ROGER WATERS - "The Wall" and its creator 2.0

26. November 2015

Roger Waters

ROGER WATERS - "The Wall" and its creator 2.0

He's smiling. Over and over again. He actually seems to be having fun on stage. From 2010 to 2013 he presents "The Wall" to the whole world. Make it clear that he and only he is the author of this monumental work. With its impressive concert scenes and bonus material, the new film "Roger Waters The Wall" documents even more: satisfaction with work. Joy with the people around him. I'm fine with myself. That wasn't always the case in Roger Waters' career. In 1965 Waters founded the band Sigma 6 with Nick Mason and Rick Wright. At that time he was still playing guitar, but was replaced by bass. "I was afraid to end up on drums," he was supposed to have said. It didn't get that far.

With the addition of Syd Barrett, a school friend of Waters from Cambridge days, Pink Floyd were born. The band with which Waters' fame is still first and foremost connected. He was a member of Pink Floyd for two decades. He hasn't been for three decades. But whether he wants it or not, if his name falls today, so does that of Pink Floyd. When Barrett retired in 1968, it was Waters who had to get the ship back on course - because Wright, who was mainly responsible for the early sound of the band alongside Barrett, did not take over the helm. A merit of Waters that is often overlooked. He took on the role of captain, which met his alpha animal being, led the band to world fame together with Wright, Mason and the Barrett substitute David Gilmour, later gave the direction alone, but perfectly staged the abilities of his comrades-in-arms, until he finally allowed only his visions to an egomaniac.

Milestones in rock music such as "The Dark Side Of The Moon", "Wish You Were Here" or "The Wall" were created in this way. But at the latest with the work on "Wish You Were Here" in 1974 there were obvious tensions in the band. What might Waters have felt when his colleagues gave themselves to the pleasures of financial success, while he, even rich to the bone, increasingly struggled with God, the world, society, politics, and himself? Waters made his fear, isolation, alienation and neuroses the subject of music, especially in "The Wall" and "The Final Cut". But it didn't go well. The break was inevitable, further collaboration between Waters and his colleagues, especially with Gilmour, was impossible. The separation took place in 1985 and the fact that Pink Floyd continued without him deeply hurt him. The same is true of the fact that the general public overlooked his performance in addition to the all-encompassing magic of the Pink Floyd brand.

Who is this man who can be a great and uncomfortable interviewee? Who in his day with Pink Floyd said everything - dozens of times. Who expresses his displeasure at such questions, when they do not suit him, at best in a taciturn manner, but sometimes also in a gruff manner. Or depending on the mood can answer overflowing. The telephone call scheduled for 20:10 for a duration of 30 minutes did not begin under a good star: Twice an employee from New York called: "Hi, here's Fran, just wanted to tell you quickly that the call is postponed by about an hour." At 11:15 p.m., "Hi, this is Fran. Got Roger Waters on the line. You got 15 minutes. Here we go." Let's start with Roger Waters, who nips any possible address uncertainties in the bud with a "Hi Bernard".

eclipsed: You have toured for more than three years with "The Wall", given over 200 concerts in front of more than four million spectators. The most successful tour ever made by a solo artist. Impressive numbers, isn't it?

Roger Waters: I never thought about it. Now that you ask me that, I realize. I'm glad, of course, that so many people came to the shows. I hope they have all been able to draw something positive from this. The way I definitely could.

eclipsed: The concerts of the last years and especially the new film have a completely different mood than the "The Wall" tour of 1980 and 1981, which you played with Pink Floyd. The gloomy themes are still there, but there is also hope, warmth, cordiality, humanity. How did you integrate these emotions?

Waters: It's not the question of how to consciously incorporate these things into the show. It's just the question of whether you're 30 or 70 years old. Over the past 35 years, I have learned to look at things from a different perspective. Over the years I have become less narcissistic and feel less affected by the individual problems I had as a young man when I wrote and performed the play with Pink Floyd. Now I'm dealing with more general topics. I try to build connections through empathy and understanding between all brothers and sisters throughout the world who are separated by walls of all kinds. Walls built by our governments and national interests.

eclipsed: In 1980, you seemed unapproachable and very serious. Now there are many scenes on stage, in the movie scenes and in the bonus material where you laugh. Is that also due to the 35 years in between?

Waters: Yes, probably. Also in 1990 at the concert at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin the mood was better than at the shows in Los Angeles, New York, London and Dortmund, which we had played in 1980 and 1981. The relationship between me and the audience has evolved. From 2010 to 2013 I felt a very close connection with the audience. In my opinion it is also because the audience now understands much better what "The Wall" is about, namely much more global things than personal problems. Things that are everybody's business. That wasn't so clear in 1979.

Lesen Sie mehr im eclipsed Nr. 176 (Dez. 2015/Jan. 2016).