1985 officially marks the end of Pink Floyd. In 1983, that was when Roger Waters left the band to start his own successful solo career. The breakup is a classic band breakup. Waters and two of his bandmates, guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason, feuded for years following the split. The band would go to court, and more than once, Waters would publicly insult them in the press. Things got ugly. The sad thing is, the soured relationship between the three never healed. Don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
A Reunion Would Be Awful
Rolling Stone published a new interview with Rogers, and in usual Rogers form, he doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Not long ago, the brilliant artist said he attempted to rekindle his friendship with Gilmour, but it didn’t work out. While fans would call a Pink Floyd reunion of sorts more than “nice,” Waters said it’d be awful:
No, it wouldn’t be nice. It would be fucking awful. Obviously if you’re a fan of those days of Pink Floyd, well then you have a different point of view. But I had to live through it. That was my life. I know in the wake of it I’ve been cast as something of a villain by whoever… so be it! I can live with that. But would I trade my liberty for those chains? No fucking way.”
That’s strangely a great attitude to have about the whole debacle. Narratives built around the band have definitely cast Waters as the villain, which isn’t exactly fair. Nobody really knows the reality of the situation beside Waters and his former bandmates. They’re all human. Even Rogers himself has admitted to making a few mistakes post-breakup.
Remastering Animals
Waters, again, has no intention or interest in a reunion. For the last 35 years, he’s continued to thrive and push the envelope without the band. Creatively, he’s just in an entirely different place, so why return to the past? Waters is too forward thinking for nostalgia.
At the very least, Waters would like to get the band back together to remaster their classic album, Animals. He wanted to do it as a team, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be:
“This was just, ‘Can we release a remastered vinyl version of Animals without it turning into the third world war. Wouldn’t that be nice?’ I actually suggested going democratic. I said, ‘Why don’t we just have a vote? There’s only three of us and then we can decide all those things like that and at least we can just get on.
Difference of Opinion
What exactly is the problem? Maybe it’s because the remaining members are all strongly opinionated artists. Waters sees great value in remastering Animals, but Gilmour and Mason, from the sound of it, aren’t as interested as him:
It’s just sort of slow because of differences of opinion about how to do it or what to put on it, but I’m sure it will eventually happen. Of all our albums that have been re-released, that’s the one that would benefit the most from a sort of reworking.”
Roger Waters’ Upcoming Tour…
Waters is still putting on legendary concerts. The artist travels solo now, and from what everyone says, the concerts are spectacular and emotional full-sensory experiences. Again, another reason why Waters is happy going to the beat of his own drum. The artist planned to hit the road for a tour in the United States this summer, but due to the coronavirus, it’s been delayed. Cancellations have already happened, but Waters will still tour the states whenever the country returns to normal.
While a Pink Floyd reunion is a dream for most fans of Waters and the band, since it’s not a dream for Waters, would we really want to see him get back together with Mason and Gilmour? As sad as the state of their relationship is, it’s probably for the best they remain apart.
