Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album) the UK, and on the following day in the US. In Britain, with 250,000 advance sales, it went straight to number one, and demand was such that EMI informed retailers that only 50 percent of their orders would be fulfilled. With 900,000 advance orders (the largest for any Columbia release) it reached number one on the US "Billboard" chart in its second week. "Wish You Were Here" was Pink Floyd's fastest-selling album ever. On release, the album received mixed reviews. Ben Edmunds wrote in "Rolling Stone": "Melody Maker" reviewer wrote: "From whichever direction one approaches "Wish You Were Here", it
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album) 1997, and by 2004 has sold an estimated 13 million copies worldwide. "Have a Cigar" was chosen by Columbia as their first single, with "Welcome to the Machine" on the B-side in the US. The album was a commercial hit in Europe, topping Dutch, English and Spanish charts -in Spain, the album remained at number one for about 20 weeks. "Wish You Were Here" has been remastered and re-released on several formats. In the UK and US the album was re-issued in quadraphonic using the SQ format in 1976, and in 1980 a special "Hi-Fi Today" audiophile print was released