Did Pink Floyd ever play 'Speak to Me' live with the heartbeat? It was always a tape in 1973.

On the 1973 Dark Side of the Moon tour, the band never played “Speak to Me” live with instruments. The opening track was always a pre-recorded tape because its sonic collage—heartbeat, cash register, mad laughter—was too complex and precise to reproduce in real time. The four-piece simply stood in the dark while the tape rolled, then kicked into “Breathe” as the lights came up.

The heartbeat itself was a recorded sample of drummer Nick Mason’s actual heart (or, by some accounts, a studio sound effect). There was no live drumming or synth patch for that opening. So if you saw Pink Floyd in 1973, you heard a tape—and the band listened to it right along with you.