Pink Floyd

Yes, I recall the concert, I had the paper route apound the stadium at the time.

I still have my ticket stub,and cdr from tape of that show.

Wow,I just was searching for some info on this show,since I have a remastered A+ quality CDR of the show and found this site somehow,noticed the last post was tonight…I was to young to have attended,being 5 years old,but the echoes encore is by far the best of the tour that year,Hamilton (my hometown) was treated that day.We,ll I guess not everyone thoughts so.

Great show,I know my aunt has some funny stories about that night.

I was a high school student in Toronto. I loved their music, but had never attended a rock concert before ( and was innocent in the world of drugs). A friend had relatives that lived in Hamilton that were willing to let us sleep over. So away we went. I remember it was hot and sunny. I was shocked at the smoking of dope everywhere. I enjoyed the music and remember being impressed by the high tech screen behind the stage onto which images were projected.
I do not recall a melee after the concert. sorry . I am going to track down the concert tape.

I remember Ivor Wynn well - attended with my ‘new’ wife and a several buddies. What a scene before the concert as we were all jammed into an ‘alleyway’ smokin’ dope, drinkin and pissin….and were able to get our booze and pot past the lax security and into one of the most amazing concerts ever - the pyrotechnics were incredible, complete with ‘rockets’ being launched/propelled, an incredible ‘HUGE” round screen and floating pigs - what a concert!!!!

“If this concert is allowed to be performed in Hamilton, the city will be taken over by dope fiends, motorcycle gangs and Americans.” This is what was written in a Hamilton Spectator editorial a few months prior. I can’t imagine how close promoters CPI & Garfunkel had come to not realizing this musical/theatrical event. The paper was relentless in drumming up hysterical ‘Pink Floyd madness’ scenarios.

City police were sent down to Buffalo NY to witness a Rolling Stones concert, earlier that June. Dutifully reported in the paper was the account of a drugged female, barely conscience, as three men took turns having their way with her while she was lying prone on the turf.

I had already bought four tickets ($8.50 each) at Sam The Record Man. Now knowing that the fair city now was aware of our police watching repeated assaults being perpetrated on a victim at that event across the border, had me very worried. How could mayor Vic Copps now allow the Pink Floyd concert to happen at Ivor Wynne Stadium.

But it did happen.

June 28, 1975. Four of us spent the sunny afternoon on the lawn of the school on the west side. We were enjoying watching other Pink Floyd fans streaming towards the stadium. I had been to this location many times as a young Ti-Cat fan, with $2.50 tickets for viewing our CFL gladiators from the bleacher section. The big difference with the furtive glances on this day was that they weren’t accompanied by swigs of liquor from concealed mickeys and flasks but shared tokes on small pipes and doobies.

Looking up at the stadium, near the goal line I noticed a cable that crossed diagonally, high above the field. A couple of times we saw what looked like a WWII buzz bomb being raised towards the bank of lights there, and released to glide within the confines of the stadium. The road crew was synchronizing the timing of the explosion at the tail of ‘On The Run’.

There was a crowd slowly moving up towards us on Cannon Street. It was a constant motion of individuals pressing in close to the centre of the mass, then after a few moments, walking away in amazement at a very tiny item pressed between fingers. As I walked towards this spectacle, a young man emerged, sized up my long hair and in an excited whisper, held up pinched fingers to my face and said, ‘free blotter acid man!’ and tilted his head towards the huddle.

Too bad we had already paid for our hits. Besides, we didn’t need to be freaking out if the motorcycle gangs and Americans started messing with our heads. It looked pretty though, embellished with a pastel coloured, round clock face with the hands depicting the time, ten to nine.

The stadium gates opened about 6:30 pm and we headed towards the south stands to catch all the rest of the rays of sun we could. No windy bleachers for me this night. It seemed that once we were in the sanctity of our seats at mid-field, the unwritten law was that lighters and matches had to be engaged. It was happening all around us. ‘Excuse me, pardon me,’ plop…FLICK…fffffftt! It was a constant and various mingling of what Ann Landers would describe as ‘the smell of burning leaves’.

Not just ordinary leaves this night but connoisseur types. Thai stick, Jamaican, Punta Rojas as well as Moroccan and Afghani hash. We would drop the acid an hour later so we wouldn’t start peaking til the sun was setting. It was like being on an exotic vacation where everyone around you was relaxed, and sending you blissful smiles. Before the turf filled up with bodies, beach balls and frisbees crisscrossed each other in flight.

Yeah, yeah there was the guy with the repeated piercing staccato cry/scream. But he used to do that at the Delta and Roxy theatres before the repertoire movies would start. He was about as harmless as the streaker on the field running around yelling, ‘Woodstock… Woodstock!’ At least the former got to stay and see the show.

