Nick Mason biography

Synopsis

Early Life and Career

Nicholas Berkeley Mason, better known as Nick Mason, was born on January 27, 1944 in Birmingham, England. His father, Bill Mason, was a well-off documentary filmmaker and an avid fan of auto-racing. He introduced his son to motoring at an early age, and gave him an Aston Martin as a teenager.

Pink Floyd

After high school, Mason went to college at Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster) in London, where he met Roger Waters. In 1963, Mason, Waters, Richard Wright and three other musicians formed a sextet, The Sigma Six. Over the next few years, the band went by numerous different names, including The Meggadeaths, The Screaming Abdabs, Leonard's Lodgers and The Spectrum Five, before arriving at The Tea Set. In 1965, the band spontaneously changed their name to Pink Floyd—a homage to two American blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council—when they learned that another band called The Tea Set would be playing at one of their shows.

Pink Floyd released their first album in 1967, and went on to release a total of 14 studio recordings, including the multi-platinum hits "The Dark Side of the Moon," "Wish You Were Here" and "The Wall." Mason has been the only constant member since Pink Floyd's inception, and played on every one of their albums. He is credited as the sole writer on two of Pink Floyd's songs: "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party Parts 1-3" and "Speak to Me." Though he rarely played other instruments besides the drums, Mason created sound effects for the band's famous Dark Side of the Moon album.

In addition to typical inter-band squabbles and conflicts, Mason became involved in a legal scuffle when Waters left the group in 1985, and, subsequently, attempted to formally dissolve the band and prevent them from using the name Pink Floyd. After a contentious battle, Mason and Gilmour managed to retain the rights to the band's name, and Waters was released from his contractual obligations. Even after the case was settled, tensions remained. Mason and Waters are now on good terms, however.

Other Work

In the 1980s, Mason fronted the project Fictitious Sports with other jazz musicians, most notably Carla Bley, who wrote songs for and co-produced their single album, Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports. It was recorded in 1979, but wasn't released until 1981. Mason also released the album Profiles with Rick Fenn in 1985, and continued to produce and play thereafter with other musicians.

Personal Life

Mason is married and has four children; he had two daughters with his first wife, and two sons with his second and current wife, Annette Lynton. He participates in auto-racing events such as 24 Hours of Le Mans, and collects classic cars.