Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81 - Pink Floyd

Compact Disc - EMI Records - 7243 5 23562 2 5.

2000 - Europe - Deluxe Edition.

Cover design: Storm Thorgerson, Peter Curzon, Sam Brooks.

Graphics: Peter Curzon, Richard Evans.

Photography: Rupert Truman.

Live photography: Jill Furmanovsky, Brian D. Mclaughlin, David Brownlow, Mick Treadwell, Mark Fisher.

Slip-case (front)

Slip-case (back)

Disc 1

Disc 2

Hard cover book:

CD matrix 1

Cd matrix 2

Pink Floyd

Roger Waters, Richard Wright, David Gilmour & Nick Mason

    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.

Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81, released in March 2000, stands as a definitive historical document of Pink Floyd's most ambitious, theatrical, and logistically punishing era.

While the original studio album was a massive success, the accompanying tour was so massive and expensive to mount that it could only be staged in four cities: Los Angeles, Uniondale (New York), London, and Dortmund. This live album—constructed primarily from the band's August 1980 and June 1981 runs at London's Earls Court—captures the raw, aggressive energy of those shows, many tracks outshining their studio counterparts.

The show famously begins with Master of Ceremonies Gary Yudman introducing the band, only for a lookalike "surrogate band" (featuring Andy Bown, Snowy White/Andy Roberts, Peter Wood, and Willie Wilson) to blast into In the Flesh? wearing lifelike rubber masks of the actual band members.

The album includes two songs that never made it onto the 1979 studio release due to vinyl time constraints:

"What Shall We Do Now?" a heavier, extended progression from Empty Spaces that questions the empty consumerism of modern life and "The Last Few Bricks" an instrumental bridge played between Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3) and Goodbye Cruel World.

The creation of the masks (not originally created for the album cover) was a grueling process for the band members, handled by legendary theatrical prop makers and special effects artists in late 1979. Each member of Pink Floyd had to sit entirely still while their faces were covered in wet plaster, breathing only through small straws inserted into their nostrils.

Once the molds were set, lifelike rubber masks were cast. Hairpins, eyebrows, skin textures, and subtle skin tones were painted directly onto the rubber to make them look passable from a distance under heavy stage lighting. The eye holes were cut out so the session musicians could actually see what they were playing. This left a hollow, vacant look behind the eyes that added a distinctly eerie, lifeless quality to the performers.

During the concert, just as the song reached its explosive climax, the real Pink Floyd would step out from the shadows or take over the instruments, exposing the ruse to the audience and immediately setting the psychological tone for the rest of the night.

This recording captures Pink Floyd at a point of absolute internal fracture. Keyboardist Richard Wright had already been fired by Roger Waters during the studio sessions and was technically hired back as a salaried session musician for these shows—ironically making him the only member of the group to turn a profit on the financially disastrous tour.

The audio was meticulously compiled and engineered by James Guthrie, who matched the best takes from the Earls Court multi-track tapes to create a seamless, definitive front-to-back concert experience that serves as the perfect companion piece to the original masterpiece.