5
I Was There–Marks Campbell
The 1972 and 1973 Tours Through a Fan’s Eyes
I became a Pink Floyd fan in late 1971 when I heard “One of These Days” on the radio. I quickly ran out and bought their Meddle LP and was impressed by the lush production and sonic effects, especially on “Echoes.” Their ’72 U.S. tour brought them to Chicago’s Auditorium Theater in April and I was in attendance.
A wide shot of the Floyd in Chicago, 1973. Note an early, smallish version of the band’s image projection device, “Mr. Screen,” above Nick Mason. This was the height of rock-show technology at the time.
Photo courtesy of Mark Campbell
The small theater setting and Floyd’s 360-degree sound configuration made for a memorable performance. Before the show, a free program, entitled Eclipse: A Piece for Assorted Lunatics, was distributed. We didn’t know it then, but we were being treated to most of Dark Side of the Moon almost a year before it would be released in the U.S.
The now-familiar spoken word segments, the goofy giggling, and other Dark Side effects seemed to come from behind, above, and all around us, due to the band’s high-tech (for 1972) sound setup.
Pink Floyd distributed this brochure to fans attending the 1972 American tour. Included were the lyrics to the “Eclipse” suite, a project the band soon re-titled Dark Side of the Moon.
Photo courtesy of Mark Campbell
Following the Dark Side set, they performed several more current and past tunes, including “Echoes” and “Careful with That Axe, Eugene.” The opera-house setting and superb acoustics made this concert, one of the first I ever attended, truly unforgettable.
The following year, in spring 1973, Pink Floyd returned to Chicago on their Dark Side of the Moon tour. This time, due to the band’s increase in album sales and popularity, they played the much larger Chicago Amphitheater. I rushed out early and got great seats, in the eighth row. During the early ’70s, little, if any security was used at concerts; Andy Frain ushers were present, but their primary role was to help you find your seat.
As a result, during the show, I was able to walk up to the very front of the stage, which was no more than four feet high, and take photos of the band. I captured a few excellent individual close-ups of Gilmour and Waters, as well as some decent shots of the entire stage from my seat.
What is striking about the photos is how little equipment is used and, by today’s standards, how sparse their stage looks. In 1973, however, that stage set looked positively futuristic and extremely high-tech to us, especially the eclipsing sun device that rose up from behind Nick Mason’s drum kit. The set list featured most of Dark Side along with other Floyd tunes from earlier LPs, but what I remember most is our close proximity to the band and the effects: the dazzling lighting, the surround sound, and that smoking, glowing, eclipsing sun.
Mark Campbell grew up in Chicago, listening to Top 40 radio in the late ’60s and underground FM in the early ’70s. He spent most of the next two decades in senior marketing positions at ABC Radio and Westwood One. Mark presently owns Marketing Spark, a marketing consulting agency in Chicago.