A Momentary Lapse of Reason is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released in the UK on 7 September 1987 by EMI and the following day in the US by Columbia Records. It was recorded primarily on the converted houseboat Astoria, belonging to the guitarist, David Gilmour.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason was the first Pink Floyd album recorded without founding member Roger Waters, who departed in 1985. The production was marred by legal fights with Waters over the rights to the Pink Floyd name, which were not resolved until several months after release. It also saw the return of Richard Wright, the group's keyboardist who had been fired by Waters during the recording of The Wall (1979). Wright returned as a session player.
Unlike most of Pink Floyd's studio records from the preceding decade, A Momentary Lapse of Reason is not a concept album. It includes writing contributions from outside songwriters, following Gilmour's decision to include material once intended for his third solo album. The album was promoted with three singles: the double A-side "Learning to Fly" / "Terminal Frost", "On the Turning Away", and "One Slip".
A Momentary Lapse of Reason received mixed reviews. Critics praised the production and instrumentation, but criticised the songwriting, especially the lyrics, and it was derided by Waters. It reached number three in the UK and US, and outsold Pink Floyd's previous album, The Final Cut (1983). It was supported by a successful world tour between 1987 and 1989, including a free performance on a barge on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy.
Background
After the release of Pink Floyd's 1983 studio album The Final Cut, viewed by some as a de facto solo record by bassist and songwriter Roger Waters, the band members worked on solo projects. Guitarist David Gilmour expressed feelings about his strained relationship with Waters on his second solo studio album, About Face (1984), and finished the accompanying tour as Waters began touring to promote his debut solo studio album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. Although both had enlisted a range of successful performers, including in Waters' case Eric Clapton, their solo acts attracted fewer fans than Pink Floyd; poor ticket sales forced Gilmour to cancel several concerts, and critic David Fricke felt that Waters' show was "a petulant echo, a transparent attempt to prove that Roger Waters was Pink Floyd". Waters returned to the US in March 1985 with a second tour, this time without the support of CBS Records, which had expressed its preference for a new Pink Floyd album; Waters criticised the corporation as "a machine".