How Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ got an accidental Toronto premiere 50 years ago

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How Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ got an accidental Toronto premiere 50 years ago

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/m ... s-ago.html

Fifty years ago this week, Toronto radio listeners unwittingly enjoyed the world premiere of the classic Pink Floyd album “The Dark Side of the Moon.”

Call it a happy accident, because things weren’t supposed to quite work out that way. Back in 1973, Bob Roper was working as the Capitol Records promotion representative for Ontario. His job was to pitch Toronto radio stations his label’s latest music, with the hope that DJs and music directors would add it to their playlists.

Days before the official March 1, 1973 release of the latest opus by the British progressive rock outfit consisting of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason, Roper was handed an advance copy of the album by his bosses.

“I got it at the end of the day and was told, ‘Take this home because, come Monday, this record is being released and, because this is a priority for Capitol worldwide, you need to have a good listen to it so we can promote it properly,” Roper recalled in an interview.

He listened to it twice, thought it was good and decided to procure a second opinion from someone he respected: CHUM-FM host David Marsden.

For Marsden, who had been following the band since their 1969 experimental psychedelic album “Ummagumma,” it was an alluring opportunity.

“I was a Pink Floyd freak, admittedly,” said Marsden.