It Would Be So Nice


"It Would Be So Nice" is a 1968 song by the rock band Pink Floyd, written by the keyboard player/singer Richard Wright. It was the fourth single released by the group. The song was left out of the 1971 collection Relics and, prior to the release of The Early Singles in 1992 with the box set Shine On, it was only available on the compilation The Best of the Pink Floyd and the famous bootleg Dark Side of the Moo. Its B-side, "Julia Dream", was written by the bass guitarist Roger Waters and was also re-released on The Early Singles.
Despite appearing on the picture sleeve produced in Sweden, Syd Barrett does not perform on either side of the single.

Different versions

According to a newspaper story published in 1968, there are two versions of the original single with slightly different lyrics. The story goes that the first lyric had a passing reference to the London evening newspaper, the Evening Standard. This was said to be banned by the BBC because of a strict no-advertising policy which did not allow the mention of any product by name. It is claimed that the group was forced to spend additional time and expense to record a special version for the BBC which changed the lyric to "Daily Standard". This version is the only one that has been reissued on LP and CD. It is unknown how many of the "Evening Standard" discs, if any, actually exist. Despite the added publicity, the single received very little airplay and failed to enter the UK Singles Chart.

Reception

In The Dark Side of the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece, John Harris writes about the song:
Nick Mason was even more vocal than Waters in his dislike for the song:

Personnel

A cover version of the song appears on Captain Sensible's second solo album, The Power of Love.