Pink Floyd
October-December 1966
Posters & Handbills
Any comments, corrections or additions to this listing would be greatly appreciated.
We begin our journey through the world of Pink Floyd posters with a poster for the London Free School.
In 1966, Pink Floyd played a number of times at All Saints Hall, beginning with a London Free School Celebration Dance on the last day of September 1966. In October through the beginning of November, they played three Pop Dances / Psychedelic Pop shows at the Free School on Fridays. After that, they switched to performing there on Tuesdays as part of the London Free School's Sound / Light Workshop, playing four more times in November.
1a1) London Free School, October 1966 poster
Dates & Venues: London Free School, All Saints Church Hall, London, England, October 14 & 21, 1966
Bands: Pink Floyd, AMM, Ron Geesin, and others
Poster Artist: Paul Francis
Poster Size: 29 7/8" x 20"
PT: .004
Printing Information: Offset-litho. Lettering in dark blue on thin green paper stock. Printed by Housmans Bookshop.
Notes: A poster for the upcoming shows at the London Free School, All Saints Church Hall, London, England, October 7-25, 1966, which include Mike Horovitz, The AMM, The Pink Floyd with Joe(l) and Toni Brown light projection, Ron Geesin with pre-recorded tape, and a folk benefit. Boxing and painting classes are also offered.
Pink Floyd performed at the London Free School on October 14 & 21, 1966. Joel (incorrectly listed as Joe on the poster) and Toni Brown did their light show.
Syd Barrett's song list for the show on October 14th was:
Pink, Let's Roll Another, Gimmie a Break, Piggy Back, Stoned Alone, I Can Tell, The Gnome, Interstellar Overdrive / Lucy Leave, Stethascope, Flapdoodle Dealing, Snowing, Matilda Mother, Pow. R. Toc. H., Astronomy Domine.
About the poster artist: Paul Francis was a student at the London School of Film Technique in the mid-1960s. When the London Film Makers Co-op started in 1966, he became their secretary where he handled correspondence, designed their letterhead, and did posters. He also contributed to the International Times magazine when they started up (he took the photo of the first IT girl), where he met John "Hoppy" Hopkins and Joe Boyd. Hoppy and Boyd had been running the London Free School in 1966, and Francis did these early posters for them which, among other things, advertised the London Film Makers Co-op screening movies on Thursday nights.
1a2) All Saints Hall, October 1966 poster
Dates & Venues: All Saints Hall, Powis Gardens, London, England, October 14 & 21, 1966
Bands: Pink Floyd
Poster Artist: Wendy Gair
Notes: A poster for the Pink Floyd shows at All Saints Hall in Powis Gardens, London, England on October 14 & 21, 1966.
Nick Mason wrote in his book, Inside Out, about this poster:
"One of the first Pink Floyd posters, designed and printed by Wendy Gair, Andrew King's girlfriend and later wife, for the `Pop Dances' at All Saints Church. Wendy had been to the Central School of Art and, with two other former students, had taken a lease on the building in Alexander Street in Bayswater which became the Blackhill headquarters. There was a print table in the basement where these posters for the All Saints shows were run off. Andrew helping Wendy by working the squeegee."
Pink Floyd publicity photo: Blackhill Enterprises used this poster in the first Pink Floyd publicity photograph.
The picture has the poster in the center, and the band members, two on each side of the poster.
1b1) All Night Rave, Roundhouse handbill / ticket application
Date & Venue: Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London, England, October 15, 1966
Bands: Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Steel Bands
Notes: A handbill / ticket application for the All Night Rave at the Roundhouse on October 15, 1966 to launch the International Times newspaper. Pink Floyd performed live at this rave.
1b2) All Night Rave, Roundhouse handbill
Date & Venue: Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London, England, October 15, 1966
Bands: Pink Floyd, Soft Machine
Notes: A handbill for Pink Floyd at the Roundhouse on October 15, 1966.
