Album
A Saucerful of Secrets
A Saucerful of Secrets is Pink Floyd's second studio album, released on 28 June 1968. It arrived in the middle of a difficult change for the band. Syd Barrett, the main songwriter on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was struggling with his mental health during the sessions, so David Gilmour was brought in and Barrett left before the record was finished.
What you hear is a band finding a new way of working. Each member contributed songs and lead vocals, and Barrett appears on three tracks. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is the only song featuring all five members. The album reached number nine in the UK, and although critics often rate it below the debut, reviews were mostly positive. It is a fascinating document of Pink Floyd's psychedelic, space-rock leanings in transition.
A Saucerful of Secrets: tracklist, credits and charts
7 tracks · 39:29Tracklist
- 1Let There Be More LightRoger Waters5:39
- 2Remember a DayRichard Wright4:33
- 3Set the Controls for the Heart of the SunRoger Waters5:27
- 4Corporal CleggRoger Waters4:12
- 5A Saucerful of SecretsGilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright12:00
- 6See‐SawRichard Wright4:37
- 7Jugband BluesSyd Barrett3:01
- Produced by
- Norman Smith
- Recorded at
- Abbey Road Studios, De Lane Lea Studios, EMI and De Lane Lea, London
- Recorded
- 9 May 1967 – 3 May 1968
- Engineered by
- Peter Bown
- Label
- Columbia Records
- Length
- 39:29
Line-up
- David Gilmour · electric guitar, lead vocals, kazoo, slide guitar, other vocals, acoustic guitar, background vocals
- Nick Mason · percussion, drums (drum set), lead vocals, castanets, kazoo
- Roger Waters · bass guitar, other vocals, gong, lead vocals, bass, background vocals, cymbal
- Richard Wright · Hammond organ, piano, farfisa, lead vocals, celesta, vibraphone, mellotron, other vocals, xylophone, tin whistle
- Syd Barrett · acoustic guitar, slide guitar, other vocals, electric guitar, lead vocals
- Norman Smith · drums (drum set), background vocals, other vocals
- Stanley Myers and His Orchestra · brass · guest
- Ray Bowes · cornet · guest
- Terry Camsey · cornet · guest
- Mac Carter · trombone · guest
- Ian Hankey · trombone · guest
Singles
- “Let There Be More Light” · 19 August 1968 (US)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1968 | 9 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2019 | 158 |
| Italian Albums · 2006 | 24 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2022 | 35 |
| German Albums · 2016 | 57 |
| French Albums · 2011 | 166 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Italy · 2020 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2022 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
80.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
4.5k
ListenBrainz listeners
266k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
20k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 28 June
Every year →
More from Pink Floyd
Full discography →
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
1967
More
1969
Ummagumma
1969
The Best of The Pink Floyd
1970
Atom Heart Mother
1970
Relics
1971
Meddle
1971
Obscured by Clouds
1972
The Dark Side of the Moon
1973
A Nice Pair
1973
Wish You Were Here
1975
Animals
1977
The Wall
1979
A Collection of Great Dance Songs
1981
The Final Cut
1983
Works
1983
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
1987
Delicate Sound of Thunder
1988
Live at Pompeii
1990
Shine On
1992
The Division Bell
1994
London 1966/1967
1994
p·u·l·s·e
1995
1967: The First 3 Singles
1997
Is There Anybody out There? The Wall Live: 1980–1981
2000
Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd
2001
Oh by the Way
2007
Discovery
2011
A Foot in the Door: The Best of Pink Floyd
2011
The Endless River
2014
1965: Their First Recordings
2015
The Early Years: 1965–1972
2016
The Later Years: 1987–2019
2019
8‐Tracks
2026
More on Columbia Records
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1968-06-29 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 29 June 1968 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 28 June 1968 | |
| Wikidata | 28 June 1968 | |
| US release | June 1968 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 29 June 1968 | earliest UK or European date |
33 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DE | Harvest | 077774638319 | other |
| 1968 | AU | Columbia Records | other | |
| 1968 | GB | Columbia Records | other | |
| June 1968 | US | Tower | other | |
| 29 June 1968 | GB | Columbia Records | original | |
| 1969 | DE | Columbia | other | |
| 1974 | JP | EMI | other | |
| 1978 | FR | Columbia Records | other | |
| 1986 | GB | Fame | 5099941316313 | other |
| 1987 | XE | EMI | 077774638326 | other |
| 2 February 1987 | GB | EMI | 077774638326 | other |
| 25 February 1987 | JP | EMI | 4988006609204 | other |
| 1990 | US | Capitol Records | 077774638326 | other |
| 1994 | US | Capitol Records | 077774638326 | other |
| 1994 | GB | EMI United Kingdom | 724382975120 | other |
| 1994 | CA | EMI Music Canada | 724382975120 | other |
| 25 July 1994 | GB | EMI United Kingdom | 724382975120 | other |
| 25 July 1994 | GB | EMI United Kingdom | 724382975120 | other |
| 28 September 1994 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006696129 | other |
| 30 May 2001 | JP | EMI | 4988006791701 | other |
| 2008 | RU | EMI | 5099960844125 | other |
| 2011 | BR | EMI | 5099902893624 | other |
| 2011 | AR | EMI | 5099908423627 | other |
| 26 September 2011 | XE | EMI | 5099902893624 | other |
| 27 September 2011 | US | EMI | 5099902893624 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Columbia | 886445635881 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Pink Floyd Records | 886445613209 | other |
| 15 January 2016 | US | Pink Floyd Records | 888751708525 | other |
| 15 January 2016 | XE | Pink Floyd Records | 5099902893624 | other |
| 3 June 2016 | XE | Pink Floyd Records | 0825646493180 | other |
| 1 November 2017 | JP | Pink Floyd Records | 4547366312683 | other |
| 13 April 2019 | US | Columbia | 190759216019 | other |
| 13 April 2019 | XE | Columbia | 0190295506889 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |