Around the mid-60s, rock music took a dip into the mysterious pool of psychedelia. Fueled by mind-expanding substances, rock musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles sailed across the universe into our bedrooms via vinyl records. With this zeitgeist in mind, Converse oozes out the radiance of the remarkable Pink Floyd on its Chuck Taylor All Star and Jack Purcell shoes in honour of their contributions to the realm of psychedelic rock.

Beginning with the erratic Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd was a band that pushed the limits of what was considered music. Barrett, showcased poetic lyrics and an eclectic mixture of music ranging from avant-garde free-form pieces such as ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ to whimsical songs such as ‘The Scarecrow’. His lyrics were entirely surreal and often influenced by local folklore.

Towards the late 60s, Barrett’s behaviour become less and less predictable as did his use of LSD. During concerts, he would often stare into space while his band played on, strum on one chord throughout an entire song and detune his guitar on purpose. Barrett was ejected from the band and went into self-imposed seclusion for more than thirty years.

The rest of Pink Floyd, however, benefited under the leadership of bassist/singer Roger Waters and replacement guitarist David Gilmour. Their divergent styles as songwriters gave birth to landmark concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall which have influenced contemporary musicians from Nine Inch Nails to Radiohead.

The Pink Floyd collection takes us through 3 monumental albums. Rainbow reflecting prisms and EKG lines bring out the psychedelic beauty of The Dark Side of The Moon on Chuck Taylor All Star and Jack Purcell shoes. The Pink Floyd logo running up the heel stripe and the floating pig in the clouds on the upper drops in from Animals. And in another metaphorical design, businessmen can be seen burning in flames as they seal the deal, like on the cover of Wish You Were Here, while on the flip is the image of a businessman on a sand dune holding a record album. The last in the series and available as a Chuck Taylor All Star high-top and Oxford shoe in black/multi, white/black/pink, and black/white canvas and Jack Purcell V4 mid shoe and Jack Purcell oxford shoe in black/multi and black leather, it’s our favourite Pink Floyd release yet!

Get your kicks at Converse stores from now until May 2009 only. More at www.converse.com.