Background Edit

Concept Edit

Recording Edit

Packaging Edit

The album's artwork depicts the light refracting from a triangular prism It felt like the whole band were working together. It was a creative time. We were all very open. – Richard Wright[59] The album was originally released in a gatefold LP sleeve designed by Hipgnosis and George Hardie. Hipgnosis had designed several of the band's previous albums, with controversial results; EMI had reacted with confusion when faced with the cover designs for Atom Heart Mother and Obscured by Clouds, as they had expected to see traditional designs which included lettering and words. Designers Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell were able to ignore such criticism as they were employed by the band. For The Dark Side of the Moon, Richard Wright instructed them to come up with something "smarter, neater – more classy".[60] The design was inspired by a photograph of a prism with a colour beam projected through it that Thorgerson had found in a photography book. The artwork was created by their associate, George Hardie. Hipgnosis offered the band a choice of seven designs, but all four members agreed that the prism was by far the best. The final design depicts a glass prism dispersing light into colour. The design represents three elements: the band's stage lighting, the album lyrics, and Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design.[7] The spectrum of light continues through to the gatefold – an idea that Waters came up with.[61] Added shortly afterwards, the gatefold design also includes a visual representation of the heartbeat sound used throughout the album, and the back of the album cover contains Thorgerson's suggestion of another prism recombining the spectrum of light, facilitating interesting layouts of the sleeve in record shops.[62] The light band emanating from the prism on the album cover has six colours, missing indigo compared to the traditional division of the spectrum into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Inside the sleeve were two posters and two pyramid-themed stickers. One poster bore pictures of the band in concert, overlaid with scattered letters to form PINK FLOYD, and the other an infrared photograph of the Great Pyramids of Giza, created by Powell and Thorgerson.[62] The band were so confident of the quality of Waters' lyrics that, for the first time, they printed them on the album's sleeve.[8]

Release Edit

Legacy Edit

Track listing Edit

Personnel Edit

Charts and certifications Edit

Release history Edit

Country Date Label Format Catalogue no. Canada 1 March 1973 Harvest Records Vinyl, Cassette, 8-Track SMAS-11163 (LP)

4XW-11163 (CC)

8XW-11163 (8-Track) United States Capitol Records United Kingdom 16 March 1973 Harvest Records SHVL 804 (LP)

TC-SHVL 804 (CC)

Q8-SHVL 804 (8-Track) Australia 1973 Vinyl Q4 SHVLA.804