Dark Side of the Moon Tour – A Piece for Assorted Lunatics", the name under which it made its press debut in February 1972 at London's Rainbow Theatre. The title changed for the first part of the US tour to "Eclipse (A Piece for Assorted Lunatics)" during April and May before reverting to "Dark Side of the Moon – A Piece for Assorted Lunatics" in September for the second part of the US tour and finally released in 1973 under the title of "The Dark Side of the Moon". Remarkably, at its first full live performance at Guildhall, Portsmouth, England on 21 January 1972, most of
Near side of the Moon Near side of the Moon The near side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that is permanently turned towards Earth, whereas the opposite side is the far side. Only one side of the Moon is visible from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that the Moon orbits the Earth – a situation known as synchronous rotation, or tidal locking. The Moon is directly illuminated by the Sun, and the cyclically varying viewing conditions cause the lunar phases. Sometimes the dark portion of the Moon is faintly visible due to earthshine, which is indirect