Richard Wright

Published Tuesday 30 September 2008 at 10:40 by Nick Awde

Richard Wright, keyboard player, singer and founding member of influential rock group Pink Floyd, died from cancer on September 15. He was 65 years old.

Better known as Rick, Wright was born on July 28, 1943, in Hatch End, Middlesex. His father was a biochemist, and the young Wright was schooled at Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School in Elstree - other alumni include Alan Whicker, Michael Green, Mark Kermode, David Baddiel, Sacha Baron Cohen and Matt Lucas.

While studying architecture at London’s Regent Street Polytechnic, he met up with bassist/vocalist Roger Waters and drummer Nick Mason and in 1964 they formed a band that a year later became Pink Floyd (with optional ‘the’), featuring the iconic Syd Barrett on guitar and vocals.

The band’s psychedelic sound, ironic lyrics plus a formidable capacity for extended space jams swiftly made them a favourite at underground venues such as London’s UFO, Marquee and Roundhouse clubs. Their first album, 1967’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, is considered to be one of the best debuts by any band.

After the drug-induced departure of Syd Barrett, the epic guitar solos of replacement David Gilmour allowed Wright to progress from psychedelia to creating multi-levelled soundscapes. This dramatic approach influenced Pink Floyd’s pioneering light shows, and the band attracted film makers, leading to soundtracks for Michelangelo Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point (1970) and Barbet Shroeder’s More (1969). This paved the way for the groundbreaking concept albums that followed, such as Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and Wish You Were Here (1975), which continue to be worldwide bestsellers.

By the late seventies Wright had clashed with Waters over the band’s musical direction and he left during 1979’s The Wall - filmed in 1982 by Alan Parker and starring Bob Geldof. Wright rejoined in the late eighties after Waters himself was ousted.

Wright’s solo albums received comparatively less exposure, but it is his playing and composition with Pink Floyd that have left an enduring legacy thanks to tracks such as The Great Gig in the Sky and Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V).