“Untethered and exploratory rock music made by four musicians who seemed to epitomise the notion of intellectual cool”: Pink Floyd’s Live At Pompeii to be rereleased at cinemas and IMAX

The landmark concert film Pink Floyd’s Live At Pompeii is going to be rereleased in cinemas in IMAX format in April, and a soundtrack is going to be officially issued for the first time.

Originally shot in the deserted amphitheatre in October 1971 and released the following year, Live In Pompeii was stunningly different from any other concert film before or since. No one had ever thought of holding a concert in such an unusual place, nor to play without an audience. Unless you count the ghosts of the thousands who died in the doomed Roman city.

The soundtrack has been given a new mix by modern-day prog maven Steven Wilson. Wilson described it as an “honour”, saying: “Ever since my dad brainwashed me as a kid by playing The Dark Side of the Moon on repeat, Pink Floyd have been my favourite band.

"They are my Beatles, deeply ingrained in my musical DNA. I first saw Pompeii from a grainy print at a local cinema. It made an incredible impression on me with its untethered and exploratory rock music made by four musicians who seemed to epitomise the notion of intellectual cool.”

Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII - Echoes - Part 1 - Edit - YouTube

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Live At Pompeii became something of a word of mouth classic in the 1970s and 80s, its reputation gradually building over the years through screenings at late-night cinemas (like Wilson’s) or on video. For new fans it was a primer for the post-Syd, pre-Dark Side Floyd.

The film was very much the baby of director Adrian Maben, who had to work hard to convince both the band and Italian authorities in charge of the amphitheatre that his idea could work. Maben wanted to create something very different to existing concert films with their audience cutaway shots.

“It was to be an anti-Woodstock,” Maben told Prog magazine in 2022. “Above all, there should be the notion of silence, and the images (of Pompeii) would speak for themselves with the music. It was something that had to stand on its own: the Floyd and the emptiness of the theatre. Maybe, just maybe, it was like they were playing for the ghosts of the dead.”

As it happened, Floyd’s spacious introverted music was ideally suited to the eerie emptiness of the ancient ruins. Much of the film has become iconic – the shots of the band clambering over the ruins and Mount Vesuvius, Roger Waters whacking the gong on Saucerful Of Secrets and the October light bathing both band and ancient venue in a golden sheen.

The film has been retitled Pink Floyd at Pompeii MCMLXXII and will be released at cinemas and IMAX from April 24. The soundtrack follows on May 2.