Brit Floyd Is Ready to Put on a Show

Shine on, you crazy tribute band diamond

By Ross Boissoneau | Aug. 9, 2025

“There’s someone in my head, but it’s not me,” sang David Gilmour on “Brain Damage.” Now there’s someone on stage, but it’s not Pink Floyd.

But boy, it sure sounds like it. Say hello to Brit Floyd, the British tribute band that recreates a concert experience with the songs, sounds, and all the panache of the original Pink Floyd.

“It’s timeless,” says Brit Floyd founder Damian Darlington of the music of Pink Floyd. “I’ve been listening to it since I was 14. I never get tired of playing it.”

And as sold-out shows illustrate, fans obviously never get tired of hearing it. Which is perhaps no surprise: Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon was released in 1973 and spent an astonishing 741 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart during its initial run, from March 17, 1973, to October 8, 1988. Subsequent releases continued to gain fans for the band, and its increasingly innovative stage shows enthralled audiences around the world.

Pink Floyd also made headlines for its fractious relationships, with main songwriter Roger Waters leaving the band in 1985 and suing remaining members David Gilmour and Nick Mason (Richard Wright having been fired earlier). The suit was settled in 1987, allowing Gilmour and Mason to continue using the Pink Floyd name. With Wright back in tow, the band released albums until seemingly disbanding in 1994. “Seemingly” as there was never any formal announcement made. The foursome reunited for the Live 8 shows in 2005, the last time the band performed.

In its wake came several bands dedicated to the music of Pink Floyd. “Every country in Europe has one. Italy has about 50,” Darlington says with a laugh. “There’s even a Mongolian Pink Floyd band.”

One of the more heralded was The Australian Pink Floyd Show, which as of 1994 featured a young Damian Darlington. After 17 years, Darlington thought he could do the show one better, and he left to form his own version, which he dubbed Brit Floyd.

The Dark Side of the Moon

It all began back in the 1960s, when Pink Floyd was an underground sensation. The psychedelic band was then fronted by guitarist and songwriter Syd Barrett. As Barrett’s mental illness began to impact the group’s performances, his friend David Gilmour joined as second guitarist, taking the lead when Barrett was unable to continue with the group.

It wasn’t until its seventh recording that the band broke through. The iconic The Dark Side of the Moon, with tracks like “Brain Damage,” “Money,” “Breathe,” “Us and Them,” and others, became a worldwide smash. The band followed it with classic albums such as Animals, The Wall, and The Division Bell, selling millions upon millions of records and treating audiences to live shows that combined lights, effects, and props that complemented the band’s highly original music.

Darlington says it’s challenging to accurately perform the music with the sounds and sound effects that lifted Floyd from the ranks of the myriad other bands of the ’60s and ’70s.

“As musicians, it’s our job to analyze it, what’s going into it, the details. We do our best to recreate it—all the sounds, guitars, keyboards, and the ear candy, the sound effects, and pioneering effects technology. It’s a challenge to recreate,” he says.

Darlington first encountered Pink Floyd in his early teen years, when he heard the group’s epic release The Wall. He’d already fallen in love with guitar and was listening to a number of jazz and rock guitarists, from Paco de Lucia and Al Di Meola to Steve Howe of Yes and Alex Lifeson of Rush.

When Darlington heard The Wall, with its songs, sound effects, narration, and storyline about a depressed rock star recalling his youth and reacting to his circumstances, he was hooked. “That was my gateway to Pink Floyd,” he says. He sought out earlier albums and began learning how to play them.

Wish You Were Here

On this tour, Brit Floyd is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Floyd’s best-selling 1975 release Wish You Were Here. Guitarist and vocalist Darlington is joined by several other musicians to accurately recreate the songs made famous by Gilmour, Waters, Mason, and Wright.

The current show includes Wish You Were Here in its entirety, with a smattering of other Floyd material. “We usually do a three-hour show with a 20-minute break, so there’s room for plenty of other material,” says Darlington.

“Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way” from Dark Side’s “Time” encapsulates the stereotypical British attitude of stoicism. But there’s nothing desperate or quiet about Darlington and the band and their longtime affection for the music of Pink Floyd.

“I was in the Aussie Pink Floyd for 17 years, so I’ve been doing this 31 years,” says Darlington. Even after all this time, he still enjoys performing the music. “What’s not to like?” he asks. “It’s wonderful music, I’m playing night after night with other wonderful musicians, entertaining thousands of people. It never gets old.

“There’s still a huge love for this music and a desire to experience it live,” he concludes.

While ubiquitous in its time and popular even today on classic rock stations, it’s never been easy to describe Pink Floyd’s music. The band’s name came from two American blues musicians—Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, whose records were among Barrett’s collection—but its music certainly couldn’t simply be described as blues-rock, even considering Gilmour’s bluesy, echo-laden guitar. Nor does it fit neatly alongside the likes of Yes, ELP, Camel, or other progressive rock bands.

Darlington agrees. “Some people lump Pink Floyd into prog rock with King Crimson, Yes, etc. There are aspects of that, but it’s more accessible and radio-friendly. There’s so much thought-provoking imagery. It’s very compelling.”

Compelling rock music with a stage show that can’t be beat? We’ll go with that.

Brit Floyd performs at Interlochen’s Kresge Auditorium Aug. 16. Go to Interlochen.org for ticket information.