5. It was almost named Eclipse (A Piece for Assorted Lunatics). Despite Floyd’s space-rock reputation at the time, the title Dark Side of the Moonwas intended to be an allusion to a journey into madness, not outer space. The name was very nearly changed altogether, however, when the band discovered they’d been beaten to the punch.
British blues-rock duo Medicine Head release their own album titled Dark Side of the Moon in 1972 on John Peel’s Dandelion label. Worried about being labeled as biters, the chagrined Floyds considered changing the name of their record to Eclipse (A Piece for Assorted Lunatics) for a time. But when Medicine Head flopped, they decided to move forward with the original name and hope no one noticed. (No one did.)