From supersonic jet to the Dark Side Of The Moon
BACK in 1996 I went on a day-trip to New York, flying on British Airways Concorde. The supersonic journey was remarkable for the fact that the three-hour 30-minute flight, combined with the five-hour time difference, meant that we arrived at JFK Airport 90 minutes before we had left London.
The trip was especially interesting because members of Pink Floyd were on the same flight – they were en route to Cleveland where they were due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Concorde was the perfect vehicle for a band that pioneered space rock with a famously cosmic sound, characterised in their Dark Side Of The Moon album. I rudely interrupted their on-board musings by asking them to sign my Concorde menu. I also told them that my policeman father was there when they performed at Gwent Constabulary’s Spring Holiday Barn Dance at Grosmont in May 1967 (Pink Floyd at a police barn dance?).
My dad had been particularly bemused by the psychedelic light show. I felt it worth adding that my surname was Barrett – Pink Floyd’s original moving force had been the remarkable Syd Barrett.
Now the V&A Museum in London has put together a Pink Floyd exhibition called Their Mortal Remains. It may not be as thrilling as a ride on Concorde, but it is every bit as entertaining.
The V&A – the site of the
equally excellent David Bowie show four years ago – has created a lavish confection of sound and vision which will enthral and delight visitors (you don’t have to be a Pink Floyd fan, but it helps). And as travel becomes increasingly a business of ‘experiences’, the Pink Floyd show is an experience that has been brilliantly packaged by The Berkeley Hotel, situated near Hyde Park Corner and within walking distance of the museum. Guests taking the hotel’s Pink Floyd package not only get priority tickets for the exhibition, they also find waiting for them in their room a portable record player, three vinyl Pink Floyd albums, and a complimentary copy of the handsomely illustrated exhibition book (which costs £40).
The Pink Floyd package at The Berkeley (the-berkeley.co.uk) costs £630 on a B&B basis for two in a superior king room. The exhibition continues until October 1.