Pink Floyd “Live From The Los Angeles Sports Arena, April 26th, 1975” has been restored and remastered by Steven Wilson. A Pink Floyd concert from the Los Angeles Sports Centre from 1975, during the band’s Wish You Were Here tour, is to be released on vinyl and CD for the very first time.
Pink Floyd “Live From The Los Angeles Sports Arena, April 26th, 1975” will be available from Sony Music as a special four LP clear vinyl version, which will be released exclusively for Record Store Day on 18th April, followed by a 2CD edition on April 24th.
At the time of the Los Angeles Sports Arena shows, Pink Floyd were in a period of creative transition. While a new album had originally been expected earlier in 1975, the band embarked on their North American tour whilst still developing new material live, on stage
Pink Floyd “Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, April 26th, 1975” spotlights the band during their rapid ascent. “The Dark Side of the Moon” had taken Pink Floyd from a hugely successful breakout British band to one of the biggest rock groups on the planet.
Arenas and stadiums would now play host to their performances. The Wish You Were Here Tour was announced in early March 1975, just one month prior to commencing. The shows instantly sold out and broke box office records, including that of the Los Angeles Sports Arena, which in a single day sold all of its 67,000 ticket allocation for the scheduled four-night run. An extra fifth show signalled a residency, and sold out within a matter of hours. The recording that lays the foundation of this historic release was created by the late bootlegger Mike “Mike the Mic” Millard, whose tapes from concerts across Los Angeles in the 1970s became renowned for their surprisingly clear sound quality.
To conceal his recording equipment from venue security, Millard would often pretend to be disabled and arrive to concerts in a wheelchair. Many of Millard’s bootlegs were pressed onto vinyl unofficially, however he did not condone the sale of his recordings for profit. Pink Floyd’s penultimate concert at the Los Angeles Arena was no exception, remaining unreleased and unheard by all but a few audio trading collectors, until now.
The concert opens with both “Raving and Drooling” and “You’ve Got To Be Crazy“, both of whch evolved into “Sheep” and “Dogs”, which would feature on their 1977’s tenth album, “Animals”, before the epic “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” kicks in, both parts separated by “Have A Cigar”, also from “Wish You Were Here”, before the whole of “The Dark Side Of The Moon” is played, followed by an encore of “Echoes”.
The recording has been meticulously restored and remastered by Steven Wilson from tapes that originated from the legendary late bootlegger Mike “Mike the Mic” Millard, whose tapes from concerts across Los Angeles in the 1970s became renowned for their surprisingly clear sound quality.
Many of Millard’s bootlegs were pressed onto vinyl unofficially, although he did not condone the sale of his recordings for profit, and these recordings were heard for the first time when released as part of the 2025 UK album “Wish You Were Here 50” box set.
Pink Floyd: “Pink Floyd Live From The Los Angeles Sports Arena, April 26th, 1975“
1. Raving and Drooling (Live bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
2. You’ve Got To Be Crazy (Live bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
3. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (1-5) (Live bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975 )
4. Have a Cigar (Live bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
5. Shine on You Crazy Diamond (6-9) (Live bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
6. Speak to Me (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
7. Breathe (In The Air) (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
8. On the Run (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
9. Time (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
10. The Great Gig in the Sky (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
11. Money (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
12. Us and Them (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
13. Any Colour You Like (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
14. Brain Damage (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
15. Eclipse (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
16. Echoes (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975)
The Fat Angel Sings 