The present work depicts a group of musicians rehearing in a confined interior - a band who were none other than Pink Floyd, rehearsing for their first 'underground' gig in 1966. Painting in his studio in Notting Hill Gate located next door, Whishaw went to investigate the noise, who were making music very different from his steadfast love for classical music. In this small but powerful work that resulted, employing a monochromatic palette and a dynamic exploration of space, Whishaw evokes the claustrophobic, energetic experience of that rehearsal. The chipboard flooring, typical of the period, is represented in the lively rendering of the floor which centres the composition.

Whishaw has held a fascination with ambitious and unfolding interior space which echoes throughout his 60 year career, and was significantly influenced by his preoccupation with Velazquez's Las Meninas (1656, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid). The light of the doorway to the right of the present work is notably drawn from Velazquez's doorway in Las Meninas and features as a recurring motif in his oeuvre. Interior with Musicians is a rare, early example within Whishaw's career, which not only embodies key artistic themes but also portrays a contemporary moment by one of the defining musical bands of the 20th century at their genesis.