While generally thought of an English band, Pink Floyd has a number of documented ties to Long Island. Pink Floyd's ambitious 1980-1981 tour in support of The Wall was only performed in four cities, and one of those was Uniondale on Long Island, which you can watch some of here. Bassist Roger Waters was documented to have performed impromptu at Amagansett's Stephen Talkhouse in 2012 as part of G.E. Smith's birthday party, which you can watch here. The same year, Waters was photographed alongside fellow Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer Jon Bon Jovi in East Hampton. Waters was also documented to have aided the Shinnecock Nation in 2019 with relation to Hampton Bays billboards, which you can read about here. Roger Waters activity out east aside, Long Island's Vanderbilt Museum has long been home to a "Laser Floyd" show, as spotlighting the band's Dark Side Of The Moon album.
Pink Floyd touring musician Scott Page is believed to be a native Long Islander. Page can be seen and heard on the Delicate Sound of Thunder release, as filmed over 5 nights at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale in August 1988. Page was also aprt of the Pink Floyd television documentary and live concert Pink Floyd in Venice.
Legendary drummer Carmine Appice, who has lived in Long Beach and Oceanside, played on the track “Dogs of War, as featured on Pink Floyd's 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Per Appice, he "only heard the record after it was released."
More on the Nassau County Library System's offerings related to Pink Floyd can be found here.
Researched by Darren Paltrowitz on May 19, 2025. Updated on May 29, 2025.
Public Enemy was founded by Long Island natives Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and Terminator X. Their early albums were released by the Def Jam label, as co-founded by Lido Beach native Rick Rubin. Early recordings of the group were produced at Spectrum City Studios in Hempstead and the Sabella studio in Roslyn. Chuck D and Flavor Flav are said to have met while attending Garden City's Adelphi University. A Public Enemy music video filmed in Long Beach can be seen here. Some of the Nassau County Libraries resources on-file for Public Enemy can be found by clicking here and here.
Public Enemy is referenced and shown within the newly-released, Tribeca-screened documentary about Long Island's history with hip-hop called The Sixth Borough. Research related to this film was contributed by the Freeport Memorial Library's own Regina Feeney, who is thanked within the film's end credits. Some vintage-style Long Island-themed Public Enemy merch helmed by a Freeport Memorial Library employee can be seen here.
Researched by Darren Paltrowitz on April 16, 2025. Updated on June 12, 2025.