The Wall

The Wall is a rock opera presented as a double album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on November 30th, 1979. It was subsequently performed live, with elaborate theatrical effects, and made into a film.

Following in the footsteps of their previous albums, The Wall is a concept album — specifically, it deals largely with the theme of isolation from one’s peers. The concept was largely inspired by the band’s 1977 tour promoting the album Animals, with regards to an incident where Roger Waters’ frustration with the audience reached a point where Waters spat in the face of a fan who was attempting to climb on stage; this, in turn, led him to lament that such a wall exists. With its significantly darker theme, The Wall featured a notably harsher and more theatrical sound than their previous releases.

The Wall is a rock opera that centres on the character “Pink”. Largely based on Waters’ personal life, Pink struggles in life from an early age, having lost his father in war (“Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)”), abused by teachers (“The Happiest Days of Our Lives”), nurtured by an overprotective mother (“Mother”), and deserted by his wife later on (“Don’t Leave Me Now”) — all of which factored into Pink’s mental isolation from society, figuratively referred to as “The Wall”.