Bundle Drum Sheet & Drumless – Pink Floyd – Run Like Hell

“Run Like Hell,” one of the most electrifying tracks on Pink Floyd’s 1979 masterpiece The Wall, stands out as a driving, pulse-pounding anthem whose rhythmic backbone is every drummer’s delight. Though credited to both Roger Waters and David Gilmour, the song grew from one of Gilmour’s guitar ideas—a choppy, delay-drenched riff inspired partly by disco’s hypnotic pulse and partly by his love for rhythmic experimentation. But it was the drums, led by Nick Mason and reinforced with layered percussion, that transformed it into the relentless musical chase it became.

The composition began during sessions at Super Bear Studios in France, where Gilmour introduced the basic riff: a syncopated, palm-muted guitar pattern played against a dotted-eighth delay. Waters immediately heard narrative potential—this would be the moment in The Wall where the protagonist Pink, now consumed by fascist hallucinations, unleashes a violent, fear-driven command. To match that energy, they needed a rhythm section that never let up.

Nick Mason crafted a stomping, militaristic groove built on a steady 4-on-the-floor kick drum, open hi-hat slashes, and a sharp, cutting snare. The drumming had to feel like running—urgent, breathless, mechanical. Producer Bob Ezrin pushed the percussive layering further: additional drummers, handclaps, and even foot stomps were overdubbed to create the track’s trademark sense of massive forward motion. Mason’s performance is impressively precise, locking perfectly with the galloping bass and sequenced elements, proving that discipline and repetition can be just as thrilling as fills and flashes.

Recording took place across multiple studios—Super Bear, Britannia Row, and Producers Workshop in Los Angeles—with Ezrin sculpting the final, aggressive mix. The drums became the track’s engine, driving the guitars, synths, and Waters’ menacing vocal delivery with unwavering force.

Live, “Run Like Hell” became a show-stealing highlight. During Pink Floyd’s The Wall concerts in 1980–81, Mason played the groove with increased intensity, supported by massive amplification and visual effects. When the band reunited for the 1987–1994 and 1994–95 tours (led by Gilmour), the song remained a staple, allowing Mason to deliver a thunderous, crowd-igniting performance every night. Roger Waters continued the tradition in his solo tours, often with multiple percussionists duplicating the martial stomp of the original recording.

For drum enthusiasts, “Run Like Hell” is a masterclass in rhythmic propulsion: a track where the groove doesn’t just accompany the story—it is the story, pushing the music, the narrative, and the listener into full sprint.