10 Things You Didn't Know About Famous Music Album Covers
6. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd (1975)
By the time Floyd released Wish You Were Here, they were just about done with the music industry as an institution. They had become disheartened by the way their record label only seemed to care about money, and the driving incentive of commerce taking precedence over the artistic endeavour had left the band bitter.
As this feeling became more prominent, the group also found themselves isolated from one another. Pressures of building on the success of Dark Side Of The Moon and the old dividing line of creative differences started to bleed into the band's effort.
The themes of the record revolved around the rising resentment towards the industry, as well as references to previous band mate Syd Barret, who had been fired some years earlier due to difficulties with mental illness.
Wish You Were Here's cover served to symbolise these themes. The two suited men represent the notion of the 'business deal'. One of the men is on fire, in reference to the idea that undoubtedly someone is going to get burned. The image was also supposed to symbolise their former band mate Syd Barret, who became burned-out after failing to successfully navigate the industry.