"Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

's 1979 album '' The Wall'', written by the bassist,

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. In 1965, he co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd as the bassist. Following the departure of the group's main songwriter Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became ...

. "Part 2", a protest song against

corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

and rigid and abusive schooling, features a children's choir. At the suggestion of the 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, Ezri ...

, Pink Floyd incorporated elements of

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

. "Part 2" was Pink Floyd's first UK single since " Point Me at the Sky" (1968). It sold more than four million copies worldwide and topped singles charts in 14 countries, including the UK and the US. It was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

and was ranked number 384 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s list of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Concept

The three parts of "Another Brick in the Wall" appear 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 ...

album '' The Wall''. 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 along with Waters and Gilmour. 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

wrote "Part 2" as a

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

against rigid schooling, particularly

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

s. "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 the producer

, Pink Floyd added elements of

, which was popular at the time. According to the guitarist,

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...

: Gilmour recorded his guitar solo using a 1955

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typic ...

Gold Top guitar with P-90 pickups. The American session guitarist

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born in 1952, in Los Angeles, California. At the age of eight he started playing guitar and four years l ...

said in a 2024 interview that Ezrin had him record some ideas for the solo, as Pink Floyd could not decide how to end it. Though his parts were not used, he said he detected his influence in the last bars of Gilmour's solo. Despite his reservations about the disco element, Gilmour felt the final song 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 the engineer Nick Griffiths record children singing the verse at Islington Green School, 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 musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

album featuring an audience in each stereo channel, he suggested recording a school choir. The school allotted only 40 minutes for the recording. Alun Renshaw, the 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 ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

. 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." The children's choir in the recording featured 23 students, who practised for about a week to prepare. Renshaw hid the lyrics from the headteacher, Margaret Maden, 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." 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 arrangement for

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

for the children. Following a change to

UK copyright law Under the law of the United Kingdom, a copyright is an intangible property right subsisting in certain qualifying subject matter. Copyright law is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (the 1988 Act), as amended from time to t ...

in 1996, they became eligible for royalties from broadcasts. After the royalties agent Peter Rowan traced the choir members through the social network service Friends Reunited 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 of 1979 and the final number one of the decade in the UK. It remained at the top until mid-January, in the process also becoming the first UK number of the 1980s. In the US, it reached number 57 on the disco chart. The single sold over 4 million copies worldwide. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as a "catchy but foreboding selection, with its ominously steady drum work and angry lyrics." Critic Mike Cormack said "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" was a "magnificent achievement: its catchy rhythm undercutting the darkness of the song’s theme, the irony of its chorus belying the acidulous disdain of the lyric, Waters’ quality as a wordsmith on display with the excellent phrase ‘dark sarcasm’, and the simplicity of its structure giving it a tight focus." 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 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The lyrics attracted controversy. The

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...

described the song as "scandalous", and according to Renshaw, Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

"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 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: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

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

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 *

– lead vocals, bass *

– guitar, harmony vocals * Richard Wright –

Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential (company), Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith (engineer), Dave Smith and John S. Bowen (sound designer), John Bowen in 1977. It was the first Polyphony ...

synthesiser,

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

Part 2 * Roger Waters – bass, vocals (unison with Gilmour) * David Gilmour – guitar, vocals (unison with Waters) *

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He has been the only constant member since the band's formation in 1965, and the only member to appear on every ...

– drums * Richard Wright –

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

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

Roger Waters versions

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

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

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 building, Reichstag (Bundestag, German Parliament Building), and ...

, was released as a single on 10 September 1990 to promote '' The Wall – Live in Berlin''. The B-side was the live version of " Run Like Hell" performed with

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

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'', 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".

Track listings

Korn version

The American

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

band

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

covered all three parts, along with ''The Wall'' song "Goodbye Cruel World", for a track on their 2004 compilation album '' Greatest Hits, Vol. 1''. It was released as a promotional single and reached number 37 on the

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

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 a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

chart. A live music video was released, directed by Bill Yukich. Will Levith of '' Ultimate Classic Rock'' called Korn's cover "one of the worst covers of a classic rock song of all time," while Jason Birchmeier of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the cover as "overwrought, yet enticingly so".

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

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

– vocals * James "Munky" Shaffer – rhythm guitar * Brian "Head" Welch – lead guitar * Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu – bass * David Silveria – drums

Derivative works

* American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

supergroup Class of '99's only known recordings were cover versions of "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" and "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)", recorded in 1998 for the soundtrack to

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( ; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ...

's science-fiction horror film ''

The Faculty ''The Faculty'' is a 1998 American science fiction horror film directed and edited by Robert Rodriguez with a screenplay by Kevin Williamson. It stars Jordana Brewster in her film debut, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Ha ...

'', the movie and soundtrack being released later that year. In 1999, the cover of "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" was issued as the only single from the soundtrack. These recordings were

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

singer Layne Staley's final studio appearance prior to his death by drug overdose in April 2002. * " Proper Education" – a 2007 remix of the song by Swedish DJ Eric Prydz, with the band credited as Floyd. * The rock band

Blurred Vision Blurred vision is an ocular symptom where vision becomes less precise and there is added difficulty to resolve fine details. Temporary blurred vision may involve dry eyes, eye infections, alcohol poisoning, hypoglycemia, or low blood pressur ...

released a cover of "Another Brick In The Wall Part 2" dubbed "Hey Ayatollah Leave Those Kids Alone". Filmmaker Babak Payami produced a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, which quickly went viral on the video-sharing platform

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. The remake was also publicly endorsed by Roger Waters. In October 2022 in reaction to the Great wave of Iranian protests of Autumn 2022 Blurred Vision 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

Roger Waters versions

Track listings

Korn version

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

Derivative works

See also

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links