"Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...

,'' written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

against corporal punishment, and rigid and abusive schooling, features a children's choir. At the suggestion of producer

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezrin's car ...

, 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 sold over four million copies worldwide and topped singles charts in fourteen countries, including in the UK and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

and was ranked number 384 on ''

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''s list of "

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

Concept

The three parts of "Another Brick in the Wall" appear on Pink Floyd's 1979

album ''

''. They are essentially one verse each, although Part 2 sees its own verse sung twice: once by Floyd members, and the second time by the guest choir. During "Part 1", the protagonist, Pink, begins building a metaphorical wall around himself following the death of his father. In "Part 2", traumas involving his overprotective mother and abusive schoolteachers become 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 A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

against rigid schooling, particularly boarding schools. "Another Brick in the Wall" appears in the film based on the album. 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

, Pink Floyd added elements of disco, which was popular at the time. According to guitarist David Gilmour: Gilmour recorded his guitar solo using a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar with

P-90 The P-90 (sometimes written P90) is a single coil electric guitar pickup produced by Gibson since 1946. Gibson is still producing P-90s, and there are outside companies that manufacture replacement versions. Compared to other single coil desi ...

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. He also had engineer Nick Griffiths record children singing the verse at

Islington Green School City of London Academy Islington (COLAI, formerly Islington Green School) is an 11–18 mixed, secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Islington, Greater London, England. It was established in 1966 and adopted its present name af ...

, close to Pink Floyd's studio. Griffiths was instructed to record only two or three children; inspired by a

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

album featuring an audience in each stereo channel, he suggested recording an entire school choir. The school allotted only 40 minutes for the recording. 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 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

. 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 Professor Margaret Maden (born 16 April 1940) is a British educationalist who was Headteacher of Islington Green School in Inner London from 1975–1983. She is said to have led the school from being "on the brink of closure" to becoming over-subsc ...

, 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 practising 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." For the single version, a four-bar instrumental intro was added to the song that was created by looping a section of the backing track. The single fades out during the guitar solo. The version included on the compilation ''

A Collection of Great Dance Songs ''A Collection of Great Dance Songs'' is a compilation album by English rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on 23 November 1981 in the United Kingdom by Harvest Records and in the United States by Columbia Records. Content The album contai ...

'' combines the single version's intro and the LP version's ending. (Later compilations such as '' Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd'' and '' The Best of Pink Floyd: A Foot in the Door'' instead include the album version prefaced by "

The Happiest Days of Our Lives "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" is a song by Pink Floyd. It appeared on ''The Wall'' album in 1979. Composition The song is approximately one minute, 46 seconds in length, beginning with 24 seconds of a helicopter sound effect, followed by the sc ...

".) In exchange for performing vocals, 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 for the children. Following a change to UK copyright law in 1996, they became eligible for royalties from broadcasts. After royalties agent Peter Rowan traced the choir members through the website

Friends Reunited Friends Reunited was a portfolio of social networking websites based upon the themes of reunion with research, dating and job-hunting. The first and eponymous website was created by a husband-and-wife team in the classic back-bedroom Internet s ...

and other means, they successfully 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 also the

Christmas number one In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

of 1979 and the final 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. '' Cash Box'' described it as a "catchy but foreboding selection, with its ominously steady drum work and angry lyrics." 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

for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group. It appeared at number 384 on ''

''s 2010 list of "

". The lyrics attracted controversy. The

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corp ...

described the song as "scandalous", and according to Renshaw, prime minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

"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 aters'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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in 1980 after it was adopted by supporters of a nationwide school boycott protesting instituted racial inequities in education under

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

.(UPI) "South Africa Bans Floyd's 'The Wall'" ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' 15 July 1980: C6

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Sales and certifications

Personnel

Personnel, according to ''The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia''. Part 1 * Roger Waters – lead vocals, bass * David Gilmour – guitar, harmony vocals * Richard Wright – Prophet-5 synthesizer, Minimoog Part 2 * Roger Waters – bass, vocals (unison with Gilmour) * David Gilmour – guitar, vocals (unison with Waters) * Nick Mason – drums * Richard Wright – Hammond organ, Prophet-5 synthesizer *

students (organized by Alun Renshaw) – vocals Part 3 * Roger Waters – bass, vocals, rhythm guitar * David Gilmour – lead guitar * Nick Mason – drums * Richard Wright – Prophet-5 synthesizer

Pink Floyd live versions

The song featured in most Pink Floyd live gigs since its release (the only notable exceptions being the

Knebworth Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden ...

