Why Pink Floyd Played Only Half of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' on the 1987 Tour

On the 1987 A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour, Pink Floyd revived “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” for the first time since Roger Waters’ departure—but only Parts 1–5, ending at David Gilmour’s guitar solo. The band did briefly consider playing the complete nine-part version, but practicality won. The full piece runs over 26 minutes, and with a setlist already packed with new material and other epics like “Comfortably Numb,” fitting the whole thing in was a non-starter.

According to production notes and interviews from the time, Gilmour and the crew felt that Parts 1–5 contained the song’s emotional core: the slow synth intro, the memorable saxophone themes, and the soaring guitar solo that closes Part 5. That solo became a natural endpoint—once it fades out, the song feels complete rather than truncated. Ending there also avoided the jarring transition into Part 6’s funk-rock section, which would have required Waters’ vocal presence and felt out of place in a post-Waters set. So the decision was less about artistic debate and more about making the moment land in a live setting. The truncated version worked so