1b3) All Night Rave, Roundhouse poster
Date & Venue: Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London, England, October 15, 1966
Bands: Pink Floyd, Soft Machine
Poster Artist: Design and lettering attributed to Miles.
Poster Size: 30" x 20"
Printing Information: Printed offset litho in black on white.
Notes: This is a poster for the International Times launch party at the Roundhouse in London on October 15, 1966.
* This is the first time that Pink Floyd ever played at the Roundhouse (an old engine shed) and their first time playing before a large audience. During their set, Joel and Toni Brown used colored slides with paint on them to project psychedelic images over the band. Pink Floyd played an inspired set, ending with Interstellar Overdrive, which blew the power out. The International Times wrote: "The Pink Floyd, psychedelic pop group, did weird things to the feel of the event with their scary feedback sounds, slide projections playing on their skin (drops of paint ran riot on the slides to produce outer-space/prehistoric textures on the skin), spotlights flashing in time with the drums."
The London Film Makers Co-op was at this event as well, screening movies such as "Scorpio Rising" and "Towers Open Fire" in another part of the hall throughout the event. Apx. 2,500 people attended the party. Pink Floyd was paid £15 for the show.
2a) Get Your Kicks, November 4 & 11, 1966 poster
Date & Venue: All Saints Hall, Powis Gardens, London, England, November 4 & 11, 1966
Bands: The Pink Floyd
Poster Artist: Paul Francis
Poster Size: 30" x 20"
Printer: Housmans Bookshop, Printers, 5 Caledonian Road, London N.1
Notes: A poster printed in late October 1966 advertising upcoming events at the All Saints Hall in November 1966.
This poster advertised events on Tuesdays (The Sound/Light Workshop), Thursdays (movies), and Fridays (Psychedelic Pop featuring Pink Floyd & mixed media). There were no shows on Saturday due to church services the following morning.
The only known copy of this poster has the middle section missing after having been cut into three parts horizontally: a top part, a center section that was approximately 8 inches wide, and a bottom part. The missing middle section is believed to have advertised movies on Thursday nights.
* The above picture shows my approximation of what the poster originally looked like, with the missing center filled in with my guess of what was likely there.
2b1) Get Your Kicks, November 8, 15, 22 & 29, 1966 poster
Date & Venue: All Saints Hall, Powis Gardens, London, England, November 8, 15, 22 & 29, 1966
Bands: The Pink Floyd
Poster Artist: Paul Francis
Poster Size: 22 3/4" x 20"
PT: .0036"
Printer: Housmans Bookshop, Printers, 5 Caledonian Road, London N.1
Notes: This poster consists of the top and bottom sections of the previously listed poster taped together.
Pink Floyd began the month playing at All Saints Hall on Fridays, which is what the original poster showed (November 4th and 11th). Sometime after the November 4th show, Pink Floyd switched to playing The Sound/Light Workshop on Tuesdays. To advertise this without having to print up new posters, the London Free School cut out the middle section of the poster, and attached the bottom part to the top part, making it into a poster advertising upcoming Psychedelic Pop shows featuring the Pink Floyd at the Sound/Light Workshop on Tuesdays, November 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th.
While the poster shows a date of the 1st, Pink Floyd did not play there on November 1st.
* In this form, this is the only known Pink Floyd concert poster advertising the four Sound / Light Workshop dates on Tuesdays, November 1966, at All Saints Hall, Powis Gardens.
** Joel and Toni Brown, who had been doing Pink Floyd's light shows during October, left at the beginning of November to return to Timothy Leary's Millbrook estate in upstate New York. Jack Bracelin, the owner of the Five Acres Nudist Colony (aka the Psychedelic Nudist Colony) in Watford, had been working with the Browns prior to their departure on lighting effects. Bracelin developed a new light show, which he called "Fiveacre Lights," and he provided the light shows for Pink Floyd and the Sound / Light Workshops on Tuesdays at the London Free School during November.
