p • u • l • s • e - Pink Floyd

Box Set Vinyl L.P - EMI Records - 7243 8 32 700 1 9.

1995 - U.K.

Album cover design: Storm Thorgerson, Jon Crossland, Finlay Cowan.

Graphics, artwork: Peter Curzon, Julien Mills, Richard Evans.

Cover photography: Tony May, Andy Earl, Rupert Truman, Richard Llewelyn.

Computer: Jason Reddy.

Brilliant box artwork: Lee Baker.

Live photography: Jill Furmanovsky, Andy Earl, Denis O'Regan, Michael Dwomik, Tony May, Dimo Safari, Lester Cohen, Claude Gassian.

Back cover

Box

Record sleeve 1

Inner sleeve

Inner sleeve

Labels disc 1

Record sleeve 2

Inner sleeve

Inner sleeve

Labels disc 2

Record sleeve 3

Inner sleeve

Innr sleeve

Labels disc 3

Record sleeve 4

Inner sleeve

Inner sleeve

Labels disc 4

52-page book

Cover sticker

Pink Floyd

David Gilmour, Nick Mason & Richard Wright

Memorabilia:

EMI Records

Album poster

   About the artist and the album:

Pink Floyd is one of the most influential rock bands in history, formed in London in 1965. Initially part of the psychedelic underground scene, they gained attention with their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), largely driven by Barrett’s whimsical and surreal songwriting, they revolutionized music with concept albums that blended experimental soundscapes, philosophical lyrics, and striking visuals. The band’s classic lineup included Barrett, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason. Their work spans genres like art rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and even symphonic rock.

Some of their most iconic albums include The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), and The Wall (1979). These records not only achieved massive commercial success but also left a lasting cultural impact, influencing countless artists and shaping the sound of modern rock. Their live performances became legendary for elaborate light shows and immersive atmospheres.

Their music often explores themes of alienation, war, mental health, and societal critique. Songs like “Comfortably Numb,” “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” and “Another Brick in the Wall” remain timeless classics. Even decades after their peak, Pink Floyd continues to resonate with new generations of listeners.

Pulse (stylized as p·u·l·s·e) stands as one of rock history's most ambitious live albums. Recorded during the European leg of Pink Floyd's 1994 The Division Bell tour, it captured a band performing at the absolute peak of stadium-rock production. Containing the first complete live recording of their 1973 masterpiece, The Dark Side of the Moon, performed sequentially from start to finish on the second disc. With David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright at the helm, the tour was a massive undertaking, utilizing a custom-built, 180-foot-wide arched stage, jaw-dropping laser displays, and their signature circular projection screen (the Mr. Screen).

Designed by longtime collaborator Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis, the cover prominently features a complex, surreal eye graphic. The central iris fuses cosmic, terrestrial, and biological elements, reflecting the themes of human connection, time, and isolation found throughout Pink Floyd's discography.

The artwork is a prime example of Storm Thorgerson’s signature philosophy: "doing it for real." Before the dawn of heavy digital manipulation, the legendary Hipgnosis designer relied on massive physical props, precise camera work, and intricate chemical compositing to create surreal, dreamlike landscapes. For Pulse, Thorgerson wanted an image that visualised the live concert experience itself while anchoring it to the deeper existential themes of the music.

The eye represents the audience watching the show, but its circular shape explicitly mirrors the massive circular projection screen ("Mr. Screen") that sat at the back of Pink Floyd's stage. Inside the iris, you can see a ring of pink, glowing electronic lights. This directly references the live stage lighting rig, the electronic nature of the music, and the blinking LED on the CD spine. The dark pupil is being partially blocked by a rocky planet (reminiscent of Mars or a dead moon), creating a literal eclipse. This is a massive, unmistakable nod to the final track of The Dark Side of the Moon ("Eclipse").

Thorgerson layered the background with symbols tracking evolution, time, and human consciousness. In the bottom right corner, you can see a school of fish swimming in the deep blue ocean. As your eyes move left toward the shoreline, the organisms morph into tadpoles, then strange crawling forms onto the wet sand, and finally liquid droplets. It represents the journey of life crawling out of the sea.

In the upper right quadrant, white birds are seen emerging straight out of a dense bank of clouds, transitioning from thoughts or vapor into living things flying into the open sky. The distant, dry desert landscape at the top right. You can spot a solitary figure running across the terrain. This is a visual nod to "Time" ("You run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking...").

The four classic elements—Earth (the desert coast), Air (the clouds), Fire (the lightning cracks within the iris), and Water (the sea)—are all present, suggesting that the "pulse" of life connects the entire universe.

The multi-page booklet included with the box set expanded on these themes, featuring further striking photographs of real-world objects placed in bizarre, high-contrast natural environments—each representing a different classic song performed on the tour.

Original CD pressings came with a legendary physical gimmick: a cardboard spine featuring a tiny, battery-operated red light emitting diode (LED) that pulsed steadily at about 1 beat per second, mimicking a heartbeat. It was designed to pulse for months (and in some cases, years) on fans' shelves, powered by two AA batteries.