Paul McCartney Almost Made It on a Pink Floyd Album—Here’s the Surprising Reason He Was Cut
via David Gilmour Tour / YouTube
The Unlikely Collaboration That Didn’t Happen
Pink Floyd rarely brought in guest musicians on their albums, but there was a moment when Paul McCartney nearly appeared on The Dark Side of the Moon. The former Beatles member, who was fronting Wings at the time, had even recorded vocal work for the album.
Despite this, McCartney didn’t make the final cut. Roger Waters, bassist and main songwriter for Pink Floyd, later revealed why. According to Waters, McCartney’s contribution didn’t fit with the tone of the record. “He was the only one who found it necessary to perform, which was useless. I thought it was really interesting that he would do that. He was trying to be funny, which wasn’t what we wanted at all.”
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Waters Found McCartney’s Style Unfit for the Mood
Waters explained that McCartney didn’t approach the project the way the band had hoped. Instead of delivering a natural response like other interviewees, he played it more like a performance. Waters found this distracting from the serious themes the band wanted to explore.
This meant McCartney’s part was removed from the album altogether. Though he was never officially credited, it’s still surprising to many fans that one of the Beatles almost appeared on such a major Pink Floyd release—and then was cut.
Later Collaborations With Gilmour
Even though McCartney never became part of The Dark Side of the Moon, he stayed close to Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour in the years that followed. The two worked together on McCartney’s solo album Give My Regards to Broad Street, and also shared the stage during a performance at the Cavern Club in 1999.
McCartney remembered those moments warmly. Speaking about Gilmour’s role on the song “No More Lonely Nights,” he said: “This was getting into the days of the big music video, and we did two for this song. One was shot in the train station at night, and the other was a bit of a clip reel with highlights from the film.”
Praise for Gilmour’s Playing
McCartney also praised Gilmour’s guitar solo on the track, saying: “But Gilmour really goes to town on that solo, especially on the album version, which is longer and gives him more space to play. It’s a really nice solo, with that signature Fender Stratocaster sound of his.”
The Cavern Club performance also stood out for McCartney. He added: “He played guitar at a show I did at The Cavern Club in December 1999, which they’d reopened along the street from where it had been when The Beatles originally played there. So, that was a pretty good way to see out the twentieth century.”
A Beatles Track Hidden on the Album
Even though McCartney’s voice didn’t end up on The Dark Side of the Moon, a small piece of Beatles history still found its way in. According to Far Out Magazine, an orchestral version of “Ticket to Ride” can be faintly heard at the end of the track “Eclipse.”
As a doorman’s voice says there is no dark side of the moon, a faint version of the Beatles classic plays in the background. It’s unclear if it was intentional, but it links McCartney and his band to the album in a small, surprising way.
