David Gilmour made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he addressed the long-standing theory that Pink Floyd’s 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon was intentionally synchronised with the 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz.
According to the myth, if you start the album at the MGM lion’s third roar, scenes from the film align with the music – almost too perfectly to be coincidental.
When Fallon asked about the theory directly, Gilmour replied with a wink, saying, “Well, of course it was,” before clarifying that he and his wife, Polly Samson, had actually tried it out.
“We listened to it, Polly and I, years ago,” he said, but confessed he had only learned about the theory long after the album’s release.
Gilmour went on to explain for the unfamiliar: “Someone said you put the needle on… the third roar of the MGM lion, you put the needle on for the beginning of Dark Side, and there are these strange synchronicities that happen.”
While he admits to the coincidences, he confirmed it was purely unintentional.
Gilmour wrapped up his appearance with a performance of ‘Dark and Velvet Nights’ from his new album Luck and Strange, marking his first US television performance in eight years.
Watch the full interview below (or scrub to 9:31 for The Wizard of Oz chat)
