May 26, 2016: Royal Mail Reveals Pink Floyd Stamps

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In a way, it reunited one of the great classic rock bands and sent them out again to tour the world. England’s Royal Mail announced on May 26, 2016, that it would issue a set of 10 Pink Floyd stamps six weeks hence on July 7 in recognition of the band’s 50 years of making music.

Some of them were album covers spanning from the Syd Barrett-fronted Floyd on the 1967 psychedelic classic The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn to Atom Heart Mother, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and the band’s final 2014 release The Endless River. Others portrayed live performance images from their memorable concert appearances such as London’s legendary 1960s venue the UFO Club and tours such as The Wall tour in 1981.

“We’re celebrating Pink Floyd, one of the most influential and successful British bands of all time, with a superb range of stamps, limited edition souvenirs and gifts,” said the official statement from the Royal Mail, which said it “worked closely” with the band on its collection. “Renowned for creating some of rock music’s most acclaimed albums and iconic imagery, Pink Floyd are also lauded for their ground-breaking live performances. Few bands in the history of rock have managed to carve out a career as rich and expansive as that of Pink Floyd.”

The only previous band to be featured in its own U.K. stamp set was The Beatles in 2007. (Queen became the third, so honored in 2020; the Rolling Stones were the third in 2022.) Pink Floyd did have its LP art for The Division Bell included in a 2010 set of Classic Album covers by the Royal Mail. The July 7 issue date also marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Barrett.

The Royal Mail makes special day of issue and collectors sets available for purchase here.

Pink Floyd was founded in 1965 by guitarist/singer Syd Barrett, drummer Nick Mason, bassist Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright. Guitarist David Gilmour joined in late 1967. Barrett left the group a few months later due to his mental health issues.

We wonder how many people sent someone a letter that said “wish you were here” with a Wish You Were Here stamp.

Pink Floyd’s vast catalog, including many expanded editions, is available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.