Pink Floyd Officially Breaks Up, But Roger Waters Plans 2016 Tour Date
As Pink Floyd officially breaks up, some fans are probably sad they won’t have a chance to catch them live in concert. But it’s still possible to hear at least one of the band members since Roger Waters is planning a 2016 tour date.
In a related report by the Inquisitr, David Gilmour was the one to have Pink Floyd officially break up. Although there have been brief reunions in the past, Gilmour says it is now time to declare the band over.
“I’ve had 48 years in Pink Floyd – quite a few of those years at the beginning, with Roger [Waters]. And those years in what is now considered to be our heyday were 95 percent musically fulfilling and joyous and full of fun and laughter,” Gilmour explained. “I certainly don’t want to let the other five percent color my view of what was a long and fantastic time together. But [Pink Floyd] has run its course, we are done – and it would be fakery to go back and do it again.”
As Pink Floyd officially breaks up, all Roger Waters can do is shrug, saying “of course” the group is split up.
“People grow apart, you know. We were four different people – well, after Syd went crazy and then David joined the group, and then there were four of us – and we’re very different people,” he explained. “I made one friend in the group, who’s Nick Mason; I was never really that close to Rick Wright and David Gilmour, and we grew apart philosophically and politically – and even musically. And David and I started to really butt heads after Dark Side of the Moon. There was a lot of this going on all the way through Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall, and The Final Cut. So it became the only thing to do, for me to stop doing it.”
Roger Waters left Pink Floyd way back in 1985, so perhaps his viewpoint should not be surprising. Water is currently in the process of writing an autobiography and he also is planning a 2016 world tour.
It is expected that Waters’ new album will be heavily flavored with political angles related to the wars in the Middle East. At least one track is expected to touch on religious extremism.
The former Pink Floyd band member also revealed that he listens to the songwriters from his era, yet has little interest in modern rock and roll.
“There are certain groups whose names you can just pluck out of the air, and songwriters,” he said, according to RTT. “Like you can say John Lennon is an important songwriter, as is Paul McCartney. So is Neil Young, Bob Dylan, so is John Prine. Who else? There aren’t many rock n’ roll acts I would ever listen to or care about.”
When it was announced that Pink Floyd was officially breaking up, some fans were upset, but David Gilmour believes it was about time.
“Obviously I accept there are people who want to go and see and hear this legend that was Pink Floyd, but I’m afraid that’s not my responsibility. To me, it’s just two words that tie together the work that four people did together. It’s just a pop group. I don’t need it. I don’t need to go there.”
Roger Waters agrees, noting that he has little interest in his band’s place in rock history.
“I have no idea. I’m not interested in that,” Waters said.
[Image via Getty Images]