2b2) Pink Floyd, All Saints Hall, November 1966 poster #2
Date & Venue: All Saints Hall, Powis Gardens, London, England, November 8, 15, 22 & 29, 1966
Bands: The Pink Floyd
Notes: A multi-colored poster from November 1966 advertising the Pink Floyd concerts at the London Free School's Sound / Light Workshop at All Saints Church Hall every Tuesday, beginning on November 8, 1966.
Note the art taken from the Wendy Gair poster of the previous month.
2b3) Pink Floyd, All Saints Hall, November 1966 poster #3
Date & Venue: All Saints Hall, Powis Gardens, London, England, November 8, 15, 22 & 29, 1966
Bands: The Pink Floyd
Poster Size: 20" x 15"
Notes: A second poster from November 1966 advertising the Pink Floyd concerts at the London Free School's Sound / Light Workshop at All Saints Church Hall every Tuesday, beginning on November 8, 1966.
Note the art taken from the Wendy Gair poster of the previous month.
2c) Hornsey College of Art poster
Date & Venue: Rooms A & B, Hornsey College of Art, Hornsey, London, England, November 18, 1966
Bands: The Pink Floyd
Poster Artist: Diane Large
Notes: A poster for Pink Floyd at the Hornsey College of Art in London, England on November 18, 1966.
* Mike Leonard was a teacher at the Hornsey College of Art. He had been the landlord of Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright in his three-story Highgate flat at 39 Stanhope Gardens in North London in 1964. He also occasionally played organ with The Pink Floyd. They had used the College for rehearsals, but this was their first actual show at Hornsey College of Art. Joe Gannon did the lighting effects for this show.
3a) Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith poster
Date & Venue: Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London, England, December 3, 1966
Bands: The Pink Floyd
Poster Size: 29 15/16" x 19 15/16"
PT: .005"
Notes: A poster for the Pink Floyd performance at the Roundhouse, London on December 3, 1966.
The date "DEC. 3rd" is printed on a separate piece of paper and glued onto the poster.
The poster says:
"Psychodelphia Versus Ian Smith. Great Rave-Up! Dec. 3rd. Pink Floyd, poets, underground movies, happenings, folk singers, insanity steel bands, etc. Roundhouse Chalk Farm, 10pm onwards, drag optional, bring your own ecstatogenic substances and that."
Background: Ian Smith was the Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 1964 to 1979. He led a mostly white government, refusing to allow majority rule. And he sought independence from British rule. After the British government refused to grant Rhodesia independence in 1965, Smith unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom on November 11, 1965. This outraged the British.
The London underground despised Smith, and set up this concert to provide aid to the people of Rhodesia. The concert was promoted by the Majority Rule for Rhodesia Committee, and features a picture of Ian Smith with Hitler hair and mustache drawn on him.
* This poster caused quite a sensation in London when it was put up. The picture of Ian Smith as Hitler attracted alot of media attention, which helped publicize the concert. But it also caused the Daily Telegraph, a right wing paper, to investigate the show. They wanted to know what "ecstatogenic substances" were! The publicity also garnered Pink Floyd a review of the show in the New Musical Express.
3b) Royal College of Art poster
Date & Venue: Royal College of Art, Kensington, London, England, December 8, 1966
Bands: The Graham Bond Organization, The Pink Floyd, The Convention, The Square 4, The Minor Birds
Poster Artist: Poster was designed by an art student at the college.
Notes: A poster for the Royal College of Art Christmas Dance on December 8, 1966. The dance was held in the Common Rooms on Cromwell Road at the Royal College of Art, London, England.
3c) You're Joking - A Show for Oxfam poster
Date & Venue: Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, December 12, 1966
Bands: The Alberts, Peter & Gordon, Chris Farlowe & the Thunderbirds, The Alan Price Set, The Pink Floyd, and others
Poster Size: 30" X 10"
Notes: A venue / lobby poster for the four-hour Oxfam benefit concert at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, London, England on December 12, 1966.
This poster was also available at the show (folded) as a show souvenir.
