To promote the album, the band released the double A-side single 'Have a Cigar' / ' Welcome to the Machine'. Guest singers included Roy Harper, who provided the lead vocals on ' Have a Cigar', and Venetta Fields, who added backing vocals to 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'. Like their previous record, The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Pink Floyd used studio effects and synthesisers. Barrett coincidentally visited during the album's production. The bulk of the album is taken up by ' Shine On You Crazy Diamond', a nine-part tribute to founding member Syd Barrett, who left seven years earlier due to his deteriorating mental health.

The themes include alienation and criticism of the music business. Based on material Pink Floyd composed while performing in Europe, Wish You Were Here was recorded over numerous sessions throughout 1975 at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London. Wish You Were Here is the ninth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 12 September 1975 through Harvest Records and Columbia Records.

' Have a Cigar' / ' Welcome to the Machine (US) or Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part I) (Italy & France)'.

The 1975 album cover art