Friday June 27 will be a big day for Floyd fans, as the 20th anniversary box set of The Division Bell is released.
This 20th anniversary box set features six discs, including three replica coloured or clear vinyl discs, five collectors’ prints, a Blu-ray disc and Andy Jackson’s 5.1 audio mix of the album.
The box includes a Blu-Ray disc, including a new 2014 film of Marooned, the track which won the band the Best Rock Instrumental award at the 1994 Grammy awards.The new video was filmed in Ukraine during the first week of April 2014.
The Division Bell was the last studio album to be released by the band, whose members at that point were guitarist David Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason and keyboards-player, the late Richard Wright (Roger Waters having departed.).
The Division Bell debuted at number one in the UK and in the USA, staying at the top of the US charts for four weeks. it also went to number one in eight other countries. To date, the record has reached total album sales of over twelve million.
The album was recorded by the band at Astoria and Britannia Row Studios with the majority of the lyrics being written by Polly Samson. (Samson is David Gilmour’s wife and a writer of fiction.)
David Gilmour explained the genesis of the album at the time of its release. “The three of us went into Britannia Row studios, and improvised for two weeks. Playing together and starting from scratch was interesting and exciting, it kick started the album and the process was very good, it was collaborative and felt more cohesive.”
Bob Ezrin and David Gilmour produced the original album, with orchestral arrangements by the late Michael Kamen.
