The Australian Pink Floyd @ Brighton Centre – 28th November 2025
I first saw The Australian Pink Floyd at Glastonbury in the late 1990s and was stunned; having already seen Pink Floyd a few times, I genuinely couldn’t tell the difference. It wasn’t just the musicianship — it was the lights, lasers and special effects. Since then I’ve seen them a few times, including here four years ago, and the standard has never dropped.
The band is something of a franchise, the personnel changing regularly, and their anonymity preserves the illusion. Ironically, there are now no Australians in The Australian Pink Floyd. The players are English, Scottish and German, although one original member remains the musical director.
Pre-show music is resolutely pre-1977 and an introductory film features kangaroos. As 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Wish You Were Here, the first set largely consists of that album. The opening film even recreates the sleeve with a kangaroo shaking hands with a burning man. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts I–V) unfolds just like the record, with the lead vocalist and backing singers appearing only near the end of the instrumental section. Syd Barrett’s image adorns the backdrop.
The spectacle recalls mid-to-late 1970s Pink Floyd, complete with additional musicians and a focus on visuals. Between Have A Cigar and Wish You Were Here, the familiar radio-tuning interlude is given an Australian twist, tuning into snippets of Neighbours, Kylie, Down Under and Back In Black. For Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts VI–IX), a guitarist moves to lap steel, faithfully recreating the original sound.
Rather than ending there, the set continues with highlights from The Wall, including In The Flesh, Another Brick In The Wall (Pts 2 & 3) and Goodbye Cruel World, complete with inflatable teacher. It’s a reminder of Roger Waters’ talent for bleakness.
The second set begins with Arnold Layne before leaning heavily into The Dark Side Of The Moon, with powerful renditions of Time, Breathe (Reprise), The Great Gig In The Sky (shared by all three vocalists) and Money.
The post-Dark Side selections — Sorrow, Marooned and Coming Back To Life — lack the edge of the earlier material and momentarily drain momentum, sounding overly smooth compared to the classics.
Momentum returns with a monstrous One Of These Days, complete with a giant inflatable kangaroo, followed by a thunderous Run Like Hell featuring kangaroo-headed marching hammers and an inflatable pig.
The encore, Comfortably Numb, is sublime — genuinely stunning. Calling The Australian Pink Floyd “as close as you’ll get to seeing Pink Floyd” does them a disservice. They are every bit as good live as Pink Floyd ever were.
WORDS: MARK KELLY PHOTOS: ROBERT SUTTON
