For me, Roger Waters is the most intriguing band or ex-band
member of Pink Floyd, with the
obvious exception of Syd Barrett. Without his input, the band have, at best, stood still. Indeed, from 1985, when
Waters left the band, I would say that Floyd
have just not cut it. Sure their concerts still generated huge audiences and record sales were good, but as Waters wrote much of the band's lyrics,
the songs lacked his distinctive style.
Can anyone say that the two subsequent album releases,
A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and Division Bell
(1994) are vintage Pink Floyd? They sound so tired and
more like David Gilmour solo albums, to me.
And the reformation of the band for the
one off four-song, 23-minute set, for the Live 8
concert in London, on July 2, 2005, only
went to show how much the band had missed Waters over the previous 20 years.
What might have been, and all that.
Though George Roger Waters was
born in Great Bookham, Surrey near Dorking (6th September, 1943),
he actually grew up in Cambridge. When he was one,
his father died in the 2nd World War.
Syd Barrett and David Gilmour
attended the same school as him;
later, he would meet Nick Mason
and Richard Wright at the
Regent Street
Polytechnic school of architecture.
Barrett, Waters, Mason and Wright
formed Pink Floyd in 1965 with Barrett
writing most of the first LP, the successful
Piper at the Gates of Dawn. But by 1968, Barrett's
now legendary erratic behaviour and deteriorating mental health
was becoming unworkable for the other band members.
It would lead him to leave the band and leave
a void that would never be filled. Or so people thought.
Waters had other ideas and went about shaping the band in
his name, pulling the artistic strings so to speak.
Guitarist Gilmour was now part of the band,
co-writing with Waters, but it was Waters
who was the engine of the band.
As the main lyrical contributor he led Pink Floyd
through the 1970s to mighty success; Dark Side of the Moon,
Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall were his concept albums, make no mistake. Such was the band's success
that by today their record sales worldwide stand at a staggering 200 million and rising.
Harmony though has never been a word one could associate with
Pink Floyd band members. By 1983, Roger's
relationship with Wright was untenable and Wright
was unceremoniously sacked. Final Cut was released in 1985
but it was a Roger Waters' solo album in all but name.
Meanwhile, tensions between Waters
and Gilmour were stretched to breaking point. Something had to give.
So it came as no surprise when Waters
announced in 1985 that the band were no more. Gilmour
disputed this, stating that he had the
right to use the Pink Floyd name. A bitter
legal battle ensured. I think Waters was right on this one when he
stated that the Pink Floyd name shouldn't be used
as three of the original band members were no
longer part of the band and that after the departure of Barrett it had been he who had written most of the lyrics. Bizarrely, Gilmour
won the right to use not only the name but most of the songs as well.
Waters didn't go home empty-handed
though. He won The Wall and the pigs!
SOLO CAREER
It is a surprise to me that considering that Waters was the brains behind Pink Floyd, his solo career hasn't been more successful, though perhaps it has been as successful as Waters wants it too be.
The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking
(1984), Radio K.A.O.S. (1987) and Amused to Death
(1992) hardly set the world alight
although the 1990 Berlin charity concert of The Wall was mind-blowingly massive.
He toured in 1999 and in 2002 performed
not only at a Countrywide Alliance concert
in support of fox hunting, in the UK, but also at Glastonbury,
playing many Pink Floyd classics. In 2004, he released two internet only protest songs inspired by the US/UK invasion of Iraq.
2005 was overshadowed by the Live 8 reunion but the noises after were that the chances of a full-scale reunion were remote. That same year, the opera Waters
had been working on for over 10 years, Ça Ira, was released.
In the summer of 2006, a European tour is planned. Known dates as of February 2006 are as follows:
- 2 June Portugal, Lisbon - Rock in Rio Festival
- 8 June Germany, Berlin Whulheide
- 12 June Iceland, Reykjavik – Egilsholl Arena
- 14 June Norwegian Wood Festival, Oslo
- 18 June Greece, Athens - Terra Vibe Park
- 2 July Denmark, Roskilde Festival
Waters currently lives in the US.
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