5 Bands Who Improved After Replacing Their Singer (And 5 Who Didn't)
7. Improved - Pink Floyd
When David Gilmour replaced Syd Barrett as the vocalist for Pink Floyd, they didn't just change a singer. It was as if they'd become a whole new band. One of those bands was significantly better than the other. That was the band with David Gilmour.
Formed in London in 1965, Pink Floyd were pioneers of psychedelic rock. Helmed by vocalist/songwriter Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd produced two hit singles and one album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. By 1967, Barrett was displaying increasingly erratic behaviour. This led to missed gigs and/or train wreck gigs where Barrett would refuse to show or stand on stage, staring at the audience.
Guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour was brought into the mix. As Barrett's condition deteriorated, Gilmour was doing more and more of the heavy lifting musically. In March 1968, Barrett was fired from Pink Floyd and Gilmour was now the guitarist and second vocalist for the band.
It was after this that Pink Floyd produced essentially all of their iconic work. 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the best-selling albums of all time, having gone platinum 15 times over. The band's final reunion show in 2005 showed that those four musicians together were the real magic of Pink Floyd.