Pink Floyd Release Rare ‘1965: Their First Recordings’ EP

Pink Floyd. Photo: Hipgnosis © Pink Floyd Music Ltd

Amid the Black Friday stock of Record Store Day exclusives, Pink Floyd quietly released a limited edition six-song EP titled 1965 ”“ Their First Recordings. The collection, recorded prior to the group’s seminal 1967 album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, features Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright along with then-guitarist Rado Klose, a classmate of Waters and Barrett’s. The EP’s six songs ”“ including the oft-bootlegged Slim Harpo cover “I’m a King Bee” and “Lucy Leave” ”“ were recorded when the band was still known under monikers like Sigma 6 and the Abdabs.

Pink Floyd confirmed the EP was an official release Monday. “To mark 50 years since the tracks were recorded, Pink Floyd have released a limited edition set of two seven-inch singles containing the band’s first recordings,” the statement read. For non-U.K. fans that missed out on the 1,000-copy EP ”“ which featured a cover design inspired by a photo by Hipgnosis Creative Director Aubrey Powell ”“ the band promised that they “hope to make them available in some physical form towards the end of next year.”

The R&B-infused recordings feature four Barrett originals (“Remember Me,” “Lucy Leave,” “Double O Bo” and “Butterfly”) as well as “Walk With Me Sydney,” one of Waters’ earliest compositions; the latter track features background vocals from Juliette Gale, who would later marry Wright. Andy Jackson of Tube Mastering and Ray Staff of AIR Studios mastered the original analogue tapes for the sharp-sounding 1965.

With the 50-year copyright on the tracks in danger of expiring due to the United Kingdom’s copyright laws, 1965 ”“ Their First Recordings was likely released in an effort to extend the copyright of the tracks and keep them out of the public domain.