Back in The USSR - Pink Floyd & flying a rock tour on an army plane

Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason joins concert producer Jacek Slotala for a hands‑on journey taking us from Polish postcard singles to Pink Floyd’s sold‑out Moscow shows.

This fascinating, incredible story is told by the fixer who cracked Gosconcert and flew tours on army planes. We share how food, language, and nerve turned red tape into roaring crowds without a single lyric censored.

A postcard single pressed in 1960s Poland. A phone that never stops ringing. And a plan bold enough to fly a rock tour on a Soviet army plane. This conversation pulls back the curtain on how Western music crossed the Iron Curtain, from jam‑packed Leningrad halls to Pink Floyd lighting up Moscow without a single lyric censored.

We trace the path from Pagart, Poland's state monopoly, to the first real breakthrough: Wishbone Ash in Leningrad, chosen for taste and temperament. Food, not lights, became the make‑or‑break factor, so the team toured with a portable kitchen, UK‑trained Polish chefs, and pallets from West Berlin. Those breakfasts backstage did more for morale than any rider. Then came a bigger swing: assemble a new band, the Lost Empires, and barter shows for flight hours to reach Siberia. Gear lashed into an Antonov, crew in army seats, and a bucket with a lid for a loo—proof that ingenuity beats infrastructure when the music matters.

The Pink Floyd chapter is a masterclass in production under pressure. Fifty‑six trucks replaced by cargo jets, a customs bridge to win crucial hours, and a last‑minute hotel wipeout solved with roubles and relentless door‑knocking. When national mourning paused a show after a tragic explosion, the band added a makeup date at the end to keep faith with fans and still make Helsinki. Along the way we meet interpreters who could silence police, legendary road crew soldering mid‑tour, and the caterer who trained a generation. No propaganda, no grandstanding—just the quiet power of concerts to ease tension and make strangers sing the same chorus.

We also look at milestone tours that reset expectations: Procol Harum reopening Poland, Tina Turner building her Private Dancer comeback from bare floors, and how language, respect, and precision got Western acts invited back.

If you care about live music logistics, cultural diplomacy, or the sheer stubborn joy of making the impossible run on time, you’ll feel right at home here.

Press play, subscribe for more untold tour stories, and leave a review with the wildest backstage fix you’ve ever heard—what would you have done in that Moscow hotel scramble?

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