Have a Cigar: Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ Gets 50th Anniversary Edition
Following some teases changing just about every Pink Floyd album cover on digital music services to mirror original packaging elements of Wish You Were Here, the band has announced a new expanded edition of its 1975 masterpiece, reissued to mark its 50th anniversary.
Coming December 12 from Legacy Recordings, the deluxe Wish You Were Here arrives in a frankly dizzying display of formats:
- A 2CD or 3LP set pairs the original album with nine bonus tracks: three from the “Immersion Edition” box set released in 2011 and six previously unreleased outtakes and alternate mixes.
- A deluxe box set includes the two CDs, four “crystal-clear” LPs (adding an extra 12″ with a pair of live tracks from the Immersion box), a replica Japanese 7″ single and a Blu-ray. That Blu-ray includes all the audio from the 2CD or 3LP set (so, minus those extra live tracks), plus an additional live bootleg, multiple alternate mixes of the album, vintage video projections by Storm Thorgerson, as well as a hardcover book of unseen photos from the period and replicas of a tour program and poster.
- The Blu-ray in that box will also be available separately.
- Finally, a digital edition includes all the stereo audio from the Blu-ray: the album, outtakes and live bootleg.
It’s a considerable trove of audiovisual material chronicling the British band’s Herculean task of following up the commercial success of 1973’s The Dark Side of the Moon, which was in the early stages of a staggering multi-year run on the Billboard charts. After mooting a conceptual piece involving “household objects” (heard on the bonus track “Wine Glasses”), Wish You Were Here largely deals with the numbness of absence. “Welcome to the Machine” and “Have a Cigar” (with its immortal stranger-than-fiction lyric “Oh, by the way: which one’s Pink?”) are cutting satires of record label politics, while the title track and the epic “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” addressed, in various capacities, the mental health-related departure of band member Syd Barrett. (A nearly unrecognizable Barrett dropped into the studio during the mixing of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” initially recognized by none of the band members and reportedly reducing singer/songwriter/bassist Roger Waters to tears at his appearance and detached presence. He was almost never seen in public again, and died of cancer in 2006.)
Enclosed in a typically ornate package by Storm Thorgerson at Hipgnosis – the sleeve depicted two men, one on fire (portrayed by recently deceased stuntman Ronnie Rondell Jr.), shaking hands on the Warner Bros. Pictures backlot, and initial copies were sold in opaque black shrink wrap – Wish You Were Here originally divided critics ready for an epic follow-up to Dark Side. It did find its commercial audience and was ultimately seen by critics as a sterling effort in the band’s discography. (Singer/songwriter/guitarist David Gilmour and keyboardist Richard Wright each cited it as their favorite, and even Waters – largely estranged from Gilmour since the ’80s and a more dominating presence on albums like 1979’s The Wall – once declared it the group’s “most complete” work.)
The set’s studio bonus material tells the further story of the album’s creation, including the aforementioned “Wine Glasses,” demos of “Machine” and multiple takes of the title track (one featuring a mostly-unused violin part from French jazz musician Stéphane Grappelli). The Blu-ray offers considerable treats for surround audio fans, offering a vintage quadraphonic mix, a 2011 5.1 surround pass by engineer James Guthrie and a new Atmos treatment by him as well. The Blu-ray (and digital set) also offers a somewhat legendary live bootleg by noted taper Mike Millard at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on April 26, 1975 that includes tracks from Wish You Were Here as well as a full-album performance of The Dark Side of the Moon. (Engineer Steven Wilson has restored and remastered the original recording for this release.)
Pre-orders for all physical sets are live below, along with the track lists. They’re out December 12. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)
Wish You Were Here 50 (Pink Floyd Music Limited, 2025)
2CD/4LP/Blu-ray/7″: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
CD/LP 1 and LP 2, Side C: Original album (released as Harvest SHVL 814 (U.K.)/Columbia PC 33453 (U.S.), 1975) and bonus material
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-5)
- Welcome to the Machine
- Have a Cigar
- Wish You Were Here
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 6-9)
- Wine Glasses
- Have a Cigar (Alternate Version)
- Wish You Were Here (feat. Stéphane Grappelli)
CD 2/LP 2, Side D and LP 3: Bonus material continued (previously unreleased)
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Early Instrumental Version – Rough Mix)
- The Machine Song (Roger’s Demo)
- The Machine Song (Demo #2, Revisited)
- Wish You Were Here (Take 1)
- Wish You Were Here (Pedal Steel Instrumental Mix)
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-9 – New Stereo Mix)
LP 4: Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, England – 11/14-17/1974 (exclusive to box)
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond
- You’ve Got to Be Crazy
CD 1, Tracks 6-8 and LP 4 released on Wish You Were Here (Immersion Box Set) – EMI 50999 029435 2 7, 2011
Blu-ray
- Original album:
- stereo mix
- quadraphonic mix (released as Harvest Q4SHVL 814 (U.K.)/Columbia PCQ 33453 (U.S.), 1975
- 5.1 surround mix by James Guthrie (released on Wish You Were Here (Immersion Box Set) – EMI 50999 029435 2 7, 2011)
- Dolby Atmos mix by James Guthrie (previously unreleased)
- Bonus audio material from CD 1-2 (stereo)
- Live Bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA – 4/26/1975 (recorded by Mike Millard, remastered by Steven Wilson – previously unreleased)
- Raving and Drooling
- You’ve Got to Be Crazy
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-5)
- Have a Cigar
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 6-9)
- Speak to Me
- Breathe (In the Air)
- On the Run
- Time
- The Great Gig in the Sky
- Money
- Us and Them
- Any Colour You Like
- Brain Damage
- Eclipse
- Echoes
- Videos
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pt. 1) – screen film
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond – screen film
- Welcome to the Machine – screen film
- Storm Thorgerson Short Film 2000 – screen film
7″: Have a Cigar (Edit) b/w Welcome to the Machine (Japanese single – CBS/Sony SOPB-347, 1975)
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6 thoughts on “Have a Cigar: Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ Gets 50th Anniversary Edition”
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This is awesome. I thought for sure there’d either be a standalone Blu-Ray with just the main album in multichannel, OR a decked-out Blu-Ray trapped behind an obscenely expensive box full of tchotchkes, redundant formats, etc. I’m so glad they were willing to provide the best of both worlds for $30!
Anyone know if that’s the complete concert bootleg?
Was Wish You Here released at that point? It’s pretty odd if they were touring behind that album but didn’t play the title song! As it is, only a few songs from Wish You Were Here are there, yet it appears to be full performance of Dark Side of the Moon.
A quick look on wikipedia and setlist.fm answers all your questions.
I saw mention of a Japanese 2 cd 1 blu-ray set but can get that confirmed. Any ideas?
That Japan-exclusive 2CD/1BD edition is currently available via CD Japan and other retailers in that country.
I don’t know if it’s been mentioned elsewhere, but the iTunes listing for this has the live bootleg in its digital version. So many variations to choose from…!