1990 appearance and the

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

reunion gig). During the 1980/1981 Wall tour, the song was performed close to the original recording (with the children's singing played from tape), except that the ending was markedly expanded. As can be heard on ''

Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81 ''Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81'' is a live album released by Pink Floyd in 2000. It is a live rendition of ''The Wall'', produced and engineered by James Guthrie, with tracks selected from the August 1980 and June 19 ...

'', Gilmour's solo was followed by another guitar solo (played by

Snowy White Terence Charles "Snowy" White (born 3 March 1948, Barnstaple, Devon) is an English guitarist, known for having played with Thin Lizzy (permanent member from 1980 to 1982) and with Pink Floyd (as a backing guitarist; he was first invited to tour ...

in 1980 and Andy Roberts in 1981) and finally an organ solo by Richard Wright. The song was differently arranged on both tours after the departure of Roger Waters. On all shows of the Gilmour-led Floyd, Gilmour sang the lead vocals in unison with Guy Pratt, the children's vocals were augmented by live singing from the female backing vocalists, and the song incorporated a second guitar solo (by

Tim Renwick Timothy John Pearson Renwick (born 7 August 1949) is an English guitarist. He is best known for his association with Al Stewart in his early career and for his long-standing role as lead guitarist for the Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. His single ...

) but no keyboard solo. Aside from this, the overall arrangements in 1987-1989 and 1994 were different. On the

A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour was two consecutive concert tours by the British rock band Pink Floyd. The ''A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour'' ran from September 1987 to August 1988; the ''Another Lapse tour'' ran from May–July 1989. Both t ...

, the two guitar solos were adjoined by a short piece of jamming. The song now started with an intro similar to the single version but with a 'teaser break' before the start of the vocals, and ended with a fadeout drowned out by children's voices (not dissimilar to the album version). This arrangement can be heard on

Delicate Sound of Thunder ''Delicate Sound of Thunder'' is a live album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was recorded over five nights at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, in August 1988 and mixed at Abbey Road Studios in September 1988. It was ...

''. The 1994 tour, instead, saw a different and longer version that combines elements of all the songs's three parts. On ''

Pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the n ...

'', the song opens with the phone signal (which originally bridged Part 2 with "

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

"), then a helicopter is heard (from "

"), before the band starts playing a short instrumental excerpt of Part 1. The bombastic ending of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" leads into Part 2 (as on the album), and the ending incorporates the keyboard arpeggio of Part 3, the return of helicopter noises before the song comes to a full stop (as opposed to a fade-out). On the version from the Pulse (1995 film), video, the final minute also includes a sample of the vocal echo of " Dogs". From 1988 onwards, Pink Floyd utilized additional sampled parts of the kids' choir, which were triggered by

Jon Carin Jon Carin (born October 21, 1964) is a musician, singer, songwriter and producer who has been a longtime collaborator with the bands Pink Floyd and The Who, and the solo careers of David Gilmour and Roger Waters, Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, ...

. Most notably, the space between the second verse and David Gilmour's solo was always filled with the shout "Hey, teacher!". In addition, on 1988 and 1989 shows, Carin also triggered the same sample in a 'stuttering' manner over Guy Pratt's short bass solo bridging Gilmour's and Renwick's solo. On the original releases of ''Delicate Sound of Thunder'' and ''Pulse'' however, this effect was muted (even though the DVD of ''Pulse'' still shows the stage LEDs spelling out "HEY TEACHER" at the appropriate moments). The 2019 remix of ''Delicate Sound of Thunder'' restores the first "Hey, teacher" and even brings the second sampling up in the mix, despite it being relatively quiet on all bootlegs of the era and inaudible on the mix of the Venice concert, which however has the first "Hey, teacher" intact.

