The First Pink Floyd Album to Go Gold in the UK

Pink Floyd’s first album to be certified gold in the United Kingdom was The Dark Side of the Moon. It achieved gold status in 1973, just months after its release, meaning it had sold over 100,000 copies in the UK at a time when the British Phonographic Industry’s threshold for gold was lower than today’s 100,000 unit requirement (gold now requires 100,000; back then it was the same number but albums were cheaper and vinyl was king).

Before Dark Side, Pink Floyd had a solid cult following with albums like Atom Heart Mother and Meddle, but none had cracked the commercial mainstream enough to reach that sales milestone. The record’s long chart residency—over 900 weeks on the UK Albums Chart—means it eventually went platinum many times over, but the gold certification was the first official industry nod to the band’s commercial arrival.