The Real Reason Pink Floyd's Original Singer Quit The Band
Perhaps best known for the 1979 rock-opera The Wall or the epic nine-part suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", Pink Floyd has been cemented as nothing short of legendary in the classic rock canon. However, casual fans of the British rock band may be surprised that its original singer, Chris Dennis, quit the band before the iconic outfit saw widespread success.
According to the Daily Mail, the Welsh-born multi-instrumentalist joined the blues-rock outfit in 1964 after meeting guitarist Bob Klose with the Royal Air Force when he was stationed in London the previous year. Always sporting a penchant for music (the young RAF technician played in several Cambridge bands when he was a teen), Dennis first met Klose at a music shop in search of a guitar. The meeting prompted Dennis' introduction to Roger Waters, which led to his induction into the group.
Duty calls for Dennis
Within six months of the band's formation, from witnessing Syd Barrett formulating the peculiar band title and playing in the first Pink Floyd show under the iconic name, Dennis became the frontman of the show-stopping act. From December 1964 to mid-1965, he was content playing cover gigs to sizable audiences and practicing several times per week.
But while Dennis ultimately left the band within the year when he was called for duty in Bahrain, the former singer also told the Daily Mail that he called it quits because he thought the band was not 'going anywhere'. Barrett subsequently took over singing duties for the rock group.
"I was on the edge of leaving the band anyway – Roger and I had a difference of opinion with it came to music," Dennis said. 'I'd finished with it. The band was a six month blip in my life. It was good but I had moved on from it."
He's 'comfortably' out of the band
By the time Dennis returned to his hometown in Wales from combat, the rock band's first album, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, had been released to massive critical acclaim and even garnered praise from Paul McCartney. Yet, despite all-around success, the band did face one tough critic: Dennis himself.
"To be honest, I didn't even like the sort of music Pink Floyd were playing at the time – so they probably wouldn't have had the success they've had if I had continued to play in the band ... when I came back they never asked me back in the band. They had a completely different sound anyway, they had changed their style."
As Pink Floyd ricocheted to rock star cult status, Dennis set up his own home recording studio, recording tracks for his own pleasure rather than releasing demos to the public. The grandfather of eight told the Daily Mail: "I've no regrets. I helped start the biggest rock band in the world and it enabled me to hang out with the likes of Jimi Hendrix – that's enough for me."