Pink Floyd started with the most glorious, mainly instrumental, music to feel with the waning summer sun. I believe all but one were tunes from their yet-to-be-released (September) album, Wish You Were Here. They took a short break and then the huge round screen on stage started projecting an animated short.

The band started into the intro of Dark Side of the Moon, Speak To Me. It took a while for me to see through the waning rays of sunlight licking the screen to view the short, but then it became much clearer. A huge squadron of thick discs were flying against a cloud-spattered sky at various points-of-view. The heartbeat was still pounding in the song when the discs stopped flying west, suspended for a few moments. Then the disc in the centre distance rotated upright and it started very slowly towards the camera.

Clare Torry belted out her shrieking scream, her ever increasing amplitude drowning out the heart beats. The disc, increasing speed towards collision, was a familiar looking clock. The crash-zoom held on the clock smacked at absolute full screen, on cue with the track-ending crescendo. That last scream sounded like it came from the stands. The clock face read ten to nine.

What followed was the essential tool for selling stereos across North America for a decade - the rest of The Dark Side of the Moon, in larger than life, quadraphonic stadium sound. The band was tight, they seemed to be having fun. Did anyone else get the shivers when Clare Torry performed The Great Gig In the Sky? Jesus! Her voice was ten stories tall.

The buzz bomb didn’t disappoint either. It crashed on cue after flying spot-lit across the stadium in a huge magnesium flash of white light. Roger Waters thanked and wished us a good night on the conclusion of Eclipse.

The standing ovation lasted for about fifteen minutes, I was quite prepared to keep whistling for an hour. A small but significant number of the sixty thousand were leaving or had already left. The band came back onstage and proceeded to play Echoes, the whole B side of Meddle. Tears were streaming down my face. My favorite twenty-five minutes of all Pink Floyd’s repertoire. What made this aural experience so complete was the Dick Parry sax contributions that are not on the album.

We exited the way we came and were going to catch a bus back home. Outside the stadium I couldn’t find a can to drop a bag of garbage into. I carried it a few streets down to Barton Street and dumped it into one in front bus stop. A bus pulled up packed with music fans. With about twenty people waiting on the sidwalk for the next one, we decided to float a couple of miles home instead.

We saw one fight break out before the concert. The stadium was packed with over three times the amount of people usually assembled for a football game. Somebody remarked on our walk that an Argo /Ti-Cat game would have more violence in the crowd than that.

The following Monday the Spectator printed a picture of the side of the stadium where we exited, with an empty can in the foreground, garbage strewn all around. The caption read, ‘A garbage can pleads “Feed Me” as rock fans trash the city’.

But it did happen.

what a show. Still have the ticket stub, at 15 years old I told my parents I was going to this show with my friend but it was in Hamilton , we lived in Mississauga at the time. coolest parents ever , who you going to see.....Pink Floyd , nice...have fun. We took the Go bus early Friday morning . Got there and there was a few people walking around already . Sat down at the gate and settled in for the day and night. by like 6pm there were at least 5000 people on that one side[stage end],and it only got worst after that , people everywhere, what a time ...the beer store sold out of beer by like 12:00 the next day. so good 2 years later we took the train to Montreal's Olympic stadium to see the Animals tour...Another great 3 day adventure.

I was there and I loved it. My bf and I drove down from Toronto to see the concert. It will forever be one of the best concerts I have been to.

this concert was the most surreal concert I have ever been to. the atomoshere, being around 60,000 people was unbelievable. the air that night was warm and felt thick.
the music was absolutely amazing as it echoed through the stadium,and the rocket at the end of the show. I was sitting below the light standard that the cable was attached to. out of no where comes this rocket down the cable and explodes, what a rush.
if any out there has any photos from this concert please send to my E-mail happycampere@hotmail.com
believe it or not, i got these tickets for free. my girlfriends, girlfriends boyfriend was cheating on her at the time and she gave us the two tickets.i almost fell off my chair when she said, do you want tickets to see pink floyd. keep sending the stories and pics if you have any. Eric klein

It was a very hot day the police or fire department opened up a hydrant to cool people off they also were driving around with loud speakers on the police vehicle playing music to keep things calm I guess ..I sure wish I had a camera for this shot of a young long hair sitting cross legged holding a sign saying LSD wanted standing right next to him was a uniformed hamilton police officer. ..l watch the show from the goal post....the concert was the best outdoor concert I have ever seen ...i have seen very many

