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"Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera The Wall, written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against rigid schooling, features a children's choir. At the suggestion of producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd added elements of disco.
"Part 2" was released as a single, Pink Floyd's first in the UK since "Point Me at the Sky" (1968). It became their only number-one single in the UK, the United States, West Germany and many other countries, and sold over four million copies worldwide. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, and was number 375 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The American nu metal band Korn covered all three parts for the 2004 album Greatest Hits, Vol. 1. The first two parts of "Another Brick in the Wall" were also covered by the supergroup Class of '99 for the soundtrack of the 1998 film The Faculty; this cover version is notable for being one of Layne Staley's final studio appearances prior to his death in April 2002.
Concept
The three parts of "Another Brick in the Wall" appear on Pink Floyd's 1979 album The Wall, a rock opera that explores abandonment and isolation, symbolised by a wall. During "Part 1", the protagonist, Pink, begins building a metaphorical wall around himself following the death of his father. In "Part 2", traumas including his overprotective mother and abusive schoolteachers become metaphorical bricks in the wall. Following a violent breakdown in "Part 3", Pink dismisses everyone he knows as "just bricks in the wall".
Bassist Roger Waters wrote "Part 2" as a protest against rigid schooling, particularly boarding schools. "Another Brick in the Wall" appears in the Wall film. In the "Part 2" sequence, children enter a school and march in unison through a meat grinder, becoming "putty-faced" clones, before rioting and burning down the school.
Recording
At the suggestion of producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd added elements of disco, which was popular at the time. According to guitarist David Gilmour:
" said to me, "Go to a couple of clubs and listen to what's happening with disco music," so I forced myself out and listened to loud, four-to-the-bar bass drums and stuff and thought, Gawd, awful! Then we went back and tried to turn one of the parts into one of those so it would be catchy.
Gilmour recorded his guitar solo in one take, with no editing or mixing, using a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar equipped with P-90 pick-ups. Despite his reservations about Ezrin's additions, Gilmour felt the final song still sounded like Pink Floyd. When Ezrin heard the song with a disco beat, he was convinced it could become a hit, but felt it needed to be longer, with two verses and two choruses. The band resisted, saying they did not release singles; Waters told him: "Go ahead and waste your time doing silly stuff."
While the band members were away, Ezrin edited the takes into an extended version, and had engineer Nick Griffiths record children singing the verse at Islington Green School, close to Pink Floyd's studio. Alun Renshaw, head of music at the school, was enthusiastic, and said later: "I wanted to make music relevant to the kids – not just sitting around listening to Tchaikovsky. I thought the lyrics were great – 'We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control' ... I just thought it would be a wonderful experience for the kids."
Renshaw hid the lyrics from the headteacher, Margaret Maden, fearing she might stop the recording. Maden said: "I was only told about it after the event, which didn't please me. But on balance it was part of a very rich musical education." Renshaw and the children spent a week practicing it before he took them to a recording studio near the school.
According to Ezrin, when he played the children's vocals to Waters, "there was a total softening of his face, and you just knew that he knew it was going to be an important record". Waters said "It was great—exactly the thing I expected from a collaborator."
Royalties
The children of Islington School received tickets to a Pink Floyd concert, an album, and a single. Though the school received a payment of £1,000, there was no contractual arrangement for royalties. Under 1996 UK copyright law, they became eligible for royalties from broadcasts. After royalties agent Peter Rowan traced choir members through the website Friends Reunited and other means, they lodged a claim for royalties with the Performing Artists' Media Rights Association in 2004.
Reception
"Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" was released as a single, Pink Floyd's first in the UK since "Point Me at the Sky" (1968). It was Pink Floyd's only number-one hit in the United Kingdom, the United States, West Germany and several other countries. It was the final Christmas number one of the decade in the UK. In the US, it reached number 57 on the disco chart. The single sold over 4 million copies worldwide.
The song won Waters the 1983 British Academy Award for "Best Original Song" for its appearance in the Wall film. "Part 2" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group. It appears as 375 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Lyrics controversy
The lyrics attracted controversy. The Inner London Education Authority described the song as "scandalous", and according to Renshaw, prime minister Margaret Thatcher "hated it". Renshaw said: "There was a political knee-jerk reaction to a song that had nothing to do with the education system. It was reflections on his life and how his schooling was part of that." The single, as well as the album The Wall, were banned in South Africa in 1980 after it was adopted by supporters of a nationwide school boycott protesting racial inequities in education under apartheid.
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Available in:
"Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera The Wall, written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against rigid schooling, features a children's choir. At the suggestion of producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd added elements of disco.
