Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ Is Getting A 50th Anniversary Box Set

50 years ago today, Pink Floyd walked out of Abbey Road studios, satisfied with their 8 months’ worth of work.

One of the most iconic and influential albums ever, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon celebrates its 50th Anniversary.

The album was partly developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of the suite at London’s Rainbow Theatre several months before recording began. ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ is the eighth studio album by Pink Floyd, originally released in March 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.

A new deluxe box set has been created to include CD and gatefold vinyl of the newly remastered studio album and Blu-Ray + DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions. The set also includes an 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’.

Simultaneously, on 24th March, 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: 50th Anniversary, part of the deluxe box offering, 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.

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary release, Pink Floyd also 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 beginning 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. The 50th Anniversary will be no exception. The band 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.

On February 27th, 1973, EMI Records held a press conference for the debut presentation of Pink Floyd’s new album The Dark Side Of The Moon at the London Planetarium. Although the Planetarium dome could only show an array of stars, constellations and images of the cosmos whilst the music played, it was an unprecedented success. Fifty years on, in recognition of the iconic album and with the help of huge strides in technology, an official full dome experience with stunning visuals of the solar system and beyond and played out to 42 minutes of The Dark Side Of The Moon, will be released in Planetariums around the world in March. Contact your local Planetarium for any screening details.

The show itself will be divided between the 10 tracks off the album, in chronological order, each having a different theme; some futuristically looking forward and some a retro acknowledgment to Pink Floyd’s visual history, all relating to a time and space experience, embracing up to the minute technology that only a Planetarium can offer. It promises to be immersive; an all-encompassing surround sound and visual treat that will transcend reality and take you way beyond the realms of 2D experience.

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

Speak To Me
Breathe (In The Air)
On The Run
Time
The Great Gig In The Sky
Money
Us And Them
Any Colour You Like
Brain Damage
Eclipse

Produced by Pink Floyd

The Deluxe Box Set includes:

CD1 – THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (50th Anniversary)
Remastered by James Guthrie
in gatefold sleeve with 12-page booklet

CD2 – THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
LIVE AT WEMBLEY EMPIRE POOL, LONDON, 1974
Mixed by Andy Jackson
in gatefold sleeve with 12-page booklet. Cover design by Aubrey Powell/Hipgnosis and Peter Curzon/StormStudios. Original 1973 line drawn cover artwork by George Hardie

LP1 – THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (50th Anniversary) [2023 Master]
Remastered original studio album
180g heavyweight vinyl, in gatefold sleeve, with original posters and stickers

LP2 – THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
LIVE AT WEMBLEY EMPIRE POOL, LONDON, 1974
180g heavyweight vinyl, in gatefold, with 2 posters featuring design by Ian Emes and Gerald Scarfe. Cover design by Aubrey Powell/Hipgnosis and Peter Curzon/StormStudios. Original 1973 line drawn cover artwork by George Hardie

BLU-RAY 1 (AUDIO)
Original album 5.1 and high-resolution remastered stereo mixes,
1. 5.1 Surround Mix – 24bit/96kHz Uncompressed
2. Stereo Mix – 24bit/192kHz Uncompressed
3. 5.1 Surround Mix – dts-HD MA
4. Stereo Mix – dts-HD MA

BLU-RAY 2 (AUDIO)
Original newly remastered album Atmos and high-resolution stereo mixes,
1. Dolby Atmos Mix
2. Stereo Mix – 24-bit/192kHz Uncompressed
3. Stereo Mix – dts-HD MA

DVD (AUDIO)
Original album 5.1 and remastered stereo mixes,
1. 5.1 Surround Mix – Dolby Digital @448 kbps
2. 5.1 Surround Mix – Dolby Digital @640 kbps
3. Stereo Mix (LPCM) – 24-bit/48 kHz Uncompressed

160-PAGE THAMES & HUDSON HARDCOVER BOOK
with rare black and white photographs from the 1972 – 1975 tours of the UK and the USA taken by Jill Furmanovsky, Peter Christopherson, Aubrey Powell, Storm Thorgerson

76-PAGE MUSIC BOOK
Complete songbook of the original album

REPLICAS OF 2×7″ SINGLES
7″ Single 1 Money/Any Colour You Like
7″ Single 2 Us And Them/Time

REPLICA OF PAMPHLET AND INVITATION TO THE PREVIEW OF THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON AT THE LONDON PLANETARIUM ON 27TH FEBRUARY 1973

Studio album recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, between May 1972 and January 1973. Produced by Pink Floyd. Engineer Alan Parsons. Assistant Peter James. Mixing supervised by Chris Thomas.

Remastered by James Guthrie and Joel Plante at das boot recording. 5.1 and Atmos mixes by James Guthrie.

Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974
recorded at the Empire Pool, Wembley, London, November 1974
Engineers: Brian Humphries with Phill Brown.
Audio Mixing by Andy Jackson, assisted by Damon Iddins. Mastered by Andy Jackson at Tube Mastering.
Creative Director 2023: Aubrey Powell/Hipgnosis
Design and Art Direction: Peter Curzon/StormStudios
50th Anniversary Concept and Design: Pentagram