Founding Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason celebrates his birthday today. Mason was born on January 27, 1944 in Birmingham, England but grew up in the North London neighborhood of Hampstead.
Mason’s drumming style was integral in molding the Pink Floyd sound. Heavily influenced by jazz and big band, Mason played with more finesse than some of his contemporaries like Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham and The Who’s Keith Moon. The feeling of floating that comes across on many Floyd songs like “Fearless,” “Echoes,” “Breathe (In The Air),” “Us And Them” and more starts with Mason’s soft touch and buoyant drumming.
Nick also holds a unique place in Pink Floyd history. He is the only member to play on every Pink Floyd album and the only constant since the band formed in 1965. As such, Mason had a hand in a number of Pink Floyd’s earliest compositions during the Syd Barrett era and beyond. In 2018 the drummer formed Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, a band that focused on Pink Floyd’s early material.
A year later, Mason and Saucerful Of Secrets played a show at London’s historic Roundhouse. Pink Floyd played a famous gig there in 1966 with fellow UK psychedelic pioneers the Soft Machine. Mason returned to Roundhouse in May 2019 with Saucerful Of Secrets — guitarists Gary Kemp and Lee Harris, former Pink Floyd touring bassist Guy Pratt and keyboardist Dom Beken —- for a two-night stand captured for posterity in a live album, Live At The Roundhouse, as well as an accompanying concert film.
To celebrate Nick Mason’s birthday, watch video of “Fearless,” “Astronomy Domine” and “Green Is The Colour” from Live At The Roundhouse below via the JamBase Live Video Archive:
Fearless
Astronomy Domine
Green Is The Colour
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