Pink Floyd exhibition at the V&A

ToneControl

GuitarZero said:

Went with the missus today.  Whilst I thought the displays and what was on offer to see was superb, I was disappointed with some environmental issues.  Firstly, it was ridiculously packed, most of the displays were 4-5 people deep and waiting to get near the front to see what was inside was extremely tiring and time consuming.  I think some of the crowd could have been alleviated had the tour started off in a larger more open room like the Animals/The Wall room, but the first section created a bottle neck which made things move extremely slowly.

Secondly, I wasn't overly impressed with the audio facility. It seemed to me that the automatic cue to turn on the sound etc wasn't very good, my wife thought the same, the range was poor and we'd move to a screen and couldn't get the audio. Maybe some of the problem goes back to the sheer number of people. I couldn't get close enough to the screens for the audio to activate due to a crowd of people.  This meant I was standing looking at the screen for extended periods with no audio or the wrong audio altogether and wasn't actually getting the correct audio until the third or fourth play through of the video.

It was great to see some of Gilmour's guitars though.  The Money remixing section was great, and that entire room in general had some interesting exhibits.  The Wall/Animals room was very well laid out and allowed you a bit of space despite the fact there were still a lot of people there.  My favourite part was the very first exhibit.  It was a letter written by Syd to Jenny Spires and gives a real insight into the way his brain functioned. I'm a huge fan of Syd in general and this was a fantastic piece to see, so be sure not to be tempted to skip past it.

I recommend seeing this exhibition if you are Floyd fan but strongly advise that you visit off-peak, I know we would have enjoyed it more if we had done so.  Unfortunately we don't live near London and my wife can't take leave right now due to work commitments, so we had to visit on a weekend.

yes, that first room was too packed

ToneControl

they are extended the dates I heard

cacophony

i think the admission price is too high. factor in train fares to get there,plus the tube tickets, and a visit to a museum becomes an expensive day out. that's not how it is supposed to be.the exhibition should tour, which would be ironic...

Sassafras

ToneControl said:

the gear and the vibe, loved remixing "money".
Really nicely done, they had smells that took me back to being a kid, I don't know what they were

Yeah, they really need to open those windows in the toilets.

HAL9000

Went today. Absolutely brilliant, and highly recommend. Exhibition now extended to 15 October.

proggy

I'm going Monday, can't wait.

proggy

Went yesterday, really interesting. Well worth the £22 entry.

Although I must point out, I would've enjoyed it more if it wasn't for a large amount of ignorant fucks with huge rucksacks on their backs barging into me, perhaps I chose the wrong day.

HAL9000

proggy said:

Although I must point out, I would've enjoyed it more if it wasn't for a large amount of ignorant fucks with huge rucksacks on their backs barging into me, perhaps I chose the wrong day.

^This. We managed to go on a day where, additionally to the above, a pair of Japanese tourists who had never come across the concept of personal space insisted on taking several photos of each and every exhibit. 

proggy

HAL9000 said:

proggy said:

Although I must point out, I would've enjoyed it more if it wasn't for a large amount of ignorant fucks with huge rucksacks on their backs barging into me, perhaps I chose the wrong day.

^This. We managed to go on a day where, additionally to the above, a pair of Japanese tourists who had never come across the concept of personal space insisted on taking several photos of each and every exhibit. 

Don't these people realise they're being rude?

axisus

OK, so I decided that I wouldn't go - too expensive for me! However, my sis asked if I wanted to go, she is a V&A member so gets free access to all exhibitions and can take a guest for no charge! So yeah, we went yesterday, just strolled in without prebooking. I absolutely loved it, we were there for three hours so I'd say those who pay (snigger) get their moneys worth. 

Was it too crowded - Yes! the first room was waay to busy in places, packed like sardines and not moving at one point. However, it cleared to perfectly acceptable levels as we went around. I can't believe the number of people who had to photograph every bit of text on a wall and film inanimate objects. Modern society is full of morons if you ask me.

The one thing I'd have changed - there were just two songs playing in the last room with the film clips. Could have done with 3 or 4. You couldn't have too many as it would get too crowded.

Fave thing - a bit of a strange one, but I was fascinated by DG's Charvel Tele. It was also interesting to see Storm Thorgerson in a couple of short interviews, nice guy. It was good to actually see him as I have known about/been a fan of Hipgnosis for a great many years.

Overall massive thumbs up from me. 

ToneControl

they have a classical opera one now, not sure if it's as good:

https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/opera#articles

PolarityMan

pink floyd are amazing

Johnnyseven

I went on friday, really liked it but it would have been nice to see more from the early years - bit maybe they just don't have as much from then to put on show. It was crowded but I got to see everything. I seem to remember most of the films were on the documentary on bbc4 a while back.

richardhomer

I went last Sunday - very crowded on a very warm day....

Really glad I made the effort - seeing the main guitars (including the Lewis used on ‘Money’) at close-quarters was fantastic. What struck me about them is how ‘used’ they look - particularly the Candy Apple Red Strat with EMGs - given how infrequently they toured in later years.

Its only on for a couple of weeks now - if you’re a fan and can make it - it’s worth going.

paddyb

Went again yesterday (I have V&A membership so its free) and it was great a second time. My partner who didn't know much about them thought it was really good too.

Its been extended for a few weeks as well.

TheBigDipper

I'm going at 11am today. Quite excited, TBH…

ToneControl

TheBigDipper said:

I'm going at 11am today. Quite excited, TBH…

watch out for the Merch
I've never seen so much

the old CD out takes are all on spotify, so don't bankrupt yourself

TheBigDipper

ToneControl said:

TheBigDipper said:

I'm going at 11am today. Quite excited, TBH…

watch out for the Merch
I've never seen so much

the old CD out takes are all on spotify, so don't bankrupt yourself

Luckily I don't do merch. Well, not so far, anyway! Not until I've got enough guitars... :-)

TheBigDipper

OK. I had a very enjoyable 90 minutes at this yesterday, and I'd suggest most people on here who like their music would feel the same. Just a few days left before it closes.

I particularly enjoyed looking at all the old gear and instruments. As others have said, the first two rooms were congested and require a bit of patience - there's a lot of information to read, most of which I already knew, but you need to be sure, don't you... After that, the crowd thinned out and it was all fine. 

And I didn't buy any merch. :-) 

Alterlifeson

Managed to go to this today, really enjoyed it. I've only recently got into Pink Floyd the last couple of months but this was layed out very well and I actually learnt quite a lot. Picked up the official catalogue to read as well.

I partiularly liked the Division Bell area, but only know High Hopes from that album. How is it regarded by Floyd fans?