1979's epic rock opera The Wall, was conceived solely by Roger Waters. The album dealt with themes of loneliness and failed communication, which were expressed by the metaphor of a wall built between the rock artist and his audience. This album brought Pink Floyd renewed acclaim and featured another chart-topping single, "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)". The Wall also included the future concert staples "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Like Hell", the former becoming a cornerstone of album-oriented rock. The songs remain staples on classic-rock radio and both are included on lists of the group's best-known songs. The album was co-produced with Bob Ezrin, of Alice Cooper fame (among many others), who had become friends with Waters. In addition to their co-production of the project, the pair even shared songwriting credits on "The Trial". The alliance between Ezrin and Waters was a source of friction for the other band members and they soon distanced themselves from the famed producer. They found themselves constantly quarrelling with him throughout the sessions. The individual member's musical input was just one of several contentious issues. Now, even more than during the Animals sessions, Waters was asserting his artistic influence and leadership over the entire band, which prompted increased conflicts with the other members. Pink Floyd's musical style was now more hard-rock, featuring Gilmour's distinctive lead guitar sound and phrasing. Founding member Rick Wright's input, like the others, was not only verbally rebuffed by Waters, his keyboard parts were now replaced with huge in-studio orchestras, which Waters wanted to use in their concert performances, as well. Disputes by Wright were intensified to the point that Waters fired him from the band while recording "The Wall". Mason and Gilmour had little to say about the decision; though, in reality, the break was as much Wright's quitting in disgust. News of the split was withheld from the public, knowing the harm it would inflict on album sales. Without Wright, "The Wall" would be branded a solo album by Roger Waters, as opposed to Pink Floyd's long awaited masterpiece.

Despite never hitting #1 in the UK (it reached #3), The Wall spent 15 weeks atop the U.S. charts during 1980. Critics praised it, and it has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. It is the third-best selling album of all time in the U.S. and the best selling album by a single artist to be released during the 1970s. It has been certified 23x platinum by the RIAA, for sales of 11.5 million copies in U.S. alone. With the huge commercial success of The Wall, Pink Floyd joined the Beatles as the only artists to have best selling albums for two years (1973 and 1980) within a decade.

Legal problems were brewing heavily within the band, yet at the same time, Roger Waters / Pink Floyd were committed to staging this spectacular performance of Water's extravagant visions. Recognizing the end of the "Classic Floyd" was imminent, all members agreed that it should end in a style befitting the leaders in "Theatrical Rock". Mason and Gilmour were not eager to replace Wright, and they definitely didn't relish a long tour with Waters. Luckily, they were able to convince him of the fiscal realities involved in the show's production, and they agreed to limit the performances of "The Wall" to the band's 3 largest fan bases (Europe, Los Angeles, & New York). When Waters acquiesced to demands to forsake the orchestra, it made sense that, despite the bad feelings, Rick Wright's participation was necessary to make these shows successful, and more so, truly momentous occasions.  Though humbled by Water's actions, Gilmour and Mason convinced Wright to ignore him, and that the 3 members were Pink Floyd and that the legal hassles would come to a head after "The Wall" performances.

Recognizing the realities of the situation, Wright agreed to return on a fixed wage for the live shows in support of the album. Ironically, Wright was the only member of Pink Floyd to make any money from the Wall concerts. Due to the extravagant production expenses, and especially the extensive cost overruns, for the spectacular concerts, the remaining members not only worked for free, they found themselves sharing in the tour's massive costs.

A film entitled "Pink Floyd: The Wall" was released in 1982, incorporating essentially all of the music from the album. The film, written by Waters and directed by Alan Parker, starred Boomtown Rats founder Bob Geldof and featured striking animation by noted British artist and cartoonist Gerald Scarfe.

 It grossed over US$ 14 million at the North American box office. A song which first appeared in the movie, "When the Tigers Broke Free", was released as a single on a limited basis. This song was finally made widely available on the compilation album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd and the re-release of "The Final Cut". Also in the film is the song "What Shall We Do Now?", which was cut out of the original album due to the time constraints of vinyl records.

* Barrett's eyebrow-shaving tendencies are revisited in the movie
                        "Pink Floyd: The Wall".