Behind The Wall:

A Look Into Pink Floyd's Eleventh Studio Album

Written By: Kamryn Pechatsko

February 3, 2025

The Wall is the eleventh edition to English rock band Pink Floyd's discography and was released on November 30th, 1979. The album consists of 26 tracks split between two records with a total play time of about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Sneak a peak beyond the wall to reveal the story of the album, the history and inspiration behind its creation, and the tours and movie that grew from its great success.

"...we came in?"

The Script

What is The Wall about?

The story of The Wall centers around Pink, a weary rock star who builds a metaphorical wall around himself to isolate from the outside world. Once strung together, the individual songs evolve into an emotional rock opera that touches on dark themes such as depression, drug abuse, and even suicide. The album begins with Pink’s childhood; the songs “Mother” and “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” introduce an overbearing parent and strict schoolteacher that inspire Pink to begin laying the foundation for the wall. Pink then grows up and begins to experience the highs of life in “Young Lust” before his relationship quickly turns sour throughout “One of My Turns” and “Don’t Leave Me Now”. This prompts more layers to be built into the wall – “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3” – and eventually Pink reaches a breaking point in “In the Flesh”, presumably during one of his own concerts. Afterwards, Pink is put before a jury in “The Trial” to face the consequences of his actions, and the judge ultimately rules that he is to tear down his wall and experience life head on without the imaginary protection and comfort of the bricks.

A young Syd Barrett (left) and Roger Waters (right).

The Story

How did The Wall come to be?

Inspiration for this album stemmed from many places, though most notable are snippets of bassist Roger Waters' childhood, Pink Floyd's former frontman Syd Barrett, and Roger Waters' own experience with being an up and coming music star. The Wall is said to have originated from Waters' feelings with his own audiences at the time. During Pink Floyd's In The Flesh tour in 1977, Waters felt such distain for the audience - who he felt were more interested in alcohol and drugs than the show - that he actually spat on a drunk concert attendee who was attempting to climb up onto the stage. Roger Waters describes the first mention of The Wall as a theatrical idea: putting on a concert and physically building a wall across the stage throughout the show to demonstrate the distance between the performers and the audience. "The record," Waters says in an interview with AXS TV, "came after that."

"All in all you're just another brick in the wall."

Track List

Provided by Spotify

17. "Vera" 1:35

18. "Bring the Boys Back Home" 1:21

19. "Comfortably Numb" 6:23

Side Four

20. "The Show Must Go On" 1:36

21. "In the Flesh" 4:15

22. "Run Like Hell" 4:20

23. "Waiting for the Worms" 4:04

24. "Stop" 0:30

25. "The Trial" 5:13

26. "Outside the Wall" 1:41

The Wall is available wherever you stream music, including Youtube.

"How should I complete the wall?"

Tour

The original, Live in Berlin, and Waters' tour

Pink Floyd took The Wall on tour starting in 1980 and ending in 1981, though due to the massive production and intricacy of the stage and props, the shows were limited to a few cities: Los Angeles, New York, London, and Dortmund, Germany. The cost of the tour was estimated to be around $1.5 million before the first show was even played.

After leaving the band in 1985, Roger Waters performed The Wall - Live in Berlin, a performance of The Wall album held in Berlin on July 21, 1990, to commemorate the fall of the Berlin wall eight months earlier.

In 2010, Roger Waters embarked on The Wall Live, a worldwide tour that went on from 2010 to 2013. The tour consisted of 219 shows performed in a multitude of cities including Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Moscow, Milan, London, Paris, and many more. In North America alone, the tour grossed over $89 million, making it the second highest grossing concert tour in North America and the third highest grossing in the world at the time. Roger Waters was also nominated all four years of the tour's run for a Billboard Music Award for Top Touring Artist.

Promotional poster for The Wall concert in Los Angeles in 1980.

Covert art for the Pink Floyd - The Wall movie.

Pink Floyd - The Wall

The Wall reaches the big screen

Pink Floyd - The Wall is a movie based on the band's album of the same name released on July 14, 1982 in the United Kingdom and on August 13 of the same year in the United States. The film was written by Roger Waters and directed by Alan Parker and made $22.3 million on a $10-12 million budget.

Even before The Wall was recorded, the idea for a movie was always there. However, the final product is much different than what Roger Waters had in mind at the start: live footage from the album tour with animations and extra scenes added, with Waters himself posing as the main character. Unfortunately, due to creative differences and difficulties with the concert video, the original plan fell through. The final product stars Bob Geldof as Pink and follows The Wall's original story.

The movie is particularly interesting in terms of its screenplay, written by Roger Waters, which deviates from the norm. The screenplay had to be written around the music instead of the other way around, and consists of only one word outside of the song lyrics: Stop! There are also sketches of scenes littered throughout the document, mashing a storyboard and screenplay into one.

Pink Floyd - The Wall ranked 28th on the US box office charts after playing in just one theater for one weekend for a limited released on August 6, 1982. The film went on to receive all around positive reviews from fans and critics alike, earning a score of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes.

"All you need to do is follow the worms."

Reception and Reviews

How was The Wall received?

Upon release, initial reviews from critics were mixed. An article by Kurt Loder from RollingStone Magazine described the album as "stunning" and "genuine", but also highlights issues such as the "music [being] stretched a bit thin," and comments on how the music has been "unable to match the high sonic glass" that was present in one of Pink Floyd's previous albums, Dark Side of the Moon.

While some fans still believe that The Wall is overrated in Pink Floyd's discography, the album has continued to receive positive reviews from old and new fans alike, cementing it as one of the band's most popular and recognizable creations to this day.

"Isn't this where..."

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