Richard William Wright (28 July 1943 – 15 September 2008) was an English keyboardist and songwriter who co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd.

Wright grew up in Hatch End, Middlesex, and met his future Pink Floyd bandmates Roger Waters and Nick Mason while studying architecture at the Regent Street Polytechnic, London.

Wright initially contributed significantly to the band as a singer-songwriter, writing and providing lead vocals on songs including "Remember a Day" and the single "It Would Be So Nice" (both 1968).

As well as playing Farfisa and Hammond organs and Kurzweil synthesisers, he sang regularly in the band and took lead vocals on songs such as "Time" (1973) and "Wearing the Inside Out" (1994).

Wright, whose father was head biochemist at Unigate, grew up in Hatch End, Middlesex, and was educated at the Haberdashers' Aske's School.

[4] At Regent Street Polytechnic, Wright met fellow musicians Roger Waters and Nick Mason, and all three joined a band formed by their classmate Clive Metcalf called Sigma 6.

[2] Wright's position was initially tenuous, as he did not choose a definitive instrument, playing piano if a pub had one, otherwise settling on rhythm guitar or trombone.

Although Mason and Waters were competent students, Wright found architecture of little interest and after only a year of study moved to the London College of Music.

[12] Pink Floyd stabilised with Barrett, Waters, Mason and Wright by mid-1965, and after frequent gigging that year became regulars on the underground circuit in London.

[15] Before Pink Floyd acquired a full-time road crew, Wright acted as the primary roadie, unloading the gear and packing it up at each gig.

After Barrett was forced out of Pink Floyd in 1968 following mental health problems, Wright considered leaving and forming a group with him, but realised it would not have been practical.

He made significant arranging contributions to longer compositions such as "Atom Heart Mother", "Echoes" (on which he sang lead vocals with Gilmour) and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".

[26] Wright recorded his first solo album, Wet Dream, in early 1978 in Super Bear Studios, France, which featured the Pink Floyd touring guitarist Snowy White and the former King Crimson saxophonist Mel Collins.

[30] By the time the group recorded The Wall in 1979, Waters had become frustrated that Wright was not contributing but was claiming an equal share of production royalties.

[34] Waters, Gilmour, producer Bob Ezrin, composer Michael Kamen and session player Fred Mandel also played keyboard parts on The Wall.

"[38] Though he remained angry about his treatment by Waters, he said he was not sad to leave Pink Floyd as "the band had lost any feeling of communication and camaraderie by this time ...

[47] In 1996, inspired by his successful input into The Division Bell, Wright released his second solo album, Broken China, which had been co-written with Moore, who also helped with production and engineering.

[51] Wright underwent surgery for cataracts that November, preventing him from attending Pink Floyd's induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame.

[52] In 2006, Wright became a regular member of Gilmour's touring band, along with the former Pink Floyd sidemen Jon Carin, Dick Parry and Guy Pratt.

[21] He contributed keyboards and background vocals to Gilmour's 2006 solo album On an Island, and performed live in Europe and North America that year.

[55] That year, Wright joined Gilmour and Mason for a screening of the Pink Floyd Pulse live concert video.

Waters said it was "hard to overstate the importance of his musical voice in the Pink Floyd of the 60s and 70s", and he added that he was happy they had reunited for Live 8.

[63] Mason said Wright's contributions were underrated, and that his playing "was the sound that knitted it all together", comparing his "quiet one" status in the band to George Harrison of the Beatles.

[66] In the updated edition of his memoir, Mason wrote that "the distinctive, floating textures and colours [Wright] bought into the mix were absolutely critical to what people recognise as the sound of Pink Floyd ...

[22] He played solos in the early part of Floyd's career, frequently using Egyptian scales, such as on "Matilda Mother" or "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".

[80] In the early days of Pink Floyd, Wright dabbled with brass before settling on Farfisa electric organs as his main instrument onstage.

During the 1960s, Wright relied heavily on his Farfisa fed through a Binson Echorec platter echo, as heard on the Ummagumma live album.

Wright wrote the closing part of the track alone, and included a brief extract of the band's early single "See Emily Play" on the Minimoog towards the end.

[89] He used a number of electric pianos during the 1970s, including a Wurlitzer fed through a wah-wah pedal on "Money"[90] and an unaccompanied Rhodes introduction for "Sheep" on Animals.

[61] Wright's daughter Gala was married to the bassist Guy Pratt, who toured and recorded with Pink Floyd after the departure of Waters.