Richard Wright (musician)
Richard William Wright (28 July 1943 – 15 September 2008) was an English musician who co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He played keyboards and sang, appearing on almost every Pink Floyd album and performing on all their tours.[3] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of Pink Floyd.
"Rick Wright" redirects here. For other uses, see Richard Wright.
Wright grew up in Hatch End, Middlesex, and met his future Pink Floyd bandmates Roger Waters and Nick Mason while studying architecture at the Regent Street Polytechnic, London. After being joined by frontman and songwriter Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd found commercial success in 1967. Barrett was replaced by David Gilmour in 1968, who, along with Waters and Wright, took over songwriting.
Initially contributing more as a singer-songwriter, Wright later acted mainly as an arranger on compositions by Waters and Gilmour. He began to contribute less towards the end of the 1970s and left the band after touring The Wall in 1981. He rejoined as a session player in 1987 for A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and rejoined full-time for The Division Bell in 1994. Sessions with Wright during this period were later released on the 2014 album The Endless River. Away from Pink Floyd, Wright recorded two solo albums and was briefly active in the pop duo Zee with Dave Harris of Fashion. Following Pink Floyd's Live 8 appearance in 2005, he became part of Gilmour's touring band, singing occasional lead vocals on songs such as "Arnold Layne". Wright died from lung cancer in London in September 2008, aged 65.
Wright's jazz influences and distinctive keyboard playing were an important part of the Pink Floyd sound. As well as playing Farfisa and Hammond organs and Kurzweil synthesisers, he sang regularly in the band and took lead vocals on songs such as "Remember a Day" (1968), "Time" (1973) and "Wearing the Inside Out" (1994).
Early life[edit]
Wright, whose father was head biochemist at Unigate, grew up in Hatch End, Middlesex, and was educated at the Haberdashers' Aske's School.[4] He taught himself to play guitar, trombone, trumpet and piano at the age of 12 while recuperating from a broken leg. His mother encouraged him to concentrate on the piano.[4] He took private lessons in music theory and composition at the Eric Gilder School of Music[5] and became influenced by the trad jazz revival, learning the saxophone along with his other instruments, but continuing to focus on piano.[4] In 1962, uncertain about his future, Wright enrolled at Regent Street Polytechnic (later incorporated into University of Westminster) to study architecture.[4]
At Regent Street Polytechnic, Wright met fellow musicians Roger Waters and Nick Mason, and all three joined a band formed by their classmate Clive Metcalf called Sigma 6.[2] Wright's position was initially tenuous, as he did not choose a definitive instrument, playing piano if a pub had one, otherwise settling on rhythm guitar or trombone.[6][7]
Wright moved with Waters and Mason into a house in Stanhope Gardens, Highgate, and they began serious rehearsals to become a professional group. Although Mason and Waters were competent students, Wright found architecture of little interest and after only a year of study moved to the London College of Music.[2] He took a break from studies and travelled to Greece for a sabbatical. Their landlord, Mike Leonard, purchased a Farfisa electric organ and briefly replaced Wright in the band.[8] However, this organ became Wright's main instrument.[9]
Personal life[edit]
Wright married his first wife, Juliette Gale, in 1964. She had been a singer in one of the early bands that evolved into Pink Floyd. They had two children and divorced in 1982. Wright's second marriage, to Franka, lasted from 1984 to 1994.[95] Wright married his third wife, Mildred "Millie" Hobbs, in 1995, with whom he had a son, Ben. Wright's 1996 solo album Broken China is about her battle with depression.[96] They separated in 2007.[60] Wright's daughter Gala was married to the bassist Guy Pratt, who toured and recorded with Pink Floyd after the departure of Waters.[97]
Wright had been fond of the Greek islands since a sabbatical visit in 1964, before Pink Floyd formed.[98] He moved to Greece in 1984 after the Zee project, briefly retiring from music, and enjoyed sailing and yachting.[48] In the 1970s, he acquired a property in Lindos, Rhodes.[58] In his later years, Wright lived in Le Rouret, France, and spent time on a yacht he owned in the Virgin Islands. He found sailing therapeutic, relieving him from the pressures of the music business.[99] He was also a collector of Persian rugs.[100]