The Flaming Cow: The Making of Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother

Available with never-before-published material and photographs, an unflinching insider's account of what really happened during and after recording sessions of Atom Heart Mother

The story behind Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother is one of brilliant but often fraught collaboration between the band and composer Ron Geesin, and here Geesin tells the full story. From the time drummer Nick Mason visited Geesin's damp basement apartment in Notting Hill, to the last game of golf between bassist Roger Waters and Geesin, this book is an unflinching account about how one of Pink Floyd's most celebrated compositions came to life. Alongside unpublished photographs from the Abbey Road recording sessions (the only ones taken) and the subsequent performances in London and Paris, Geesin describes how the title was chosen, why he was not credited on the record, how he left Hyde Park in tears, and why the group did not like the work much. After 40 years, Atom Heart Mother remains a much-loved record, and this book explores its newfound cult status that has led to it being studied for the French Baccalauréat.

Ron Geesin is a musician and composer, having composed numerous film and television soundtracks, including Sunday Bloody Sunday and The Body (with Roger Waters). He cowrote Atom Heart Mother with Pink Floyd. Nick Mason is a drummer, songwriter, and the only Pink Floyd member to be featured on every one of their albums.