Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album)

Wish You Were Here
An image of two men dressed in dark grey business attire standing in the grounds of a Hollywood film studio, facing each other and shaking hands. The man on the right's hair and clothes are on fire, but he seems oblivious to the fact. The upper right edge of the photograph appears singed.
Standard artwork for most releases. Cover by Hipgnosis.
Studio album by
Pink Floyd
Released12 September 1975
Recorded13 January – 28 July 1975[1]
StudioEMI, London
Genre
Length44:05
Label
ProducerPink Floyd
Pink Floyd chronology
The Dark Side of the Moon
(1973) 		Wish You Were Here
(1975) 		Animals
(1977)
Additional cover
The circle sticker at the right-centre position shows two machines clasped together, resembling a handshake. The whole circle is divided into four quarters in different colours. The pink quarter, located on upper-left, has the sun shining and "PINK FLOYD" in big font; below the band name is "WISH YOU WERE HERE" in small font. The yellow quarter at lower-left displays sand dunes. The blue quarter at upper-right shows blue skies. The green quarter at lower-right displays green- or teal-coloured water.
Banner used for 1970s vinyl releases packaged in black shrink wrap, 1970s tape releases, 1980s European CD re-releases, and slipcase of 2010s vinyl/CD re-releases.
Singles from Wish You Were Here
  1. "Have a Cigar"
    Released: November 1975
Licensed audio
Wish You Were Here playlist on YouTube

Wish You Were Here is the ninth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 12 September 1975 through Harvest Records in the UK and Columbia Records in the US, their first for the label. Based on material Pink Floyd composed while performing in Europe, Wish You Were Here was recorded over numerous sessions throughout 1975 at EMI Studios in London.

The lyrics express alienation and criticism of the music business. The bulk of the album is taken up by "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", a nine-part tribute to the Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett, who had left seven years earlier due to his deteriorating mental health. Barrett coincidentally visited during the recording. As with their previous release, The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Pink Floyd employed studio effects and synthesisers. Guest singers included Roy Harper, who provided the lead vocals on "Have a Cigar", and Venetta Fields, who added backing vocals to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". To promote the album, Pink Floyd released the double A-side single "Have a Cigar" / "Welcome to the Machine".

Wish You Were Here was certified gold in the UK and the US in its year of release and topped the charts in several European countries. By 2004, it had sold an estimated 13 million copies worldwide. It initially received mixed reviews; critics found its music uninspiring and inferior to Pink Floyd's previous work. It was later acclaimed as one of the greatest albums of all time, appearing on lists including Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums at which it was ranked at #264 in 2021. It was cited by the keyboardist, Richard Wright, and the guitarist, David Gilmour, as their favourite Pink Floyd album.

  1. ^ Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2017). Pink Floyd All The Songs. Running Press. ISBN 9780316439237.
  2. ^ "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 17 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  3. ^ Spin Volume 18, Issues 1-6. Spin. 2002. p. 78.
  4. ^ Hoffmann, Frank (2004). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Routledge. p. 1651. ISBN 978-1-135-94950-1.