In 1968, Pink Floyd took a trip on the London Underground, to film a video for their second album and they’ve just released the rarely seen video once more.
“Let There Be More Light” is the opening track on Pink Floyd’s second album A Saucerful of Secrets, which describes the imagined descent of a fantastical spacecraft at RAF Mildenhall, north-east of Roger Waters’ hometown of Cambridge. From 1950, RAF Mildenhall primarily supported US Air Force operations, including the Strategic Air Command.
The single did not chart. Pink Floyd performed the song live from 1968–69, often as an encore. The lack of success of the song means the video is rarely seen, but the rock group have released it on their official YouTube channel.
It’s filmed at night and looks like it was done on the cuff rather than as organised filming with the permission of the London Underground.
Jumping onto the District line at a station that I can’t quite identify from the signs in the background, then passing through Westminster station as it was before being rebuilt.
Do look for the elderly couple trying to look nonchalant at what’s going on, and the discarded cigarette butts in the floor which were once such a common sight on the Underground.
If you think there’s too much advertising on the Underground today – just look what it used to be like in the 1960s.
And people of a certain age may remember the famously unreliable chocolate vending machines on the platforms.
Ian, I’m surprised at you. Elderly couple?! Look like 50’s to me. Great post though.
For the District Line station, I think that is Gloucester Road which for a while had a footbridge with just that sort of glazing to link the two side platforms and the centre island platform, the station then having four tracks and 4 platform faces (it was simplified to 3 in 1969).
All built over now and very different…
That also fits with the sign with platform information which although fuzzy could perhaps be read from top to bottom as Circle Line, District Line and Piccadilly Line the latter may even have an arrow on the left directing passengers to go up the stairs to the left which would be necessary to get from there to the Piccadilly at Gloucester Road.
Later shots from 0:57 are by the look of them in a Piccadilly tube car.