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 song) and finally to a new station where "Wish You Were Here" is beginning. The radio was recorded from Gilmour's car radio. He performed the intro on a twelve-string guitar, processed to sound like it was playing through an AM radio, and then overdubbed a fuller-sounding acoustic guitar solo. This passage was mixed to sound as though a guitarist were listening to the radio and playing along. As the acoustic part becomes more complex, the 'radio broadcast' fades away and Gilmour's voice enters, becoming joined by the full band. The intro riff is repeated several times, before Gilmour plays further solos