Roger Waters versions

A live version of "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" with

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

on vocals, recorded on 21 July 1990 at

Potsdamer Platz Potsdamer Platz (, ''Potsdam Square'') is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corn ...

, was released as a single on 10 September 1990 to promote ''

The Wall – Live in Berlin ''The Wall – Live in Berlin'' was a live concert performance by Roger Waters and numerous guest artists, of the Pink Floyd studio album ''The Wall'', itself largely written by Waters during his time with the band. The show was held in Berlin ...

''. The B-side was the live version of "

Run Like Hell "Run Like Hell" is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour and Roger Waters. It appears on the album '' The Wall''. It was released as a single in 1980, reaching #15 in the Canadian singles chart as well as ...

" performed with

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

at the same concert. In promotion of ''The Wall – Live in Berlin'' a new studio version was recorded by Roger Waters & The Bleeding Heart Band that was released on promo compilation titled ''The Wall Berlin '90'' featuring Pink Floyd and Roger Waters solo recordings. Another live version appeared on Waters' album ''

In the Flesh – Live ''In the Flesh – Live'' is a two-disc live album that captures performances from Roger Waters' three-year In the Flesh tour. Overview "My view is that I've been involved in two absolutely classic albums – ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' an ...

'', integrated between "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and "Mother" as on the original album, but with a reprise of the first verse ending the song. For later shows, Waters usually employed local school choirs to perform the song with him (as can be seen on '' Roger Waters: The Wall''). From 2011 to 2013, Waters added an acoustic coda called "The Ballad of

Jean Charles de Menezes Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

Track listings

Korn version

Nu metal band Korn covered all three parts along with " Goodbye Cruel World" in 2004 for the compilation album '' Greatest Hits, Vol. 1''. The cover was released as a promotional single, peaking at number 37 on the

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

chart and number 12 on the

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart. A live music video was released to promote the single, directed by Bill Yukich. Will Levith of ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' called Korn's cover "one of the worst covers of a classic rock song of all time". Jason Birchmeier of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

described it as "overwrought, yet enticingly so".

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

Jonathan Davis Jonathan Howsmon Davis (born January 18, 1971), also known as JD or JDevil, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of nu metal band Korn, who are considered a pioneering act of the nu ...

– vocals * James "Munky" Shaffer – lead guitar *

Brian "Head" Welch Brian Philip Welch (born June 19, 1970), also known by his stage name Head, is an American musician. He is one of the guitarists and founding member of the nu metal band Korn and his solo project Love and Death, where he also provides vocals. ...

– rhythm guitar * Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu – bass *

David Silveria David Randall Silveria (born September 21, 1972) is an American drummer, best known as the original drummer for nu metal band Korn from 1993 until leaving the band in 2006. He then became the drummer for Infinika, which was formed in 2012 and d ...

– drums

Derivative works

* The rock band Blurred Vision released a cover of Pink Floyd's " Another Brick In The Wall Part 2" dubbed "Hey Ayatollah Leave Those Kids Alone". Filmmaker

Babak Payami Babak Payami ( fa, بابک پیامی , born 1966) is an Iranian-Canadian film director, writer and producer. Biography Born in Tehran, Iran, Payami grew up in Afghanistan and Iran before leaving for Europe and subsequently Canada, where he ...

produced a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, which quickly went viral on the video-sharing platform

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. The remake was also publicly endorsed by Pink Floyd's Roger Waters. In October 2022 in reaction to the Great wave of Iranian protests of Autumn 2022 the band published an updated clip, featuring scenes from these protests with women taking off their obligatory headscarfs.

References

Citations

Sources

* * *

External links

Concept

Recording

Reception

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Sales and certifications

Personnel

Pink Floyd live versions

Roger Waters versions

Track listings

Korn version

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

Derivative works

See also

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links