Today Warner Music announced the upcoming release of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon as a deluxe box set to celebrate 50 years since the release of the album. The newly remastered box set will be released on March 24.
The Dark Side Of The Moon was partly developed during live performances and the band premiered an early version of it at London’s Rainbow Theatre several months before recording began. The Dark Side Of The Moon is the eighth studio album by Pink Floyd. The album was originally released in the US on March 1 and then in the UK on March 16, 1973. The new material was recorded in 1972 and 1973 at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London. The iconic sleeve, which depicts a prism spectrum, was designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis and drawn by George Hardie. The Dark Side Of The Moon has sold over 50 million copies worldwide.
The new deluxe box set includes CD and gatefold vinyl of the new 2023 remastered studio album and Blu-Ray + DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions. The set also includes additional new Blu-ray disc of Atmos mix plus CD and LP of ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974.
On March 24 the CD and first ever vinyl issue of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974’ will be released independently. It was originally recorded in November 1974 as part of the band’s winter tour and this is the first time it will be available as a stand-alone album, with artwork featuring an original 1973 line-drawn cover by George Hardie.
The book Pink Floyd – “The Dark Side Of The Moon: 50 Anniversary” will also be published separately by Thames & Hudson on March 24, 2023 to coincide with the box set release. Curated by photographer Jill Furmanovsky and art directed by Hipgnosis co-founder Aubrey Powell, this LP-sized volume showcases rare and previously unseen photographs taken during The Dark Side Of The Moon tours of 1972-1975 and was created with the involvement of the band members.
The 50 Anniversary release will also be celebrated as Pink Floyd invite a new generation of animators to enter a competition to create music videos for any of the 10 songs on the iconic 1973 album. Pink Floyd has a rich history of collaborating with animators from the beginnings of the band (Ian Emes, Gerald Scarfe, etc.) and in some cases the visuals that accompany the songs have become synonymous with the music itself.
Pink Floyd would like to give all animators an opportunity to present a fresh take on these timeless aural works. Animators can enter up to 10 videos, one per song on the album. A winner will be selected from a panel of experts which will include Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell (Pink Floyd’s creative director) and the BFI (British Film Institute.)
The deadline for submissions is November 30th 2023. To enter and for more information go to https://www.pinkfloyd.com/