Stalwart drummer Nick Mason doesn’t have many regrets about his time with Pink Floyd. But one has been brought to mind by a pending return to theaters for Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii.
The original movie included scenes where Pink Floyd was still at work on 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon. Yet a concert film about that career-making diamond-certified chart-topper didn’t follow. In fact, Pink Floyd wouldn’t release a live version of Dark Side of the Moon until 1995’s Pulse, long after Roger Waters departed.
“If one could play the whole thing back all over again, we probably should have taken longer, we should have spent more time playing Dark Side live and not worried about going back into the studio to make Wish You Were Here,” Mason tells Rolling Stone. “We actually spent quite a long time in the studio having not a great time when we could have just actually drawn things out a bit longer, done more live work and filmed it.”
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Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii had a unique premise, with the band performing alone in the excavated remains of a Roman amphitheater. Unfortunately, it wasn’t profitable – and that may have fed into Pink Floyd’s long-time reluctance to make another concert film.
“I think we didn’t realize what a good idea it was to film things,” Mason adds. “Maybe it’s because the movie didn’t make any money for us, but it’s a great shame that we didn’t spend a bit longer and do the equivalent with Dark Side of the Moon.”
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Mason has since returned to Pompeii, performing a couple of years ago at the Grand Theater with his Pink Floyd offshoot band, Saucerful of Secrets. Last year included a 35-show tour highlighted by their stop at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
He doesn’t expect the same kind of robust schedule in 2025. “We actually don’t know what’s next,” Mason admits. “We probably did a bit too much last year. Everyone was exhausted. We’d certainly like to do some more things. It’s just a matter of finding the right things.”
The re-release of Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii is the first large-scale project since Sony bought their back catalog for some $400 million. The movie has been restored from the original 35mm prints, remastered in 4K, remixed by Steven Wilson and retitled Pink Floyd at Pompeii: MCMLXXII.
Mason is pleased with the deal so far. “I think I’m still feeling that the catalog sale was a good idea,” he argues. “I think Sony will actually look after it better than we would. We’d spend too much time arguing.”
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Typically created by designers associated with London-based Hipgnosis, the images work on a parallel track to frame the band’s impish humor, wild imagination, sharp commentary and flair for the absurd.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
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