Richard Wright, keyboardist and founding member of legendary rock outfit Pink Floyd, died Monday (9/15) after a short battle with cancer, according to published reports. He was 65.
The BBC quoted a spokesperson for Wright as saying: "The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness that Richard died today after a short struggle with cancer. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.
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No mention was made of the specific type of cancer to which the musician succumbed.
Wright met fellow Pink Floyd co-founders Roger Waters and Nick Mason at college and joined a previous incarnation of the band dubbed Sigma 6. That group morphed into Pink Floyd.
Wright's contributions to the iconic prog-rock act included writing songs such as "The Great Gig in the Sky" and "Us and Them" from the band's famed 1973 album, "The Dark Side of the Moon".
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Wright resigned from the group during recording sessions for "The Wall", but toured with the band in support of the set. His role as a recording member of the group resumed with the 1987 album, "A Momentary Lapse of Reason", and continued with 1994's "The Division Bell".
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Wright most recently appeared with Pink Floyd during a one-off reunion performance at 2005's Live 8 concert in London.
In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Wright released two solo albums--1978's "Wet Dream" and 1996's "Broken China"--as well as "Identity," a 1984 album that is the only output from Zee, a short-lived side project that Wright formed with Dave Harris (Fashion).
Richard Wright, keyboardist and founding member of legendary rock outfit Pink Floyd, died Monday (9/15) after a short battle with cancer, according to published reports. He was 65.
