Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Press

Pink Floyd have released a live version of ‘A Saucerful Of Secrets’.

The song was originally released as the title track of the 1968 album of the same name.

Previously only available as a bootleg, the track has now been posted to the band’s official YouTube channel.

While the group or YouTube is yet to make a formal announcement, it is possible either – or both – have begun compiling a collection of Pink Floyd’s unofficial recordings.

An instrumental over 11 minutes in length,  ‘A Saucerful Of Secrets’ was written by the band during a formative period.

With chief creative force Syd Barrett having been ejected after a spectacular mental collapse earlier in 1968, Pink Floyd’s remaining members were looking for a new direction.

“‘A Saucerful of Secrets’ was a very important track,” Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour informed Guitar World Magazine in 1993, “it gave us our direction forward. If you take A Saucerful of Secrets, Atom Heart Mother, and Echoes – all lead logically to The Dark Side of the Moon.”

The main idea for the song was devised by Roger Waters and drummer Nick Mason.

Prior to Pink Floyd’s rise to fame Mason and Waters, alongside Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, studied architecture together at University in Cambridge, England.

Their understanding of structure greatly informed their approach to writing and recording songs.

By David Gilmour’s account, ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’ was no exception.

“[They] began drawing weird shapes on a piece of paper,” Gilmour shared.”We then composed music based on the structure of the drawing.”

The song remains a cult favorite amongst progressive rock aficionados and early period Pink Floyd fans.

Nick Mason is no exception.

It does not take too far of a stretch of the imagination to deduce from where his current touring outfit, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets derives its name.

A Saucerful of Secrets, originally released on June 29, 1968, celebrated its 52nd anniversary earlier this week.

The full track below.