Photo Credit: Anton Corbijn

On Thursday, November 7, 2024, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon amid his extensive run at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where he is supporting his latest solo release, Luck and Strange. During the music industry legend’s stop by the late-night talk show, he spoke with the program’s host, who questioned the theory of synchronicity between The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz, commonly referred to as the Dark Side of the Rainbow.

“You said that you think it’s your best work since Dark Side of the Moon,” Fallon questioned at the top of the segment, comparing Gilmour’s comments regarding his latest release, and the Pink Floyd classic. “When we finished Dark Side, there was a lot of crossfades and stuff between all the tracks. They had all to be done separately and then they all have to be edited in the old days before Pro Tools. When we finally finished, we sat down in the control room at Abbey Road and listened to it all the way through. And, wow. I–I guess all of us–have the feeling that it was something quite amazing–that we got it, and at the same point on this album, I had a very similar feeling, which is why I said that.” 

Fallon stewed on Luck and Strange during a series of follow-up questions that assisted in painting a portrait of familial involvement during the making of Gilmour’s 2024 release–harnessing the conversation to the artist’s preferred homebred approach before they segued into the realm of the Emerald City. Fallon landed on the topic of Oz during a bit aimed at busting rumors that have populated throughout the musician’s 60-year tenure in the spotlight.

“The Pink Floyd album, Dark Side of the Moon, was written to synchronize with the movie Wizard of Oz,” Fallon suggested. Prompting Gilmour’s humor-tinged response, “Well, of course it was.” Fallon threw his hands up in response, acting on the comedic angle, before the musician clarified, “No, no. We listened to it, Polly and I, years ago–” Fallon stopped the artist to ask, “There’s no planning that out?” Gilmour continued, “No. No, I mean, I only heard about it years later. Somebody said you put the needle on–vinyl that is– and on the third–you know you got the film running somehow–and on the third roar of the MGM lion, you put the needle on for the beginning of Dark Side, and there’s these strange synchronicities that happen.” 

Fallon asked if Gilmour had ever tested the theory, to which he exclaimed, “Yeah!” He went on to admit, “And there are these strange coincidences–I’ll call them coincidences.” 

Watch the conversation below.