Pink Floyd Unveils Expansive Animals 50 Collection

Pink Floyd will mark the 50th anniversary of Animals with a large archival collection arriving January 22, 2027. The campaign begins with the first commercial release of “Sheep (Original Radio Edit),” a shortened promotional version created in 1977.

Animals 50 spans vinyl, CD, Blu-ray and digital

The new edition will be available in several configurations, from a single LP to a deluxe box set. At its most extensive, the package brings together the original 1977 mix, the 2018 remix, five rarities and a concert recorded at Oakland Coliseum Arena on May 9, 1977.

The rarities disc includes early versions of “Dogs” and “Sheep,” a studio jam and an unheard Roger Waters track titled “Young Nicholas Jon.” The Blu-ray adds high-resolution audio, including 5.1 and Dolby Atmos versions of the 2018 remix. Smaller two-disc editions pair the original album with the archival material, while the digital version also includes the Oakland performance.

For collectors, the deluxe set adds a 64-page book with new notes from author Jonathan Lethem, an interview with concert recorder Reinhard Hohlwein and an excerpt from designer Aubrey “Po” Powell about the album’s famous cover. Previously unpublished photographs trace the recording sessions, the Battersea Power Station shoot and the tour that followed.

A landmark record returns to its original era

Released in January 1977, Animals delivered one of Pink Floyd’s sharpest combinations of political writing and heavy, stripped-back rock. Its three central compositions used dogs, pigs and sheep as symbols in a bleak portrait of power, greed and social control.

The anniversary campaign also revisits the image that became inseparable from the music: an inflatable pig flying above Battersea Power Station. The first attempt to photograph it famously went off course when the balloon broke free, forcing the production to try again.

“Sheep (Original Radio Edit)” offers the first preview of the project, cutting the album version into a tighter four-and-a-half-minute form. With unreleased studio material and a full 1977 concert included, Animals 50 is positioned as both a reissue and a detailed archive of the album’s creation and life onstage.