He ruled that EMI is "not entitled to exploit recordings by online distribution or by any other means other than the complete original album without Pink Floyd's consent." Judge Andrew Morritt backed the band, saying the contract protected "the artistic integrity of the albums." Pink Floyd lawyer Robert Howe said the band was known for producing "seamless" pieces of music on albums like "Dark Side of the Moon," "The Division Bell" and "The Wall," and wanted to retain artistic control.ĮMI claimed the clause in the band's contract - negotiated a decade ago, before the advent of iTunes and other online retailers - applied only to physical albums, not Internet sales. The prog-rock group sued the music label, saying its contract prohibited selling the tracks "unbundled" from their original album setting. to stop selling downloads of Pink Floyd tracks individually rather than as part of the band's original records.
The Weinstein brothers have scored successes with other Broadway musicals including The Producers and the revival of Gypsy.LONDON - In a victory for the concept album, Britain's High Court on Thursday ordered record company EMI Group Ltd. Harvey Weinstein said he was "thrilled" to "give new generations the opportunity to see this legendary show". Even after two decades since its first release, The Wall continues to break through every generational, socio-economic and political boundary." Mr Mottola, the former head of Sony Music in North America and now in charge of Universal Music's Casablanca Records, said: "There are few projects as timeless as The Wall. Waters split with the band in the 1980s and went on to produce a number of solo albums. He said of the planned stage show: "Now I can write in some laughs, notable by their absence in the movie."
Waters, though, appears to have mellowed. The hit single from the album, Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2), became a totem for adolescent angst - partic ularly with the line "We don't need no education". In 1990, Waters staged a £4m concert of the album at the foot of the Berlin wall, that was also recorded and filmed. Still, the collaboration with the animator Gerald Scarfe and the director Alan Parker became a cult favourite, and was praised for its groundbreaking use of music and striking images, years ahead of MTV. The film, released in 1982 was less commercially successful, grossing $22m in North America. The 1979 double album sold more than 23m copies, making it the third best-selling ever, and it spent two years in the charts. Some of the more violent images in the film included children being fed into a meat grinder, man-eating flowers having sex, and the lead character reinventing himself as a Hitler-figure. Pink ponders the death of his father in the second world war, the smothering behaviour of his mother and his maltreatment by teachers at school. The film version of the semi-autobiographical album was released in 1982, featuring Bob Geldof in the role of Pink, a burned out rock star who sinks into depression and reflects on his life. The show fulfils Waters' original concept for The Wall, as an album, film and stage musical. It is expected to also include some new music, and other Pink Floyd tracks not on The Wall. Waters will write the play and arrange and orchestrate the music for the show, with the aim of raising the curtain in a year to 18 months. Roger Waters, the main creative force behind the 1970s band, has teamed up with Harvey and Bob Weinstein of Miramax films and the music mogul Tommy Mottola. There are plans for a stage version of the album, 25 years after it was released. The Wall, Pink Floyd's dark rock opera, looks likely to brave the glittering lights of Broadway.