A review by obscuredbyclouds
Pigs Might Fly: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd by Mark Blake

3.0

This is a band biography of the kind that dutily explains their story from the beginning to the end (or whenever the author was writing the book) with lots of details and names. I was confused at first that some of reviews said this book focused too much on the band members and little on the music, because I finished this book feeling I didn't know the band members any more than I did before. While it's true that the drama and friction is included, it's written about it a very dry way. It's not a very thrilling book and I can't imagine someone who isn't a fan of Pink Floyd getting anything out of this.

While reading this I also wondered if the members of Pink Floyd really were this dull? I can't imagine they were. Certainly, Syd is not presented this way and Roger gets some character through being described as difficult and horrible to work with. But apart from that, they come across as void of personality. Gosh, they liked sailing and driving expensive cars and buying houses? Thrilling.

I don't regret reading this detailled, at times too detailled, account of the band. I did learn some things about Pink Floyd post-Roger-exit, as I'm not really a fan of the band at that point in time. But this book has been praised as the "definite" book about the band, and I hope that's not true.