Rick's Page
RICHARD WILLIAM WRIGHT
Richard William Wright was born on July 28, 1945 to a well-to-do family in Hatch End, London England. His parents, Bridie and Cedric, also had 2 daughters, Selena and Guinvere. After attending Harberdashers' School, Richard or Rick as he is often known, attended Regent Street Poly at the age of 17. While enrolled in the architecture program, he met fellow students Nick Mason and Roger Waters. Rick wasn't too interested in architecture but was interested in music, and soon began playing with the other two under various band names. Soon a friend of Roger's, Syd Barrett, began to come along to sessions and eventually joined the band, creating the name "Pink Floyd" for two of his favourite blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Below is an early picture of Rick and the band.
After Syd Barrett was unable to continue with the band, David Gilmour came on board and took over as guitarist. Rick continued to contribute his unique and enchanting sounds from his keyboard which have made the Floyd unmistakable. He also contributed to many of the writing of music and singing on various tracks. His quiet and melodic voice can be heard on such tracks as "Echoes", "Time", "Burning Bridges", "Matilida Mother" and many others. One of Mr. Wright's best known song is from Dark Side of The Moon The Great Gig In The Sky.
Below is a concert shot of Rick.
A major falling out occured between Roger and Rick during the production of the Wall album. It became evident that the two were not working well together, and Roger threatened to withdraw his piece if Rick did not leave the band. The rest of the band agreed, albeit reluctantly, and Rick was out of the band. He performed during the Wall concerts as a paid member and the audience had no idea it was really a farewell show for Rick. This was an extremely difficult time for Rick, and he took time off after that. It wasn't apparent that Rick had left the band until The Final Cut when his name was absent from the credits and obviously the album for the "Rick" sound was not there either.
After Roger's departure from Floyd, the band decided to make A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. Rick re-joined the band in 1987 after the album was made, so he was too late to contribute anything to it. He did however tour with them on Delicate Sound of Thunder tour. Rick's presence was again felt during both The Division Bell and P.U.L.S.E.. Rick co-wrote "Wearing The Inside Out" with lyricist Anthony Moore, and co-wrote the music for "Cluster One", "What Do You Want From Me", "Marooned", and "Keep Talking" with David Gilmour. Fans were delighted to welcome Rick back into the band, as he was sorely missed in musical and vocal contributions, not to mention his loved personality.
Rick has three children; Gala, Jamie from his marriage to Juliette Wright, and Benjamin, with his current wife, Millie.
During his years with Pink Floyd, Rick has ventured to write a few solo albums. Below are lyrics and dates from these albums.
