The Dark Side of the Moon 50th Anniversary: Celebrating Pink Floyd's Iconic Album
March 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd's iconic album, The Dark Side of the Moon. We are taking a moment to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this ground-breaking album, and the release of an anniversary box set.
The Dark Side of the Moon was Pink Floyd's commercial-meets-conceptual equinox, of which David Gilmour said,
"We knew that the package; the record and the cover and everything together; was going to be far, far stronger than anything we had done before."
The album itself was a unique and collaborative effort involving the entire band and producer Alan Parsons. The Dark Side of the Moon was not only a critical and commercial success, but it also had a profound impact on popular culture. From its exploration of themes such as life, death, and the human condition, to its striking cover artwork, The Dark Side of the Moon continues to resonate with audiences worldwide.
Arguably one of the best known album covers in the world, the simple prism on a black background remains one of the jewels in the illustrious catalogue of renowned photo-design studio Hipgnosis. The illustration was by George Hardie, who was working with Hipgnosis at the time.
"The design is simply a mechanical tint lay, which means we drew outline shapes, black on white, and indicated what colours were to appear when printed. The prisms were airbrushed black on white and reversed by the printer. The idea itself was cunningly cobbled from a standard physics textbook, which illustrated light passing through a prism. Of significance was the simple, elegant layout against black - standard textbook illustrations did not do this. And then to connect this idea to their live show, which was famous for its lighting, and subsequently to connect this to ambition and madness, themes Roger was exploring in the lyrics; hence the prism, the triangle and the pyramids. It all connects, somehow, somewhere". Storm Thorgerson.
On March 24th 2023 Pink Floyd will tempt us with a stunning boxset designed by Pentagram. This deluxe collectors’ edition contains nesting boxes all engineered in cardboard with a different finish at each layer.
The anniversary boxset will comprise: a CD and gatefold vinyl of a newly remastered The Dark Side Of The Moon studio album; a Blu-Ray and DVD audio bearing the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions; a Blu-ray disc with a Dolby Atmos mix; a CD and LP copy of The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974; a music book; replica 7-inch singles and memorabilia; and a copy of The Official Pink Floyd 50th Anniversary Book, published by Thames & Hudson, featuring photographs by Jill Furmanovsky and the Hipgnosis team, along with sketches and rough artwork for the iconic Prism cover image.
"The familiar triangular prism image had run its course over five decades and it was now time to reinvent. As you unwrap the multi-layered packaging, the final delight is the inner gold box containing the first “live” vinyl of The Dark Side Of The Moon.
"It’s a work of art." Aubrey Powell
Only a few prints now remain of the ultimate 'work of art' - the limited edition silkscreen print created by Storm Thorgerson with us over 20 years ago. Signed by both Storm and Po, you can view the print details here.
The enduring appeal of The Dark Side of the Moon lies in its ability to speak to people on a personal level, even 50 years after its release. Its influence on music and popular culture continues to be felt today, and its themes and messages remain as relevant as ever.
Here's to another 50 years of The Dark Side of the Moon.