The Pink Floyd exhibition at the V&A

Posted by: Kevin-W on 10 May 2017

I managed to blag a press ticket to yesterday's preview.

I must say I was very impressed. There are about 350 artefacts - old frilly shirts, letters, posters, gadgets, photos, covers, instruments - on display at this exhibition, which tracks the band's career from 1965 through to 2014's swansong TER. Like the V&A's Bowie exhibition, you need to don a pair of bluetooth headphones, which change from room to room and from exhibit to exhibit - although I have to say that both the effectiveness and sound quality is better than the Bowie show (the kit is very sensitive though - you have to be in exactly the right place).

One of the highlights is the last room, in which "Comfortably Numb" at Live8 is rendered by an amazing surround sound "3D audio" system. Never heard anything quite like it. Other highlights include a 1975 tour rider asking for 600lbs of dry ice, the cane used to beat Syd, Roger and Storm when they were at school, a replica of Algie flying over Battersea Power Station, Wall puppets, a visually arresting WYWH room, the Division Bell heads (to be honest, the exhibition drags a bit once Big Rog leaves, but those heads are pretty cool) and a bank of mixing desks which allow you to remix "Money" for yourself. Talking of mixing desks, look out, as you go in, for the Abbey Road EMI 16-track custom desk used to make DSOTM.

Some people will wonder, "Does rock music belong in a museum?"

The Floyd are the perfect musical group for a museum, as their visual iconography and presentation of their music is so powerful and so famous (as, of course, is the music). Unlike someone like Bowie, however, it isn't about costumes and make-up, or what they looked like at various points in their career; it's about album covers, light shows and objects. Cows, prisms, lasers, burning men, flying pigs, quad sound systems, Battersea Power Station, beds on beaches, metal heads in fields, Hignosis' airbrushed surrealism, bricks, sonar pings, sound effects, Mr Screen, outer and inner space, Syd's whimsy, Roger's bombast, etc etc.

If you're a fan, you won't want to miss it. As a V&A member, I will be returning!

Posted on: 10 May 2017 by Premmyboy

Sounds very interesting Kevin. I have tickets for 22nd March and really looking forward to it.

I went to the Bowie exhibition and thought it was absolutely outstanding. But then again I'm a massive Bowie fan!!

Prem.

Posted on: 10 May 2017 by Premmyboy

Whoops I meant 22nd May!!

Posted on: 10 May 2017 by Clive B
Premmyboy posted:

Whoops I meant 22nd May!!

Do you mean that it's necessary to pre-book? 

Posted on: 10 May 2017 by joerand

I very much enjoyed your post Kevin. Well done. We have the Experience Music Project Museum in Seattle and I'm hoping the PF exhibit makes its way here.

Posted on: 11 May 2017 by Premmyboy
Clive B posted:
Premmyboy posted:

Whoops I meant 22nd May!!

Do you mean that it's necessary to pre-book? 

I would. There are timed slots and they are limited to certain amount of people. I have to travel and stay overnight in London so I wanted to ensure I could attend on that particular day.

Posted on: 11 May 2017 by blythe

I'm definitely getting tickets!

Posted on: 11 May 2017 by nickpeacock
Kevin-W posted:

Some people will wonder, "Does rock music belong in a museum?"

The answer to that is clearly "no", but I think you're right that the reason to go is the art. Really looking forward to it - have tickets for mid-June.

(Incidentally, the show was reviewed by Alexis Petridis in yesterday's Guardian.)

Posted on: 11 May 2017 by Kevin-W
Clive B posted:
Premmyboy posted:

Whoops I meant 22nd May!!

Do you mean that it's necessary to pre-book? 

Definitely Clive. I was talking to someone at the V&A and it she reckoned it could top even the Bowie show for attendance (and it's the kind of exhibition which only a limited number of people can enter at any given time).

Posted on: 11 May 2017 by The Strat (Fender)

Must book to go.

Posted on: 11 May 2017 by docbot

Just booked for the 25th May :-)

Posted on: 11 May 2017 by Stevee_S

Thanks for the write up Kevin it sounds like a good one. 

Posted on: 11 May 2017 by Clive B
Kevin-W posted:
Clive B posted:
Premmyboy posted:

Whoops I meant 22nd May!!

Do you mean that it's necessary to pre-book? 

Definitely Clive. I was talking to someone at the V&A and it she reckoned it could top even the Bowie show for attendance (and it's the kind of exhibition which only a limited number of people can enter at any given time).

Thanks, Kevin and Pemmyboy. I shall have to plan a day trip to London. I too am not sure that rock music is ready yet for the museum, but Pink Floyd was always more than rock music. I find it difficult to use the term 'rock music' to define PF.

Posted on: 12 May 2017 by Richard S

May 30th for me. Thanks for the review Kev; looking forward to it even more now.

Posted on: 12 May 2017 by John3

I have tickets for July. I bet that 'Momentary Lapse' has more coverage than the brilliant 'Final Cut'.

Posted on: 12 May 2017 by Kevin-W

Yes, TFC is treated rather cursorily John.

Posted on: 12 May 2017 by Richard S

Is it a case of Not Now John?

Posted on: 12 May 2017 by John3

Not surprised. Whilst I'm sure Roger had input to the exhibition even he seems to dismiss the Final Cut these days (not featured on new tour). Shame, one of my favs.

Posted on: 16 May 2017 by Nick Lees

Just got back. I'd say it was good rather than amazing. There were too many people I think - it's atmospherically dark and a lot of the writing on the exhibits is quite small (I'd loved to have read David's letter to his Mum just after he'd moved to London), which prompted people to linger and effectively block off the view for anyone behind. That led to quite frequent passage blocks.

There's some impressive stuff though, particularly the props for the big stage shows (though my interest in the music declines in inverse proportion). I'm not a gearhead though, so others may be more impressed by guitars and keyboards et al.

Kevin's right about the last room though - a stunning sound system with Arnold Layne, High Hopes, and yes an ecstatic Comfortably Numb.

Posted on: 16 May 2017 by BigH47

We are going on Friday 19th and seeing Steve Hackett in the evening.

Posted on: 19 May 2017 by Ron Brinsdon

For visitors like myself who are travelling to London by rail from the Midlands or further, most of the mid morning to lunchtime slots on Saturdays in June,July and August are sold out with just odd tickets (not even pairs) available. Best we could get was a pair for 15.00 on 22 July.

Book now!

Posted on: 19 May 2017 by Richard S
BigH47 posted:

We are going on Friday 19th and seeing Steve Hackett in the evening.

Should be a memorable day out. Caught the Hackett tour in Liverpool recently and it was superb. The Wind and Wuthering tracks were immense, particularly One for the Vine which I had never heard performed live before.