I had just moved to Hamilton and was giging(playing) at the Knight 2 Coffee house.
But on this day SATURDAY June 28 1975, being a part time carny (carnival ride operator for kiddy land - I was called captain. I was also a part time roadie( the guy who carries band equipment and instruments) i heard a concert was needing set up people. So I asked who was playing and I was told Pink Floyd, in our high school radio station CBCH Bowness - Calgary Alberta Canada in 1970 i was first introduced to PF's albums Atom Heart Mother and Ummagumma I hated it, it was nothing like listening to the Beatles. So I thought I don't know any of PF songs so I played Linda Put the Coffee On by a new friend Hamilton's own Ray Materick, whom I got to jam with at the Knight 2, so as I'm playing ray's hit song a 6/9 if not over English cockney speaking British man walked up wearing an Pink Floyd Eclipse Tour Jacket and said I like that song did you write it i told him about Ray and that Ray was playing at the Knight 2 coffee house and he was playing the next night which was Sunday but Ray was having a special invite at the Knight 2. I to this day don't know if anyone went and saw Ray perform. So the fellow said would you like to make forty bucks cash and two tabs of acid and two tickets to the show. He said but drop the sid after tear down which is taking everything down and packed into the I belive 6 semi trailers standing by.
My job was to help assemble a steel cable that is in 40 foot lengths and clip together with hook and eyes. Then the connectors were covered by camouflaged material so they wouldn't draw the attention of the crowd.
So we ran the cable from Ivor Wynn stadium top west bleachers to a sound / lighting tower set up mid field and then another cable from the top east bleachers to the sound/ lighting tower and to a T knuckle connector attached to a cable at center field hooked to the right facing stage .
Ivor Wynn didn't have a centralized sound system like stadiums have now.
So after this incredible production was all set up and some hired musicians did the sound check for PF cause they had not yet arrived til about 4 pm EST.
At about 530 pm about an hour before the crowd started arriving, a large scale model very realistic looking B2 or ,? British WW2 bomber was hooked onto the cable which was attached to the stage, then I helped apply a fire gel like is used in Hollywood movies. The plane had break off wings, its known as a break apart plane.
The show started playing some of the lads music, then a recording of Obscured by Clouds and Meddle started playing though this massive ive never seen so many speakers in my life sound system they carried from gig to gig around the world. And this huge circular movie screen came to life, showing a buzz circular saw, then a flying scene.
Then about 830pm on that beautiful Hamilton Ontario, Canada early evening ...they these music magicians hit the stage , and wow...and at the end of 'On the Run' 30 seconds before the conclusion, the pyrotechnics guy sitting up in the tower beside the right facing stage spot light operator...woosh a spark was sent to the plane wings covered in flammable goo and even on the rest of the body....poof up in flames and woosh this bomber was sent down the travel cable on cue to line up with the film playing on this huge circular projection screen which has become their concert trade mark since.
It exploded right on cue ...
Now what no one else has ever mentioned a funny thing happened. The pyro guy dropped two what are called loads. A load is made by taking magic supplies special paper called flash paper. You take some smoke pellets and place them in a 10 inch circle then you gather the sides and twist it together and tie a small piece of thread around the neck of the load.
So the pyro threw 2 in the flash bucket or pot with an electric element at its bottom. And ignites the loads in it.
Now here's the cool and very funny thing that happened that only a roadie that I was that night would know. Everyone in PF, Roger, David, nick, Richard as well as lord knows heh maybe the back up singers etc...each dropped a load in the pot.
Also because PF carried more equipment then 5 bands added up lol the sound man thought he would treat the local Ivor Wynn neighbors to the concert so he pointed speakers facing out to the neighboring houses.
Now the cable was attached to the stage about 4 feet from the face and about 30 feet from the front row audience, and stage right almost in front of the projection screen.
The drum kit was about 5 feet from the pot.
Well the drum kit was all surrounded by microphones .
Yep if you have ever seen the Who perform My Generation on the comedy pair The Smothers Brothers Comedy Show.
Keith Moon, Roger, Pete and John and the sound man each put a smoke load in Keith Moon's the who drummers bass drum .
Let's just say the explosion could be heard in the next county lol.
Pink Floyd's exploding moment was ten times the smoke, flash and sonic boom it knocked nick Mason PF drummer right off the back of the stage.
All the mics around the drums boomed the explosion through the sound system inside the stadium and the speakers pointing out of the stadium, lots of windows were shattered.and the vibration knocked out the score board.
Now another thing no one ever mentions when recalling this incredible once in a life time concert going experience.
Before the concert started the boys received news about something back home and kept them from going down to Florida for some sun and fun as Richard told me they were planning on doing after the tour ended and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada was the last stop of this world tour.
So the bottom line the Pyro guy said hey I got too many fireworks left over and they won't for safety reasons let us just pack up the left over fireworks and fly back to jolly old.
So he talked to David and Roger about just jamming for 40 mins while he treated the left over concert goers too stoned to quickly exit the stadium to a 40 mins free jamming after concert music fireworks display...wow I'm so glad I got to live the experience.
So thats my road story with Pink Floyd....hope you all got a brief glimpse behind the scenes of the most incredible concert experience I've ever seen.

20 years!

You've probably seen this already: https://www.thespec.com/entertainment/local/2023/04/06/1975-pink-floyd-hamilton.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=thespec_entertainment