"Part 2" was released as a single, Pink Floyd's first in the UK since "Point Me at the Sky" (1968). It became their only number-one single in the UK, the United States, West Germany and many other countries, and sold over four million copies worldwide. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, and was number 375 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The American nu metal band Korn covered all three parts for the 2004 album Greatest Hits, Vol. 1. The first two parts of "Another Brick in the Wall" were also covered by the supergroup Class of '99 for the soundtrack of the 1998 film The Faculty; this cover version is notable for being one of Layne Staley's final studio appearances prior to his death in April 2002.
Concept
The three parts of "Another Brick in the Wall" appear on Pink Floyd's 1979 album The Wall, a rock opera that explores abandonment and isolation, symbolised by a wall. During "Part 1", the protagonist, Pink, begins building a metaphorical wall around himself following the death of his father. In "Part 2", traumas including his overprotective mother and abusive schoolteachers become metaphorical bricks in the wall. Following a violent breakdown in "Part 3", Pink dismisses everyone he knows as "just bricks in the wall".
Bassist Roger Waters wrote "Part 2" as a protest against rigid schooling, particularly boarding schools. "Another Brick in the Wall" appears in the Wall film. In the "Part 2" sequence, children enter a school and march in unison through a meat grinder, becoming "putty-faced" clones, before rioting and burning down the school.
Recording
At the suggestion of producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd added elements of disco, which was popular at the time. According to guitarist David Gilmour:
" said to me, "Go to a couple of clubs and listen to what's happening with disco music," so I forced myself out and listened to loud, four-to-the-bar bass drums and stuff and thought, Gawd, awful! Then we went back and tried to turn one of the parts into one of those so it would be catchy.
Gilmour recorded his guitar solo in one take, with no editing or mixing, using a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar equipped with P-90 pick-ups. Despite his reservations about Ezrin's additions, Gilmour felt the final song still sounded like Pink Floyd. When Ezrin heard the song with a disco beat, he was convinced it could become a hit, but felt it needed to be longer, with two verses and two choruses. The band resisted, saying they did not release singles; Waters told him: "Go ahead and waste your time doing silly stuff."
While the band members were away, Ezrin edited the takes into an extended version, and had engineer Nick Griffiths record children singing the verse at Islington Green School, close to Pink Floyd's studio. Alun Renshaw, head of music at the school, was enthusiastic, and said later: "I wanted to make music relevant to the kids – not just sitting around listening to Tchaikovsky. I thought the lyrics were great – 'We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control' ... I just thought it would be a wonderful experience for the kids."
Renshaw hid the lyrics from the headteacher, Margaret Maden, fearing she might stop the recording. Maden said: "I was only told about it after the event, which didn't please me. But on balance it was part of a very rich musical education." Renshaw and the children spent a week practicing it before he took them to a recording studio near the school.
According to Ezrin, when he played the children's vocals to Waters, "there was a total softening of his face, and you just knew that he knew it was going to be an important record". Waters said "It was great—exactly the thing I expected from a collaborator."
Royalties
The children of Islington School received tickets to a Pink Floyd concert, an album, and a single. Though the school received a payment of £1,000, there was no contractual arrangement for royalties. Under 1996 UK copyright law, they became eligible for royalties from broadcasts. After royalties agent Peter Rowan traced choir members through the website Friends Reunited and other means, they lodged a claim for royalties with the Performing Artists' Media Rights Association in 2004.
Reception
"Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" was released as a single, Pink Floyd's first in the UK since "Point Me at the Sky" (1968). It was Pink Floyd's only number-one hit in the United Kingdom, the United States, West Germany and several other countries. It was the final Christmas number one of the decade in the UK. In the US, it reached number 57 on the disco chart. The single sold over 4 million copies worldwide.
The song won Waters the 1983 British Academy Award for "Best Original Song" for its appearance in the Wall film. "Part 2" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group. It appears as 375 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Lyrics controversy
The lyrics attracted controversy. The Inner London Education Authority described the song as "scandalous", and according to Renshaw, prime minister Margaret Thatcher "hated it". Renshaw said: "There was a political knee-jerk reaction to a song that had nothing to do with the education system. It was reflections on his life and how his schooling was part of that." The single, as well as the album The Wall, were banned in South Africa in 1980 after it was adopted by supporters of a nationwide school boycott protesting racial inequities in education under apartheid.
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Genre
Progressive Rock
Mood
Dreamy
Style
Rock/Pop
Theme
...
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UnlockedData Complete
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