PINK FLOYD - 2005 UK MUSIC HALL OF FAME REPORT

The event had a host of performers inducted - alongside Pink Floyd were Jimi Hendrix, Joy Division/New Order, Black Sabbath, Bob Dylan, The Who, The Eurythmics, The Kinks, Aretha Franklin, and John Peel.

A tribute to Hendrix saw Mitch Mitchell on drums (The Experience), Billy Cox on bass (Band of Gypsies) and Slash on guitar. Stevie Winwood joined the lineup as Hendrix’ favourite musician, singing and playing keyboards on Hey Joe and Stone Free. Stevie’s voice was still in great shape and Mitch played his heart out; he hadn't lost one bit of that old magic. A mind-blowing performance!

New Order performed a magnificent rendition of the Joy Division classic Love Will Tear Us Apart, as a tribute to the late Ian Curtis, and The Pretenders covered two Kinks songs.

Next up saw Ozzy Osbourne and the new Black Sabbath followed by the original Black Sabbath line up of Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill, who had specially reformed for the event. They played Paranoid. And Ozzy dropped his trousers, "mooning" the front rows of the audience.

Finally, Damon Albarn introduced John Peel, and it was rather touching when John’s wife Sheila and his brother stepped up to accept the award. The final performance came from The Datsuns/The Buzzcocks and friends performing Ever Fallen in Love as a tribute to John Peel (see below).

Turning to the Floyd part, the band received a three minute introduction from Pete Townshend. A witty and humble speech, it honoured all five past and present members of the band. He explained that he first saw them in 1966, and on 20th January 1967, actually skipped a Who concert to take Eric Clapton to a Floyd show!

This was followed by a five minute segment of various artists, praising Pink Floyd and explaining why they deserve their place. Here's the highlights of these remarks:

Rick Wakeman (Yes): "When the first list was being drawn up in the rock 'n' roll book of Genesis, it would have been: In the beginning, God created Pink Floyd."
 
Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins): "The things that they've touched were such high watermarks, that no one's really even come close since."
 
Bob Geldof: "They've, written, stonkers. You know, you'd slit your bloody wrists to write some of them y'know."
 
Bob Ezrin: "More than being a band, Pink Floyd was a kind of feeling, a vibe, and an ethos."
 
Alex Paterson (The Orb): "They were experimenting with lights and sound, 30 years before what's happening now. Their visual show was a forerunner to what now a huge acid house party would be."
 
Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music): "You know you're going to get a great show, and it's going to be a great visual spectacular as well as the music, so it's like sound and vision."
 
Alex Paterson: "They didn't use their looks to sell records, they didn't use a fashion to sell records, they used music to sell records."
 
Billy Corgan: "Dark Side Of The Moon is sorta like the Mona Lisa. It's a masterpiece of production. The lyrics are fantastic, the playing is incredible."
 
Bob Geldof: "The musical sense at the centre of this record [DSOTM] is so thrilling, and so new. It is a complete masterpiece. Put it on now, it'll stand up."
 
Richard Curtis (Live 8 organiser): "Pink Floyd were so magisterial and perfect, like they'd just landed in a time capsule."
 
Bob Geldof: "The sidestage was rammed with people, to be there at that moment, with this great group rejoined."
 
Richard Curtis: "Behind this really massive, solid perfection, was this wonderful emotional tale of these men who hadn't played together for so long."
 
Bob Geldof: "Boy were they good, eh?"
 
Billy Corgan: "For me personally Pink Floyd is the band that I reach for when I've completely lost hope in music."
 
Rick Wakeman: "They will always continue to be an influence, with both the music that they're making now, and the music they made in the early days."
 
Bob Ezrin: "I think the secret to their longevity is hummable, memorable melodies played by great musicians in a refined and intelligent way."
 
Rick Wakeman: "They've played an astonishing part in the history of rock 'n' roll."
 
Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters): "There'll never be another Pink Floyd."

Mason: "Scary..."

Gilmour: "...To which we wish him the best of luck. [applause] And... to all the passengers on this fabulous ride we've been on - including Syd, Roger, Michael [Kamen], Steve O'Rourke, Tony Howard [Pink Floyd's agent] and all those other people who have slipped off our tour bus at one point or another... cheers for them too."

Waters: "You can have one, or even two, or three or four! I confess I never felt like a passenger but, not withstanding that, I am sorry I can't be here, er... there tonight. Erm.. all those eulogies were rather unnerving but I have to say very touching and the response that we've had over the years from our public is very moving, and not least when we were all together that day in July this year... which was fantastic for us. And to revisit it then and see those scenes from it, reminded me of how great that was, to be together again.

"Rick actually hasn't had an eye operation... he and I have eloped to Rome and we are living happily in a small apartment off the Via Venuti! Be that as it may, I thank you very much for this. It means a lot to me, and thank you very much everybody."

After their appearance on stage, David and Nick took time to visit BBC Radio 2's van backstage at the event. Interviewed by Mark Radcliffe and Mark Ellen, it was an interesting, relaxed chat with the pair.

Starting with their reminiscences of the venue, Nick recalls the "24 Hour Technicolor Dream" (sic), whereas David, who came into the band at a later stage, mentioned the rehearsals for the Animals tour in late 1976, where the Alexandra Palace was their base.

Nick spoke of why the UK needs a Hall Of Fame: "Well, the Americans have got one, and we should certainly have anything that they have!"

Mark Radcliffe asked if they'd been tempted to perform for the evening's event, especially after the affection shown to them at Live 8; David replied that "we had a great time [at Live 8] and it was a fantastic evening, but I don't think we were tempted to put it together for this. It was a lot of work!" He didn't rule out another one-off, for a good cause, but said "I don't think we could actually do it on a more long-term, or more ongoing, basis. We've all moved on..."

Asked if, when walking on the Live 8 stage, did the differences between them fill his head, or evaporate, David replies: "They didn't fill my head on that day - we'd just done three days of rehearsing, where we were a lot more conscious of our differences, I think."

Finally, David is asked about future releases. He said: "The next thing coming from Pink Floyd Land is Pulse (on DVD)", followed by his solo album which he said would be out in March 2006.

Nick plugged Inside Out, and talked of the translations, which he said might make it more palatable to the other members, as in Bulgarian it is completely incomprehensible!

As part of the ceremony, the single coming out tomorrow (Monday) - Ever Fallen In Love - was performed by the main protagonists on the recording, live. One of these is David Gilmour, but he didn't take part in the live rendition. The single, released to raise funds for Amnesty International, is available to order through these special links: UK/Elsewhere, US/International, Canada, France, or Germany.

The 2005 UK Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was broadcast on the UK's Channel 4 TV channel, as a two-hour and fifty minute special on the 17th November, and has subsequently been repeated on digital channel More4. The BBC Radio 2 broadcast, which has highlights of the show, and the interview with David and Nick, is available through www.BBC.co.uk's "Radio Player" where it will stream the show on demand.

Our thanks to Gem, Sue Nightingale, and Glenn Povey for their help with this report.