Poet laureate pays tribute to ‘message in a bottle tied to a life buoy thrown from a ghost ship’ released when he was 12
It was derided by some critics as self-indulgent and “gimmicky” when it was released in 1975 but has since been marked a perfect 10 and inspired exhibitions and postage stamps.
Now to mark the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s album Wish You Were Here, the poet laureate, Simon Armitage, has written an epic poem about the record, the band and their “profound” impact on him titled Dear Pink Floyd.
“You can hear this record coming towards you from a distance. It feels like something huge and important is approaching, and it’s going to envelop you,” he told the Guardian. “It’s astonishing to think that it’s half a century old.”
The poet and ardent Pink Floyd fan was approached by the group to write a new piece about the record and has produced a sprawling piece with no punctuation that reads like a mix between a fan letter and the ramblings of a religious devotee.
