Big Boys' Toys: The Ummagumma cover
30/05/2015
"The Ummagumma album cover features pictures of Pink Floyd's equipment shot around August/September 1969. On the image to the left is David's natural brown Telecaster and his blonde Stratocaster. Behind Floyd's roadies Peter Watts and Alan Stiles you can spot two Sound City and two Hiwatt heads. The Sound Citys were most likely either Roger's or Rick's while the Hiwatts were newly purchased by David sometime in the summer months."
(Courtesy of the Ummagumma page at http://www.gilmourish.com, a site dedicated to documenting equipment used by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.) Not so much Trainspotting as Gearspotting! |
I was cataloging a Pink Floyd LP the other day, and while looking up details I was struck by a few thoughts regarding the back cover picture of another Pink Floyd LP.
(See Left. Not one I have.) I well remember this image from 1969; at the time I saw it as a slightly tongue-in-cheek bit of boasting by the band, who were known for their emphasis on experimental sound and sound systems. I instantly saw that this was a visual pun, resembling other images familiar to me. Now, however, I wonder if a modern viewer would realise what the image is quoting. Wikipedia sheds some light on the origin, although I'm not sure about the "exploded" expression: - "On the rear cover, roadies Alan Styles (who also appears in "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast") and Peter Watts are shown with the band's equipment laid out on a runway at Biggin Hill Airport. This concept was proposed by Mason, with the intention of replicating the "exploded" drawings of military aircraft and their payloads, which were popular at the time." (My italics) Personally I think it was solely the aircraft and payload in consideration, I note they chose the iconic WWII airport of Biggin Hill, the emphasis being on Operations, rather than drawings. This map shows the picture was not taken on the actual runway, but on a taxiway, looking almost due South. Note the light-coloured strip on the cover photo's left. I think the kind of image being "replicated" was that of the two images at Left. Sad Postscript
"After Pink Floyd’s 16 May 1970 performance at The Warehouse in New Orleans, the equipment shown on the rear cover of Ummagumma was stolen. The remaining concerts on this US tour were cancelled. After the theft, and the Grateful Dead’s drug bust after their 31 January 1970 performance, also at The Warehouse, New Orleans was shunned by most rock bands for the first half of the 1970s. The Grateful Dead would not play in New Orleans for another 10 years. Pink Floyd wouldn’t play there for another 24 years." Link here is a contemporary interview where Rogers Waters and David Gilmour talk about their equipment, and some thoughts on "free music" still relevant today. They sound remarkably frank and down-to earth.
Link here is a thoughtful retrospective on the actual recording, Stylus magazine 2003. (No it isn't, Stylus Magazine is no more.) |