with the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s debut album ‘The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’ music licensing organisation PPL reveals the most-played Pink Floyd tracks on UK radio and TV.
To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Pink Floyd’s debut album ‘The Piper At The Gates of Dawn’, music licensing organisation PPL has revealed a chart of Pink Floyd’s most played tracks on UK radio and TV*. The V&A Museum is currently honouring the band’s five-decade career with the ‘Their Mortal Remains’exhibition and according to PPL data, Pink Floyd have now generated 32 million seconds of airplay on UK radio and TV in the 21 st century.
‘ The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’ was released 50 years ago on 5 August. It was their only full album to feature enigmatic frontman Syd Barrett who left the band in 1968 and alongside ‘The Dark Side of The Moon’ and ‘The Wall’, it remains one of their most revered albums amongst fans and critics. It was also influential in terms of its legacy and still serves as a source of inspiration for artists today.
The 1979 UK Number One hit single ‘Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)’ takes the spot as the band’s most played track with ‘Money’ taken from the 1973 multi-platinum album ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ coming in at Number Two and 1975’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ being the third most played song.
Two early Pink Floyd singles that were released in the lead-up to ‘The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’ in 1967 but not featured on the final album also make an appearance in the Top Ten. ‘See Emily Play’ (released in June 1967) and the band’s debut single ‘Arnold Layne’ (released in March 1967) appear at Number Five and Number Eight, respectively.
Several other tracks from ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ feature prominently including ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’ (Number Six), ‘Time’ (Number Seven), ‘Us And Them’ (Number Nine) and ‘Breathe’ (Number 13). The band’s 1975 opus ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, a tribute to their departed former member Syd Barrett, concludes the Top Ten.
The most played Pink Floyd songs on UK radio and TV
* Based on PPL data from 2000 to 2017
Nick Mason, Pink Floyd drummer commented: “It has been an extraordinary journey and looking back fifty years on, the title of the album feels particularly appropriate now. Along with lots of other bands we were, in many ways, pipers at the beginning of a new era. I look back to the 1960s with real fondness and a time when we were all experimenting without any sense of knowing what was all to follow, indeed it was unthinkable that we would be able to make a lifetime career out of music. We were very fortunate to start out back then and it is really pleasing to see so many different stages of our work since then represented in this most played chart from PPL. I think I can say on behalf of the others that we can all feel proud of the music we wrote and recorded.”
Tim Silver, Head of Music Reporting Services at PPL said , “Pink Floyd have never been afraid to innovate and push the boundaries of what music and art can do; from their early days in the ‘60s playing in front of psychedelic oil light shows at the UFO Club and The Roundhouse to ambitious concept albums such as ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’, through to huge multimedia stadium productions for ‘The Wall’ and ‘Division Bell’ tours. I think this is exemplified by the tracks that appear in our most played chart; each stage of the band’s career is represented from their 1967 debut single ‘Arnold Layne’ right through to 2014’s ‘Louder Than Words’
The most played Pink Floyd chart is based on PPL data from UK radio & TV broadcasters covering the period 2000 to 2017. Both the number of plays and total played duration are used to rank the tracks in the charts.
