Brazil's 'Showbizz' magazine

Before the turn of the century

By Pedro So

Interviewed:
Richard Wright

"This translation is based on a translation by Carlos Henrique de Santana Moreira, with modifications taken from other translators. This is just a few paragraphs (and a few phrases are omitted here and there from this, even)." (author unknown)

[Ed. note: Thanks to the people who transcribed and provided this information for all Pink Floyd fans]

In the phone, the clear British voice of Richard Wright says: "Before the year 2000, there will be a Pink Floyd concert in Brazil."

In his third interview to the Brazilian press to promote his new solo album, Broken China, the wizard of Pink Floyd was tired of hearing this question: "When will Pink Floyd come to Brazil?" Like someone making an apology, he reinforced... "Look, everything indicates that we will go to Brazil and to South America during our next tour. We know that is very hard to fly with all our equipment, but we are determined to play there."

The pleasure of promising, "before the year 2000", is not a lie, calculating that Pink Floyd will begin to write their new album this year and their tours goes on for almost two years, Rick risks: "between 1998 and 1999, we will go to Brazil. This show is also Nick's and David's desire." (...)

But the history that we all know says that, even today's Pink Floyd not been the Pink Floyd that we learned to love in the seventies, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Rick Wright - and the producer Bob Ezrin - reached the top of the world with amazing tours and magnificent albums. The tour for A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, for example, was seen by 4 million people around the world. Roger Waters, with the exception of the version of The Wall he did with Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor ... in Berlin (in 1990), has had failure in his solo career.

Rick Wright, today in his fifties (born in July of 1945), married to Millie, father of a little baby...doesn't have any rancor : "When I see what happened with the solo career of Roger Waters, I don't miss his presence. But I think I can have a beer with him again."


Broken China

Broken China is the third Rick's album out of Pink Floyd. It's not his third solo album as himself makes the correction (...) there are a lot of excellent musicians in this album like Pino Palladino in bass, Manu Katch=C8 in drums and also Tim Renwick in the guitar, but the biggest surprise is the Sinead O'Connor appearance which put her voice in two tracks: "I don't know if she is a Pink Floyd fan, probably not", said Rick that loved her work in the album.

The only frustration is about Jeff Beck: "I called him but he couldn't. In Pink Floyd when Syd Barrett left we called him to join the band too but unfortunately he didn't want".

Probably the history of rock would be completely different if Jeff Beck joined Pink Floyd by that time, Rick laughs: "I never thought this!!, it's true, but Jeff's style is not so different than David's style, at least his style that time".

I asked him if he does not feel rejected hearing "no" from Jeff two times: "I don't know, I don't know him personally, the contacts were made by his manager, but I think if I had to call him again, I will call this guy is simply fantastic!."