Former-Pink Floyd leader Roger Waters took time out to slam his ex-bandmates David Gilmour and the late-Rick Wright for attempting to undermine him during their tenure together.
During his recent appearance on the WTF with Marc Maron Podcast, Waters, who’ll be hitting the road next spring for an extended road trek, admitted, “Getting away from Pink Floyd, I think. . . was really important that I got away when I did. . . I was in a very toxic environment where I was around some people. . . David (Gilmour) and Rick (Wright) mainly were always trying to drag me down. . . They were always trying to knock me off.”
When pressed for specifics, Waters said, “By claiming that I was tone-deaf and that I didn’t understand music. ‘Oh, he’s just a boring teacher figure who tells us what to do but he can’t tune his own guitar. . .’ They were very snotty and snippy because they felt very insignificant, I think.”
Waters went on to say, “I’m not putting them down. Those years that we were together, whatever it was like socially, there is no question but that we did some really good work together. . . We didn’t share the vision — but we shared the work.”
- Roger Waters 2022 Tour Dates (subject to change):
July 6 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paint Arena
July 8, 9 – Toronto, Canada – Scotiabank Arena
July 12 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
July 15 – Montreal, Canada – Bell Centre
July 17 – Quebec City, Canada – Videotron Centre
July 20 – Albany, NY – Times Union Center
July 23 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesar’s Arena
July 26 – Chicago, IL – United Center
July 28 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
July 30 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
August 2 – Cincinnati, OH – US Bank Arena
August 5, 6 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Arena
August 16 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
August 18 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
August 20 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
August 23 – Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena
August 25 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center
August 27 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
August 30, 31 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
September 3 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
September 6 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
September 8 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Arena
September 10 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
September 13 – Edmonton, Canada – Rogers Place
September 15 – Vancouver, Canada – Rogers Arena
September 17 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
September 20 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
September 23, 24 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
September 27, 28 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
October 1 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
October 8 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
October 14, 15 – Mexico City – Palacio de los Deportes:
FAST FACTS
- Roger Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985. He was under the impression that his exit would signal the end of the band forever.
- David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason — who now own the name — decided to carry on with then-ousted, late-co-founder and keyboardist Rick Wright once again joining on as a salaried employee. A long and bitter lawsuit was settled with Gilmour and Mason owning and controlling the Floyd brand.
- Obviously, in the case of reissues or vault releases, Roger Waters is consulted and his approval is deemed necessary before any box sets or retrospectives can get the green light. However, due to the legalities, “Pink Floyd” is ultimately — and legally — a vehicle for David Gilmour, just as “Roger Waters” is one for himself. Two completely different brands.
CHECK IT OUT: The trailer for Roger Waters’ concert film Us + Them: