If you consider yourself a Pink Floyd tragic, then this will almost certainly be up your alley. Later this month on Thursday, 20th April, the band will invite eight Australians to Ningaloo Marine Park in Western Australia to listen to Dark Side Of The Moon while watching the total solar eclipse.
The event will be timed so that the final lines of the album – Roger Waters singing “But the sun is eclipsed by the moon” on the track ‘Eclipse’ – will match up with the eclipse happening overhead. To be among the chosen eight (who’ll be known as the ‘Astronomy Domine 8’), you have to submit a short video explaining why you should be picked – get all the competition details here.
Pink Floyd: ‘Eclipse’
The event, which is being thrown in celebration of the album’s 50th anniversary, is being spearheaded by Pink Floyd’s longtime creative consultant Aubrey Powell.
“[The album] has been embraced by multiple generations across the world because it examines universal themes of greed, mortality, the dark and light sides of the human psyche and, of course, our place in the cosmo,” Powell said in a statement. “I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to commemorate it ’s release than with this rare and beautiful phenomenon that visually symbolises so much of what the album explores.”
Even if you’re not among the chosen eight, you’ll still be able to witness the eclipse all across Australia: you’ll be able to see it in Perth from 10.30am local time, Adelaide from 12:48pm, Melbourne from 1:27pm, Sydney from 1.46pm and Brisbane from 2.02pm. Don’t miss out: the next one won’t be until 2043.
Just a reminder that you should never look at an eclipse with a naked eye, it can be extremely dangerous. Here are some ways you can do it safely.
Further Reading
Pink Floyd Drummer Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets Is Touring Australia
Pink Floyd Surprise-Release 18 Live Concerts From 1972 To Streaming Services
Pink Floyd Raising Funds For Ukraine With First New Single Since 1994