Album
Atom Heart Mother
Atom Heart Mother is Pink Floyd's fifth studio album, released on 2 October 1970 on Harvest. It was recorded at EMI Studios in London, now Abbey Road, and sits between Ummagumma and Meddle in the band's catalogue. The title track was co-composed with Ron Geesin, who had already influenced and worked with Roger Waters, and it gives the record its experimental, art-rock character.
It became the band's first number 1 in the UK and reached number 55 in the US, where it eventually went gold. The sleeve, designed by Hipgnosis, shows a Holstein cow in a meadow, with no band name and no photographs of the group, a approach they kept up through the 1970s. Waters and David Gilmour have both spoken poorly of the album since, which makes it a fascinating one to hear for yourself, as a bold step in the band's move towards their biggest years.
Atom Heart Mother: tracklist, credits and charts
5 tracks · 52:06Tracklist
- 1Atom Heart Mother: a) Father’s Shout / b) Breast Milky / c) Mother Fore / d) Funky Dung / e) Mind Your Throats Please / f) RemergenceGeesin, Gilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright23:44
- 2IfRoger Waters4:30
- 3Summer ’68Richard Wright5:29
- 4Fat Old SunDavid Gilmour5:22
- 5Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast: a) Rise and Shine / b) Sunny Side Up / c) Morning GloryGilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright13:00
- Produced by
- Pink Floyd, Norman Smith
- Executive producer
- Norman Smith
- Recorded at
- Abbey Road Studios, EMI, London
- Recorded
- 1 March – 26 July 1970
- Engineered by
- Peter Bown, Alan Parsons, Nick Mason
- Artwork
- Hipgnosis
- Label
- Harvest
- Length
- 52:06
Line-up
- The John Alldis Choir · choir vocals · guest
- Roger Waters · lead vocals, electric bass guitar, tape
- Abbey Road Session Pops Orchestra · brass · guest
- David Gilmour · acoustic guitar, classical guitar, electric bass guitar, electric guitar, drums (drum set), percussion, slide guitar, lead vocals, steel guitar
- Nick Mason · drums (drum set), percussion, tape
- Richard Wright · piano, Hammond organ, lead vocals, farfisa
- Alan Styles · tape, spoken vocals · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1970 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1970 | 55 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1970 | 4 |
| Dutch Albums · 1970 | 5 |
| Danish Albums (Tracklisten) · 1970 | 8 |
| German Albums · 1970 | 8 |
| Italian Albums (Discografia Internazionale) · 1970 | 9 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1970 | 13 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1970 | 30 |
| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) · 2023–2025 | 34 |
All 14 charts
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1970 | 39 |
| Swiss Albums · 2023–2025 | 64 |
| French Albums · 2011–2012 | 66 |
| Spanish Albums · 2011–2012 | 79 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Austria · 1994 | Gold |
| France · 1977 | Gold |
| Germany · 1990 | Gold |
| Italy · 2018 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Gold |
| United States · 1994 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
83.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
4.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
274k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
40k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 2 October
Every year →
More from Pink Floyd
Full discography →
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
1967
A Saucerful of Secrets
1968
More
1969
Ummagumma
1969
The Best of The Pink Floyd
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
The best of 1970
All of 1970 →
More on Harvest
The label →The Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd · 1973
The Wall
Pink Floyd · 1979
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd · 1975
Animals
Pink Floyd · 1977
Meddle
Pink Floyd · 1971
Ummagumma
Pink Floyd · 1969
Obscured by Clouds
Pink Floyd · 1972
Killers
Iron Maiden · 1981
A Nice Pair
Pink Floyd · 1973
A Collection of Great Dance Songs
Pink Floyd · 1981
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1970-10-02; musicbrainz + wikidata 1970-10-10 (8 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 10 October 1970 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 2 October 1970 | |
| Wikidata | 10 October 1970 | |
| US release | 10 October 1970 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 10 October 1970 | earliest UK or European date |
48 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DE | Harvest | other | |
| — | DE | Harvest | other | |
| — | GB | EMI | other | |
| 1970 | IT | Harvest | other | |
| 1970 | DE | Harvest | other | |
| 1970 | ES | Harvest | other | |
| 1970 | JP | Odeon | other | |
| 1970 | FR | Harvest | other | |
| 1970 | CA | Harvest | other | |
| 1970 | ES | EMI‐Odeon, S.A. | other | |
| 10 October 1970 | GB | Harvest | original | |
| 10 October 1970 | US | Harvest | original | |
| 1973 | GB | Harvest | other | |
| August 1973 | GB | Harvest | other | |
| 1974 | DE | Harvest | other | |
| 1975 | US | Harvest | other | |
| 1976 | GB | Harvest | other | |
| 1978 | JP | EMI | other | |
| 1978 | FR | Harvest | other | |
| 1979 | IT | Harvest | other | |
| 1987 | DE | EMI | 077774638128 | other |
| 1987 | IT | EMI | 077774638128 | other |
| 1987 | BR | EMI Odeon Brazil | other | |
| 1987 | GB | EMI | 077774638128 | other |
| 6 April 1987 | JP | EMI | 4988006609228 | other |
| 11 May 1987 | AU | EMI | 077774638128 | other |
| 1989 | US | Capitol Records | 077774638128 | other |
| 1991 | IN | Harvest | other | |
| 1994 | US | Capitol Records | 077774638128 | other |
| 1994 | CA | EMI Music Canada | 724383124626 | other |
| 1994 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775120211 | other |
| 12 January 1994 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775159525 | other |
| 10 October 1994 | GB | EMI United Kingdom | 724383124626 | other |
| 10 October 1994 | GB | EMI United Kingdom | 724383124626 | other |
| 30 August 2000 | JP | EMI | 4988006784123 | other |
| 2001 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 498006791732 | other |
| 2008 | XE | Harvest | other | |
| 1 October 2008 | RU | EMI | 5099926443720 | other |
| 2011 | US | Capitol Records | 5099902894027 | other |
| 26 September 2011 | XE | EMI | 5099902894027 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Columbia | 886445635836 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Pink Floyd Records | 886445613230 | other |
| 8 January 2016 | XE | Pink Floyd Records | 5099902894027 | other |
| 15 January 2016 | US | Pink Floyd Records | 888751708822 | other |
| 23 September 2016 | US | Pink Floyd Records | 888751842212 | other |
| 23 September 2016 | XE | Pink Floyd Records | 0190295997083 | other |
| 1 November 2017 | JP | Pink Floyd Records | 4547366312676 | other |
| 8 December 2023 | DE | Pink Floyd Records | 196587943226 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1419x1419, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1419×1419 | upscaled: minor: best source 1419x1419, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |