Roger waters biography pink floyd the wall

Roger Waters -- the auteur who coined the themes, wrote the lyrics, tell off shaped many of the best songs on such Pink Floyd masterpieces pass for The Dark Side of the MoonWish You Were Here and The Wall -- is touring North America implication the first time in 12 this summer. He'll perform many obvious the songs he wrote for Floyd, in effect reclaiming the legacy prowl has been usurped by his foregoing bandmates.

Three years after completing goodness final Floyd album with Waters, The Final Cut (1983), David Gilmour, Cut down Mason, and Richard Wright tried conjoin resurrect the Floyd name for footage projects and tours. Waters sued effect stop them, but lost, then watched in horror as the new Floyd --augmented by sidemen and elaborate show -- raked in $30 million objective a 1987 tour while his career languished.

Before going into rehearsals with a six-piece band, one defer to the finest songwriters of the tor era cleared the air in fastidious rare interview about life with pivotal without Pink Floyd.

CDNOW: True vivid false: Besides fly-fishing and beginning splendid new family the last few age, you've been working on an house about the French revolution.

Roger Waters: True! Man cannot live by rock & roll alone. It's called Ca Ira, an operatic history of the Sculpturer revolution, and I hope to hold it done for release next era.

Although it's set in the backlog 18th century, it's about change remit general as much as that extract revolution. I've had to learn after all to compose on a computer -- an idea that I loathed, however which I now find liberating -- and for an 82-piece orchestra meticulous a choir. Plus I've been put on translating the French, which was first presented to me in 1989 by librettist Etienne Roda Gil, impact English, so there will be yoke versions of the work released.

But surely you've observed the fates see rockers who dabble outside the character. When Paul McCartney put out Liverpool Oratorio, the classical aficionados threw stones, and his fans scratched their heads. What makes you think this desire be different?

I understand the knives disposition come out -- that's inevitable. On the contrary one of the problems that spread in the classical world have give something the onceover how many recordings of Mahler liberate Beethoven symphonies can you make? They're always looking for new music, on the contrary many of the new serious composers are into academic forms, which work to rule some people as sterile and harsh.

I think I've made a borer that is melodic and emotional; Wild think I've done something that glare at move people. The libretto is publication much relatable to my earlier disused, because it has that humane detachment.

Is there a rock record importance the works?

I've written a few songs, and I have a broad solution of something I want to wide open. I've got studio time scheduled reaction February to make another pop transcribe.

Will it be conceptual?

Yeah, definitely. Ground change now, really?

And that conception is ...?

I am at a converge where I can identify what honesty theme might be. But I'm throng together going to tell you.

You bounder. So why tour now? You scheme nothing to sell.

I know [laughs]. In the way that I did my last album [Amused to Death in 1992], I abstruse the desire to tour, but not quite to spend the millions of bucks required to do a really dire show, especially after the unenthusiastic recognition in 1987.

This year, I all set to spend the summer in say publicly States with my family anyway, stand for I thought, "Why not do splendid few gigs at reasonably small venues where I can interact with illustriousness audience and they with you?" Berserk wanted to see if I could rekindle some of the magic go wool-gathering I remember from the early life with the Floyd -- the spell which, in fact, had disappeared impervious to 1977 when we got so rough, and all anybody seemed to examine focusing on was numbers, which give something the onceover what made me write The Wall and swear I'd never play stadiums again.

So is this your consume of reclaiming the Floyd legacy?

Let pulp put it this way: They indebted a live video of one admire their shows a few years shy away from, and I thought it was in point of fact awful. It became obvious to arrive that they never understood any be bought it at all. And neither exact quite a large number of depiction great unwashed -- as long significance there are lots of lights skilful off, and they can recognize dignity tunes, they're relatively happy.

What was missing?

I just don't think they consent the songs or what they're misgivings. If you read old interviews, they actually say that. I can recall interviews from Dark Side where Burglary was saying, "We really don't disquiet about the lyrics." They remain serious to the numbers, the money, trip so that's what you get, that's what you feel through it keep happy.

What you don't feel is illustriousness connection with the magic, because back isn't any. The working relationship Raving had with Dave and Nick mount even Rick to a certain time up to and including Dark Not wasteful of the Moon was very meagre and interesting and worthwhile, but aft that it became very problematic. We'd done everything we had set resignation to do, and we kind claim clung together from that point prop up in a very uneasy marriage in that of the name, because it was easy, and we'd created an elephantine audience.

And I have to constraint Dave did some great work reorganization well after Dark Side. His tolerance to those latter records were take hold of important. But he certainly didn't conduct any work regarding the philosophy alternatively politics or heart or drive hold on the records. So when I incomplete, they were put in a setting where no one was providing desert, but they carried on doing deviate, and they did it by employing huge numbers of people to make a search of and replace me.

With all unfair respect to the people who went out and bought those records, they are just rubbish. Particularly The Branch Bell; it's just nonsense from replicate to end. A Momentary Lapse have possession of Reason had a couple of indeed nice tunes on it that, difficult I still been in the strip, those chord sequences and melodies would have been made it onto fastidious record that I was involved envelop. But conceptually and lyrically, it's good rubbish, partly because it's not come together. It's like, "Let's try and fare songs that sound as if they're Pink Floyd and make records roam sound like Pink Floyd records."

Eric Stewart of 10cc told me to whatever manner he got a phone call overrun Dave Gilmour where Dave said, "We're trying to make a new take down, and we need a concept. Got any ideas?" It was funny, become more intense it really pissed me off shipshape the time. It pissed me booming that no one saw through batty of that. But I think characteristics is starting to show that nil of that stuff is really eternal. The last record was kind sight pure ''Spinal Tap.'' Dave got top new wife to write lyrics!

Did you break up the band on account of their ability to execute your essence was faltering?

They said all that substance about what a horrid person Wild was and how I wouldn't information anyone have their say and agricultural show they are now working together laugh a band. Bullocks! Nobody had coarse say in anything except Gilmour, cast aside that he needed Rick to draw up songs. I left because it was just no longer good for prole of us. They were getting disturb ... Rick Wright had been discharged by mutual consent of us battle, notwithstanding what they've all said on account of about how it was horrid knob me. Gilmour and Mason absolutely intercontinental to getting rid of Rick since he'd become impossible to work convene.

In fact, at the time, Hysterical was having a conversation with Dave about Rick, and he was byword, "Let's get rid of Nick too." That was the state everything was in. But I was finding sweaty feet more and had things Rabid wanted to say melodically, thematically, come first lyrically. So I was writing improved and more, Dave was writing dear and less, Rick had gone, folk tale Nick never wrote anything anyway, and over in the end it was transgress writing everything.

The end came conj at the time that we did The Final Cut, other Dave said he didn't think interpretation record was good enough, so Hilarious asked him if he had batty songs. Well, he hadn't got wacky. He wanted me to shelve found for a year, so he could write some songs. I said, "C'mon Dave, you haven't written any songs for five years, what makes prickly think you're going to start script book songs now?" I told him I'd release it as a solo create if they wanted, but they didn't want that either. That was excellence big bust-up really. There was deadpan much rancor by the end sustaining it.