1. Nicholas Berkeley Mason was born on 27 January 1944 and is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd.
40 Facts About Nick Mason
1. 2.
Nick Mason has been the only constant member since the band's formation in 1965, and the only member to appear on every Pink Floyd album.
3.
In 1996, Nick Mason was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd.
4.
Nick Mason collects classic cars and competes in motorsport races, and has produced books and documentaries on the subject.
5.
Nick Mason was brought up in Hampstead, London, and attended the Hall School, Hampstead, and Frensham Heights School, near Farnham, Surrey.
6.
In September 1963, Waters and Nick Mason moved into a flat near Crouch End in London, owned by Mike Leonard, a part-time tutor at the nearby Hornsey College of Art and the Regent Street Polytechnic.
7.
The only Pink Floyd compositions credited solely to Nick Mason are "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party" and "Speak to Me".
8.
Nick Mason does sing lead vocals on two unreleased but heavily bootlegged tracks, "Scream Thy Last Scream", penned by original group leader Syd Barrett, and "The Merry Xmas Song".
9.
In live performances of the song "Sheep", Nick Mason delivered the spoken section.
10.
Nick Mason joined Waters on the last two nights of his 2002 world tour to play drums on the Pink Floyd song "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and he played drums on some concerts of Waters' European tour in 2006, and during performances in Los Angeles and New York City in the United States.
11.
Nick Mason joined Gilmour and Wright again for the encore during Gilmour's show at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 31 May 2006.
12.
Nick Mason stated in 2006 that Pink Floyd had not officially disbanded, but with the death of Wright in 2008, the band effectively came to an end, as confirmed by Gilmour.
13.
On 12 May 2007, Nick Mason joined Waters on stage at Earls Court to play The Dark Side of the Moon.
14.
On 12 May 2011, Nick Mason was featured on the encore "Outside the Wall" at a concert by Waters, who was performing The Wall in its entirety.
15.
Nick Mason worked with musicians including Steve Hillage, Robert Wyatt, the Damned and Gong.
16.
Nick Mason performed in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games on 12 August 2012.
17.
Nick Mason produced and played on the charity single "Save the Children ", which featured Beverley Knight, Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood and which was released in May 2015 in aid of Save the Children's Nepal Earthquake Appeal.
18.
On 17 October 2012, Nick Mason was presented with a BASCA Gold Badge Award in recognition of his contributions to music.
19.
Nick Mason said in 2018 that, while he remained close to Gilmour and Waters, the two remained "at loggerheads".
20.
Nick Mason's style was gentler and more laid back than that of other progressive rock drummers of the time.
21.
Nick Mason began using Premier drums but changed to Ludwig drums after seeing Ginger Baker use them.
22.
Nick Mason currently uses Drum Workshop drums, pedals and hardware.
23.
Nick Mason's kit is a DW double bass kit with the Dark Side of the Moon logo on the drums.
24.
Nick Mason has used Paiste cymbals during his entire career with Pink Floyd and currently uses a mixture of Paiste Traditional, Signature and 2002 cymbals.
25.
Nick Mason endorses Remo drumheads, Latin Percussion and Pro-Mark sticks.
26.
Nick Mason owns and races several classic cars, and has competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
27.
In 1998, Nick Mason published a book, Into the Red, in which he documents his experience with his cars, along with some histories.
28.
Nick Mason is associated with the Italian manufacturer Ferrari, and estimates he has owned 40 Ferrari cars.
29.
Nick Mason was invited by Ferrari to purchase one of the 399 original Enzo cars.
30.
Nick Mason appeared in an episode of the BBC motoring programme Top Gear in which he allowed Jeremy Clarkson to borrow it for a review, on the condition Clarkson promote the release of the book Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd.
31.
Nick Mason later sold the Enzo, and replaced it with a Blu Scozia-coloured LaFerrari.
32.
Nick Mason appeared on Season 2, Episode 8 of The Grand Tour.
33.
Nick Mason won against the Police drummer Stewart Copeland for the title of "fastest rock drummer from a band that begins with a P" in the Celebrity Face Off segment.
34.
The couple divorced in 1988, and in 1990, Nick Mason married Annette Lynton, an actress.
35.
Nick Mason is part of Football Ventures, a consortium that bought Bolton Wanderers Football Club out of administration in August 2019.
36.
In December 2021, Nick Mason's portrait was painted by semi-finalists on an episode of Portrait Artist of the Year.
37.
Nick Mason is a board member and co-chairman of the Featured Artists' Coalition.
38.
Nick and Annette Mason have been supporters of Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance Charity for many years, including opening the gardens of their home, Middlewick House, to raise money for the charity.
39.
On 26 November 2012, Nick Mason received the Honorary title of Doctor of Letters from the University of Westminster at the presentation ceremony of the School of Architecture and Built Environment.
40.
Nick Mason was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2019 New Year Honours, "for services to music", and was presented with the award by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace on 2 May 2019.