The Man and The Journey Tour explained

Concert Tour Name:The Man and The Journey Tour
Number Of Legs:1
Number Of Shows:29 (31 scheduled)
Artist:Pink Floyd
Start Date:27 March 1969
End Date:24 September 1969
Last Tour:Pink Floyd World Tour 1968
(1968)
This Tour:The Man and The Journey Tour
(1969)
Next Tour:Atom Heart Mother World Tour
(1970–1971)

The Man and The Journey tour was an informal (mostly English) concert tour of a few dates by Pink Floyd during which the conceptual music piece The Man and The Journey was played.[1]

Setlist

At most shows Pink Floyd performed The Man and The Journey, however at some shows this was not performed - these shows had a shorter set which usually included "Astronomy Domine", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and unaltered versions of "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" and "A Saucerful of Secrets" as heard on Ummagumma. At concerts in Europe in early 1970, "The Man" section (first set) of The Man and the Journey was still performed, but "The Journey" section was not.

The Man and The Journey set list

This set list is from the 17 September 1969 show in Amsterdam.

First set

  1. "Daybreak" ("Grantchester Meadows")
  2. "Work" (Percussion and vibraphone with musical sawing and hammering)
  3. "Teatime" (The band members were served tea on stage)
  4. "Afternoon" ("Biding My Time")
  5. "Doing It!" (Drum and gong solo, with Farfisa organ and tape effects)
  6. "Sleep" ("Quicksilver")
  7. "Nightmare" ("Cymbaline")
  8. "Labyrinth" (instrumental alarm clock sounds and tape effects)

Second set

  1. "The Beginning" ("Green is the Colour")
  2. "Beset by Creatures of the Deep" ("Careful with That Axe, Eugene")
  3. "The Narrow Way, Part 3"
  4. "The Pink Jungle" ("Pow R. Toc H.")
  5. "The Labyrinths of Auximines" (instrumental section of "Let There Be More Light")
  6. "Footsteps/Doors" (tape effects)
  7. "Behold the Temple of Light" (beginning of "The Narrow Way, Part 3")
  8. "The End of the Beginning" ("Celestial Voices")

Encore (when played)

  1. "Interstellar Overdrive" (May 24 in Sheffield) or "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (22 June in Manchester and 26 June in London)

Other shows

When The Man and The Journey was not performed, the shows usually contained all or some of the following:[2]

  1. "Astronomy Domine"
  2. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"
  3. "Interstellar Overdrive"
  4. "Green Is the Colour"
  5. "Pow R. Toc H."
  6. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
  7. "Let There Be More Light"
  8. "A Saucerful of Secrets"

For the recording of Top Gear for BBC Radio 1, the band performed:

  1. "Grantchester Meadows"
  2. "Cymbaline"
  3. "The Narrow Way, Part 3"
  4. "Green Is the Colour"
  5. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" (truncated version)

This performance was released as part of The Early Years 1965–1972 box set in 2016.

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenueNotes
Europe
27 March 1969ChesterfieldEnglandSt James's HallThe Man and The Journey not performed
14 April 1969LondonRoyal Festival HallFirst performance of The Man and The Journey
Rick Wright played the Hall's pipe organ
19 April 1969StuttgartWest GermanySDR TV Villaberg TV Studios
23 April 1969HamburgNDR Funkhaus
26 April 1969LondonEnglandBromley Technical CollegeThe Man and The Journey not performed
27 April 1969BirminghamMothersThe Man and The Journey not performed
Shows recorded for Ummagumma
2 May 1969ManchesterManchester College of Commerce
3 May 1969LondonQueen Mary CollegeThe Man and The Journey not performed
9 May 1969SouthamptonUniversity of Southampton Students' Union
CamdenCamden Festival '69
10 May 1969NottinghamNotts County F.C.
12 May 1969LondonBBC Radio 1 (Top Gear)The Man and The Journey not performed
15 May 1969CoventryLocarno Ballroom
16 May 1969LeedsTown Hall
24 May 1969SheffieldCity Oval Hall
25 May 1969LondonRoundhouse
29 May 1969BristolHTV TV Studios (Fusions)
30 May 1969CroydonFairfield Halls
31 May 1969OxfordPembroke College
8 June 1969CambridgeRex Ballroom
10 June 1969BelfastNorthern IrelandUlster Hall
13 June 1969ExeterEnglandUniversity of Exeter
14 June 1969BristolColston Hall
15 June 1969PortsmouthGuildhall
16 June 1969BrightonBrighton Dome
20 June 1969BirminghamTown Hall
21 June 1969LiverpoolPhilharmonic Hall
22 June 1969ManchesterFree Trade Hall
24 June 1969OxfordThe Queen's College
26 June 1969LondonRoyal Albert HallRick Wright played the Hall's pipe organ
9 August 1969AmsterdamNetherlandsParadiso ClubThe Man and The Journey not performed
Performance broadcast on local radio
17 September 1969 Rick Wright played the theatre's pipe organ
Performance recorded and broadcast on VPRO radio station
24 September 1969 MaastrichtStaargebouw

Release

The 27 April (Birmingham) and 2 May (Manchester) concerts were recorded and parts released on the live half of the Ummagumma album, in November 1969. The recordings from 6 September and 17 September 1969 in Amsterdam were released as part of the box set The Early Years 1965-1972 in 2016. They are included in the volume titled 1969: Dramatis/ation. The volume also contains video footage from a rehearsal at the Royal Festival Hall, London on 14 April 1969.

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. Book: Guesdon. Jean-Michel. Pink Floyd All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Margottin. Phillipe. Black Dog & Leventhal. 2017. 978-0316439244. 158.
  2. Book: Mabbett, Andy. Pink Floyd- The music and the mystery. Omnibus Press. 2010. 978-0-857-12418-0. Andy Mabbett.