Pink Floyd 1974 tour programme

Pink Floyd tour programme 1974 comic Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd played the Liverpool Empire in November 1974 on their Wish You Were Here tour with a brilliant programme. The Pink Floyd Super All-Action Official Music Programme for Boys and Girls was a 16-page comic with a colour cover. The main elements were two-page comic strips based on alter-egos for each of the band:
  • 'Rog of the Rovers' with Roger Waters as a footballing hero in the style of 'Roy of the Rovers' in the Tiger comic
  • 'Captain Mason R.N.' was the alter-ego of Nick Mason in the sort of wartime strip you might have seen in Victor or Valiant comics
  • 'Rich Right' was a 'strip' cartoon seen in the likes of Penthouse or Playboy for Richard Wright;
  • and, finally, 'The Exploits of Dave Derring' created the speedway hero of Dave Gilmour's dreams.

As well as these, there was:

  • the colour cover by Paul Stubbs showing two Marvel-type characters approaching the Pink Floyd pyramid in a spaceship. The dialogue bubbles were: 'What is it? Could there be any form of creative intelligence out there?' with the reply, 'I don't know, Storm ... but I'm getting nil response from my transfer globe.'
  • page 2 gave all the credits for the tour, including for the programme: Hipgnosis & Nick Mason; Gerald Scarfe – whom Pink Floyd later worked with on The Wall; and fantastic illustrators in Paul Stubbs; Joe Petagno; Colin Elgie; Richard Evans; and Dave Gale. The printing was done by John Bloom Printers.
  • page 5 gave the 'life lines' for each of the band;
  • the centre spread was a Gerald Scarfe cartoon of the band dated October 1974;
  • page 12 is a quiz (did you know the Italian film director Michelangelo Blow-Up Antonioni tore the Floyd's film score to pieces?);
  • page 15 gave the lyrics to 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond' (released on Wish You Were Here'); 'Raving and Drooling' (a version of which called 'Sheep' is on Animals); and 'Gotta Be Crazy', also on Animals;
  • the colour back cover gave instructions for forming the 'Pink Floyd Lucky Pyramid Sign'.
  • The Rich Right (He's rich and He's Right!) cartoon by Joe Petagno made reference to films, music, books and cartoon characters, including:
    • Charlton Heston (shouting Annie Goni! – Annigoni, the Italian painter?);
    • Alex from the Burgess / Kubrick film Clockwork Orange as a party crasher ('Rich, I understand you own a cork hawk with a forked dork?');
    • Mad magazine's Alfred E. Neuman mascot;
    • Rupert the Bear ('Gotta find Brumas');
    • the fakir is chanting 'Needles and Pins Uh!' – a No 1 hit for the Searchers in 1964;
    • a pipe-smoking Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine, is at the bottom right ('Find out which side he dresses').

Pink Floyd tour programme 1974
Front cover of 'The Pink Floyd Super All-Action Official Music Programme for Boys and Girls' by Paul Stubbs

Rog of the Rovers' with Roger Waters

'Rog of the Rovers' with Roger Waters as a goal-scoring hero in the style of Roy of the Rovers

Captain Mason R.N.' was the alter-ego of Nick Mason

'Captain Mason R.N.', alter-ego of Nick Mason

Rich Right' 'strip' cartoon for Richard Wright

'Rich Right' cartoon for Richard Wright. The 'strip' is full of puns, such as 'Leica Dis. Nice Zeiss!' Charlton Heston as Ben Hur in the bottom left shouts 'Annie Goni!' – perhaps a reference to Pietro Annigoni, the Italian painter whose portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in 1956 made him world famous. The pipe-smoking man in the bottom right appears to be Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner

The Exploits of Dave Derring' for Dave Gilmour

'The Exploits of Dave Derring' for Dave Gilmour

Gerald Scarfe cartoon of Pink Floyd dated October 1974

The centre spread was a grotesque cartoon of the Pink Floyd band members signed by Gerald Scarfe and dated October 1974

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