* This was the first time that Pink Floyd ever played at the Royal Albert Hall, and their first performance in a large hall. Barry Fantoni was the MC for the show. He also performed with The Alberts, playing clarinet and tenor sax as well as smashing a grand piano on stage with a sledgehammer (causing the stage to collapse under the piano). The show ended with the entire cast on stage performing a chorus of "We All Live on Yellow Margarine."
3d) Cambridgeshire College of Art and Technology poster
Date & Venue: Life Drawing Studio, Cambridgeshire College of Art and Technology, Cambridge, England, December 20, 1966
Bands: Pink Floyd
Notes: A poster for the Pink Floyd concert in Life Drawing Studio at Cambridgeshire College of Art and Technology in Cambridge, England on December 20, 1966.
3e1) Marquee Club, London handbill
Date & Venue: The Marquee Club, London, England, December 1966
Bands: The Pink Floyd, and others
Poster Size: 11" x 8 1/2"
Notes: A handbill for shows at the Marquee Club in London, England on December 1966.
Pink Floyd are listed on the calendar on the back of the handbill as playing on December 22 & 29, 1966. They played from 7:30 to 11:00 p.m. each Thursday.
3e2) Marquee Club, London poster #1
Date & Venue: The Marquee Club, London, England, December 22 & 29, 1966
Bands: The Pink Floyd
Poster Artist: Wendy Gair
Poster Size: 20" x 30"
Notes: A poster for Pink Floyd shows at the Marquee Club in London on December 22 & 29, 1966.
This poster was printed with the colors green, gold and red.
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3e3) Marquee Club, London poster #2
Notes: A poster for Pink Floyd shows at the Marquee Club in London on December 22 & 29, 1966 with alternate colors of pink, gold and black.
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3e4) Promo poster #1
Poster Size: 20" x 30".
Printing Information: Printed by IBIS Designs. Silkscreen. Colors of green, gold, orange and pink.
Notes: This artwork was used for Pink Floyd promo posters that were sold or displayed at Pink Floyd concerts in 1966 and 1967. No date or venue listed on the poster.
This promo poster was purchased at the Pink Floyd concert at the Saville Theater in London on March 5, 1967.
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3e5) Promo poster #2
Poster Size: 20" x 30"
Printing Information: Printed by IBIS Designs. Silkscreen. Colors of green, brown and tan.
Notes: A color variation of the Pink Floyd promo posters that were sold or displayed at Pink Floyd concerts in 1966 and 1967. No date or venue listed on the poster.
3f) Night Tripper / UFO poster
Date & Venue: Nite Tripper / UFO, The Blarney Club, Tottenham Court Road, London, England, December 23 & 30, 1966
Bands: The Pink Floyd
Poster Artist: Michael English
Poster Size: 23 1/2" x 17 1/5"
Printing Information: Offset lithograph. Monochrome. Photograph of Karen Astley with the words "Nite Tripper" on her face. Karen Astley was a student at the Ealing Art College and Pete Townshend's girlfriend.
Notes: A poster for two Pink Floyd shows at the Night Tripper / UFO Club on Tottenham Court Road in London, England on December 23 & 30, 1966.
* The UFO Club was started by John "Hoppy" Hopkins and Joe Boyd, who originally called it Nite Tripper / UFO.
The show on December 23rd was the opening of the club and featured Pink Floyd, Fanta and Ood, The Giant Sun Trolley (who later became the Third Ear Band), and Dave Tomlin.
3g) Psychedelicamania poster
Date & Venue: Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London, England, December 31, 1966
Bands: Geno Washington & Ram Jam Band, The Cream, Alan Bown Set / The Who, The Move, The Pink Floyd
Notes: A poster for the Pink Floyd show at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London, England on December 31, 1966. Pictured above in black & white (the original was in color).
* Pink Floyd performed on the second night with The Who, and The Move. Their set included the songs "Pow R Toc H" and "Interstellar Overdrive," and featured a light show of psychedelic slides. The Roundhouse was very cold for this show, as there was no heating and it was the middle of the winter.
