With Pink Floyd he created some masterpieces of rock history. Today Roger Waters polarizes with controversial statements. Now he’s 80.
In his old age, Roger Waters seems downright restless. Like he’s always looking for attention. Whether with controversial statements about Israel and Ukraine or derogatory comments about his former Pink Floyd colleagues – the British musician, who turns 80 on September 6, provokes regularly.
Now Waters is also causing irritation with a new musical project. He completely re-recorded Pink Floyd’s masterpiece “The Dark Side Of The Moon” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary. Obsession or delusions of grandeur? In any case, his “Redux” version, which is due to be released on October 6, is an affront to many fans of the legendary original.
In a clinch with David Gilmour
Before his milestone birthday, however, Waters made headlines less with his music than with his anti-Israel attitude. For years, critics have accused him of anti-Semitism, including his former Pink Floyd colleague David Gilmour. His wife Polly Samson called Waters “anti-Semitic to the core” on Twitter, which is now called X. Gilmour commented, “Every word provably true.” Waters, who has been at odds with the guitarist for decades, has denied the allegations.
The controversy surrounding Roger Waters led to calls for a boycott of his concerts in Germany. On top of that, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office is investigating suspected hate speech against the British. The occasion is a costume that he wore during his concerts in Berlin in May and that resembles an SS uniform. Waters explained that he portrayed “a deranged fascist demagogue”. The performance in the coat is part of Pink Floyd’s rock opera “The Wall”, which was also filmed. In the film, Bob Geldof plays the protagonist Pink, who, while on drugs, mistakes himself for a fascist leader and wears a similar coat in one scene.
Controversial political messages
Things get complicated for fans who don’t share the Pink Floyd co-founder’s sentiment. Because his controversial political messages – some speak of slogans – are part of his concerts, expressed verbally or as continuous text and in videos on the screens. At the beginning of the show, the Brit lets his audience know: “If you’re one of those people who say, ‘I love Pink Floyd, but I can’t stand Roger’s politics’, then maybe you should piss off in the bar now.”
George Roger Waters was born in Great Bookham, Surrey, England in 1943. When he was five months old, his father was killed in World War II, a loss that later influenced many of his songs. Even at school, Waters attracted attention for his political commitment, for example for nuclear disarmament. He attended the same high school as his future Pink Floyd bandmate Syd Barrett. While studying architecture at the University of Westminster, he met keyboardist Richard Wright and drummer Nick Mason. Pink Floyd was founded in 1965. Waters initially acted only as the band’s bassist. Guitarist Gilmour joined in 1967.
Groundbreaking: “The Dark Side Of The Moon”
After Barrett’s health-related departure in 1968, Waters increasingly became Pink Floyd’s primary songwriter. Under his creative direction, the group released a number of albums that left a lasting mark on the rock music genre. In particular, the groundbreaking “The Dark Side Of The Moon” (1973), “Wish You Were Here” (1975), “Animals” (1977) and “The Wall” (1979) are recognized for their conceptual depth and innovative use of Studio technology as milestones in music.
In 1985 Roger Waters left the band. His last album with Pink Floyd was 1983’s The Final Cut, made amid massive tensions between Waters and the other band members, particularly Gilmour. The songs were written by the egomaniac Waters single-handedly. “The Final Cut” is a concept album as a statement against war in general and against the Falklands War in particular, which Waters condemned and felt as a betrayal of his fallen father. But Gilmour disliked this politicization of music.
Solo albums and an opera
After his exit, Waters tried a court order to prevent the other musicians from continuing as Pink Floyd, but to no avail. He recorded several solo albums and an opera (“Ça Ira”). At his concerts he continued to play the music of Pink Floyd and impress his audience with lavish stage productions. His “The Wall” concert, which took place on July 21, 1990 in front of over 200,000 spectators at Potsdamer Platz after the fall of the Berlin Wall, was legendary. Waters directed by Bryan Adams, Joni Mitchell, Cyndi Lauper, Ute Lemper and the Scorpions, among others.
In 2005, as part of the “Live 8” concert for a good cause, Waters and Pink Floyd surprisingly reunited. Despite an alleged offer in the three-digit million range for a joint tour, the performance remained a one-off.
Most recently, it was Waters’ concerts with which he caused trouble. As on the iconic cover of the Pink Floyd album “Animals”, he regularly lets an inflated pig fly over the stage and audience at his shows. In addition to various religious and political symbols and logos of international corporations, a Star of David was also depicted on the pig at some concerts. What Waters wants understood as criticism of Israeli politics is for many a clear sign of anti-Semitism.
Protests in front of the Frankfurt Festhalle
Because of the allegations, Roger Waters’ concert in May in Frankfurt was originally supposed to be canceled. But the musician complained to the administrative court and was right. In the decision, the court also referred to artistic freedom. His appearance did not relativize or glorify the National Socialist atrocities, the reasoning said.
In front of the Frankfurt Festhalle, where Jewish men were rounded up in 1938 and deported from there to concentration camps, a few hundred people protested against the performance on the evening of the show. For the time being, Roger Waters did without the uniform, his appearance “as a demagogue” and the Star of David on the pig at his concerts. But that won’t be enough for his critics.