Pink Floyd opens the Animals archive for its fiftieth anniversary
Pink Floyd will release Animals 50 on 22 January 2027, pairing the original album and a later remix with previously unreleased studio material and a 1977 Oakland concert. A radio edit of Sheep is already available, while a companion book returns to the recording sessions and the making of the famous cover.
Arts··Night
Unreleased sessions join the anniversary edition
Pink Floyd, the British rock group, has announced an anniversary edition of Animals containing previously unreleased recordings and a concert from Oakland in the United States. The project revisits the album through material from both the studio and the stage.[1], [2]
Sony Music will release Animals 50 on 22 January 2027. It includes the original album from 1977 and the remix completed by James Guthrie in 2018. Among the archival selections are early attempts at Dogs and Sheep, the piece Studio Jam and Young Nicholas Jon, a track by Roger Waters. These selections document work surrounding the album alongside its familiar finished recordings.[1]
A radio edit and an Oakland performance emerge
The announcement also made the original radio edit of Sheep commercially available. Running roughly four and a half minutes, it was prepared for promotional radio circulation in 1977. The album itself retains its sequence: Pigs on the Wing 1 leads into Dogs, Pigs (Three Different Ones) and Sheep, before closing with Pigs on the Wing 2.[1]
The live recording dates from 9 May 1977 at Oakland Coliseum Arena. Reinhard Hohlwein captured the performance at the age of 19. After the Animals songs, the announced running order moves through parts of Shine On You Crazy Diamond and other catalogue works, including Welcome to the Machine, Have a Cigar and Wish You Were Here. Money, Us and Them and Careful with That Axe, Eugene are included too.[1]
The companion book returns to Britannia Row
A 64-page book accompanies the recordings, with new writing by author Jonathan Lethem, an interview with Hohlwein and a memoir excerpt from cover designer Aubrey “Po” Powell of Hipgnosis. Its pictures cover the sessions, the Battersea Power Station cover shoot and the tour. Pink Floyd made Animals at its own Britannia Row studio. Drummer Nick Mason recalls a design that allowed the musicians to operate the equipment themselves, including clearly labelled headphone connections. Guitarist David Gilmour suggests the punk music of the period may have influenced their approach to the work.[1]
