Pink Floyd Online

Photo taken during a Pink Floyd concert
showing the word “Publius”.

The Publius Enigma


The Publius Enigma is named after a messenger known only as Publius who posted clues on the Pink Floyd internet newsgroup, alt.music.pink-floyd, soon after the launch of The Division Bell world tour. These cryptic posts claimed that there was an enigma hidden within the artwork, music and lyrics of the album, and that an unspecified reward awaited the person or persons who solved the puzzle.

“The Division Bell is not like its predecessors. Although all great music is subject to multiple interpretations, in this case there is a central purpose and a designed solution. For the ingenious person (or group of persons) who recognizes thisā€”and where this information points toā€”a unique prize has been secreted.”

Many Pink Floyd fans were skeptical, so Publius agreed to provide proof of his authenticity. On 16 July 1994 he delivered a prediction:

“Monday, July 18, East Rutherford, New Jersey. Approximately 10:30pm. Flashing white lights. There is an enigma.”

On the night in question at approximately 10:30 p.m., white lights in front of the stage at the Pink Floyd concert in East Rutherford spelled out the words ENIGMA and PUBLIUS. Video of the Giants Stadium event can be seen on YouTube.

Confirmation of the enigma was given again nearing the end of the tour, this time to a much larger audience. On 20 October 1994, during a televised concert at Earl’s Court, London, the word ENIGMA was projected in large letters on to the backdrop of the stage. The word that appeared at this time was originally without embellishments, but on the P*U*L*S*E DVD of the concert, extra markings were added so that it could still be seen but was less obvious; the clue was overlaid with L = mcĀ² at first and subsequently changed to E = mcĀ². The projection is visible during the song “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II).” The DVD’s authoring company, Das Boot, uses an enigma machine as their logo, which can be seen at the end of the show.

The identity of Publius remains unknown, but the DavidGilmour.com FAQ contains an allusion:

“Iā€™ve always wondered why in the lyrics to my favourite Division Bell song, ā€?Take It Backā€™, there is a dash between the g and d in G-d.

Some people simply take offence at taking the Lordā€™s name in vain. It was publishingā€™s very subtle way of keeping people from complaining about the abuse of Godā€™s good name – and perhaps also to keep people focused on trying to figure out who Publius was instead!”

Current status of the Enigma


In April 2005, during a book signing of his biographical work Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason stated that the Publius Enigma did exist, that it had been instigated by the record company rather than the band, and that the prize was to have been a “crop of trees planted in a clear cut area of forest or something to that effect.” [4]

“That was a ploy done by EMI. They had a man working for them who adored puzzles. … He was working for EMI and suggested that a puzzle be created that could be followed on the Web. The prize was never given out. To this day it remains unsolved.” [5]

Clues


Apparent clues to the existence and validity of the enigma which have appeared in Pink Floyd related media:

The artwork for the MiniDisc release of A Momentary Lapse of Reason contains the words “PUBLIUS” and “ENIGMA”.

The words “Publius Enigma” can be heard spoken just before the song One of These Days on the 2003 DVD release of Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (Universal). Storm Thorgerson’s cover for John Harris’ book “The Dark Side of the Moon”, published by HarperCollins in 2005 prominently includes the word “ENIGMA” alongside an ellipsis (a regular feature of Genesis’ clues). Page 13 of the The Division Bell’s CD booklet contains an anagram of the word “enigma,” hidden in the third collumn from the right of the lyrics to Wearing the Inside Out.

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