‘The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains’ is coming to Toronto

Toronto is getting a Pink Floyd exhibit described as “an audio-visual sensorial journey unlike any other.”

“The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains” tells the story of the British rock band through more than 350 artifacts, including handwritten lyrics, musical instruments, stage props and items from the personal collections of the band members; as well as art, design, music, sound and visual technology spread over 20,000 square feet.

It will open June 16 at the Better Living Centre at Exhibition Place after a world tour that began at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, and included Rome; Dortmund, Germany; Madrid, Los Angeles and Montreal.

It’s produced by S2BN Entertainment, led by legendary Canadian promoter Michael Cohl and creative director Aubrey “Po” Powell, who worked with the band on album covers and other works of art, in collaboration with Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.

Toronto has a long history with the band, going back to their 1973 concert at Maple Leaf Gardens and a Toronto DJ’s accidental world premiere of “Dark Side of the Moon” that same year.

“After a hugely successful run in Montreal this past year, it was time to bring the Pink Floyd Exhibition to Toronto to rock the summer,” Cohl said in a news release. “It’s only fitting since Pink Floyd has such strong ties to the city, notably the sold-out 1987 shows that launched the next phase of their storied career. I am thrilled to be able to present this exhibition in my hometown.”

Darrell Brown, CEO of the Canadian National Exhibition, noted that the band played the now demolished Exhibition Stadium seven times in the 1980s and ’90s. “We are honoured to be hosting this incredible retrospective on the grounds where many of their most memorable Toronto concerts took place.”

The show takes its name from a lyric from “Nobody Home” on seminal album “The Wall”: “I’ve got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains.”

According to the news release, it will immerse visitors in Pink Floyd’s world from their 1967 formation through landmark albums like “The Dark Side of the Moon,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Animals,” “The Wall” and “The Division Bell.”

The artifacts on display, some long held in storage facilities, film studios and band members’ collections, include stage props from albums and tours, and “plot both Pink Floyd’s development as a spectacular live band and the broader social, cultural and political threads which ran parallel to their music … fans will see and touch the lifetime of memories that make up their sonic and visceral rock music odysseys.”

An audio guide includes the voices of past and present members of the group, including Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason and David Gilmour, culminating in a recreation of the last performance of Gilmour, Waters, Wright and Mason, the news release says.

Tickets for the exhibit go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at pinkfloydexhibition.com.

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