Scott Page’s Role on the 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason' Tour

Scott Page wasn’t just the saxophonist who stepped onstage for the 1987–89 tour—he was effectively a sixth member who let Pink Floyd play songs they couldn’t have pulled off live before. The A Momentary Lapse of Reason album leaned heavily on sax and woodwinds (especially on “The Dogs of War” and “Terminal Frost”), and Page handled those parts faithfully. But the real surprise was how he transformed older material: his tenor sax solo on “Money” gave that tune a grittier, jazzier feel compared to the original, and his work on “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” layered in the flute and sax lines that Dick Parry had played on the studio version.

Page’s presence also allowed the band to widen its live palette beyond the classic four-piece lineup. He played guitar on “One Slip,” added keyboards on “Welcome to the Machine,” and even sang backing vocals. For a band that had famously avoided adding extra musicians onstage for decades (barring backing vocalists in the ‘70s), this was a notable shift. It signaled that Pink Floyd was now comfortable being a larger ensemble, and it helped bridge the gap between the synthetic textures of the new album and the band’s older, more organic sound. Fans either loved the expanded arrangements