Floyd’s first lunar trip
JULY 20
To mark Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon, at 10pm BBC1’s Omnibus arts show broadcasts live special What If It’s Just Green Cheese? Pink Floyd play a live improvisation to accompany the moon landing, “a nice, atmospheric, spacey, 12-bar blues” (said Dave Gilmour) later named Moonhead. Judi Dench, Roy Dotrice, Ian McKellen, Michael Gough and Michael Hordern read lunar poetry, with more music from the Dudley Moore Trio and Marion Montgomery. Six days later Gilmour and bandmate Roger Waters are at Abbey Road coproducing Syd Barrett’s solo debut The Madcap Laughs. The July 26 session – the album’s last – yields Feel, Long Gone and aptly for the planetary times, Wouldn’t You Miss Me (Dark Globe).