British physicist Stephen Hawking has died. He was 76.
In addition to being one of the world’s brightest and best-known scientists, Pink Floyd fans know him as a voice on the band’s “The Division Bell” (1994) album.
Hawking lived with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and communicated using a speech synthesizer. It’s his synthesizer heard on the song “Keep Talking.”
The spoken passage came from a 1994 British Telecommunications television ad that caught the attention of Floyd’s David Gilmour. He described the passage to The Guardian in 2014 as “the most powerful piece of television advertising that I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Hawking is also heard on Floyd’s “The Endless River” (2014) on the song “Talkin’ Hawkin’.”
Thank you for everything you have contributed to the world. You will be terribly missed. God bless you always! Shine On!
Communication – wise on “The Division Bell” : a perfect fit!!
Mr. Hawking, I can only imagine the pains and setbacks “ALS” gave you however, you continually tried to do your best. The world will miss you more and more as time goes on. I hope, that there will be scientists to continue “and succeed” with your work in the future. RIP