Roger Waters

Roger Waters

  Background information

             

Birth name - George Roger Waters

Born - 6 September 1943, Surrey, England

Occupation (s) - Musician, songwriter, producer

Instrument (s) - Vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboard instruments, synthesizer

Years active - 1964–present

Label (s) - Capitol, Columbia, Sony, EMI, Harvest

Associated with - Pink Floyd, Sigma 6, The Screaming Abdabs, The Bleeding Hearts Band

 Introduction

George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English rock musician; singer, guitarist, bassist, songwriter, and composer. He is best known for his 1965–1985 career with the band Pink Floyd (he was credited as their main songwriter, after the departure of Syd Barrett), bass player and one of their lead vocalists (along with David Gilmour and, to a lesser extent, Rick Wright). He was also the lyrical mastermind behind many of the band's concept albums, especially The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall, and The Final Cut, and their well known symbols including the Pink Floyd pigs and the marching hammers.

Following this, he began a moderately successful solo career releasing three studio albums and staging one of the largest concerts ever, The Wall Concert in Berlin in 1990. In 2005 he released an opera, Ça Ira, and joined Pink Floyd at the Live 8 concert in London, on 2 July, for their first public performance with Waters in 24 years.

Biography

 (1943–1965) Early years

Waters was born George Roger Waters in Great Bookham, Surrey near Leatherhead, and grew up in Cambridge.

Although his father Eric Fletcher Waters had been a Communist and ardent pacifist, he fought in World War II and died in action at Anzio in 1944, when Waters was only five months old. Waters would refer or allude to the loss of his father throughout his work, especially on The Final Cut album from 1983 (which is dedicated to his father) and the song named "When the Tigers Broke Free", first used in the movie version of The Wall. However, he has said that the mother character from the latter album was nothing like his own. Distrust of authority, particularly government, educational, and military institutions, is a recurring theme in Waters' writing. This theme is clearly expressed in "When the Tigers Broke Free" as Waters expresses what he felt was a hollow and patronizing response to his father's sacrifice at Anzio:

"And kind old King George sent Mother a note when he heard that Father was gone.

It was, as I recall, in a form of a scroll, with gold leaf and all.

And I found it one day in a drawer of old photographs, hidden away.

And my eyes still grow damp to remember, His Majesty signed with his own rubber stamp."

Another reference to the loss of his father appears in "Amused to death", with the lines "I wish when I was young, my old man hadn't been gone".

He and Syd Barrett attended the Morley Memorial Junior School on Hills Road, Cambridge, and later both attended the Cambridge County School for Boys (now Hills Road Sixth Form College), while fellow band member David Gilmour attended The Perse School on the same road. He met Nick Mason and Richard Wright while attending the Regent Street Polytechnic school of architecture. He was a keen sportsman and was fond of swimming in the River Cam at Grantchester Meadows. At 15 he was chair of YCND in Cambridge.

 (1965–1985) Pink Floyd years 

In 1965, Roger Waters co-founded Pink Floyd (after many different incarnations—see Pink Floyd) along with Syd Barrett, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. Although Barrett initially did most of the songwriting for the band, Waters wrote the song "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" on their debut LP, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The album was a critical success and positioned the band for stardom. Barrett's deteriorating mental health led to increasingly erratic behaviour, rendering him unable to continue in his capacity as Pink Floyd's lead singer and guitarist. Waters attempted to coerce his friend into psychiatric treatment; this proved unhelpful, and the band approached David Gilmour to replace Barrett at the end of 1967. Even the band's former managers felt that Pink Floyd would not be able to sustain its initial success without the talented Barrett. Filling the void left by Barrett's departure, Waters began to chart Pink Floyd's new artistic direction. The lineup with Gilmour and Waters eventually brought Pink Floyd to prominence, producing a series of albums in the 1970s that remain among the most critically acclaimed and best-selling records of all time.

In 1970, Waters collaborated with British composer Ron Geesin (who co-wrote Pink Floyd's title suite from Atom Heart Mother) on a soundtrack album, Music from "The Body", which consisted mostly of instrumentals interspersed with songs composed by Waters. Within Pink Floyd, Waters became the main lyrical contributor, exerting progressively more creative control over the band: he produced thematic ideas that became the impetus for concept albums such as The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, for which he wrote all of the lyrics and some of the music. After this, Waters became the primary songwriter, composing Animals and The Wall largely by himself (though continuing to collaborate with Gilmour on a few tracks). 

Waters' band-mates were happy to allow him to write the band's lyrics and guide its conceptual direction while they shared the opportunity to contribute musical ideas (Gilmour described Waters as "a very good motivator and obviously a great lyricist," even at the height of the acrimony between them in 1995). Some of the band's most popular and beloved songs, including "Echoes", "Time", "Us and Them", "Wish You Were Here" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", feature the strong synergy of Waters' sharp lyrical instincts combined with the melodic talent of Gilmour, the soft, precise drumming of Nick Mason, and atmospheric patterns of keyboardist Richard Wright ("Us and Them", for instance, began as a sweetly melodic Wright keyboard instrumental and gained poignancy when Waters added plaintive antiwar lyrics). Unfortunately, this give-and-take relationship began to dissolve: a consequence of the band's collective ennui, according to Waters. Song-writing credits were a source of contention in these difficult years; Gilmour has noted that his contributions to tracks like "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II", with its blistering guitar solo, were not always noted in the album credits. Nick Mason addresses the band in-fighting in his memoir, Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, characterizing Waters as being egomaniacal at times. It was while recording The Wall that Waters decided to fire Wright, after Wright's personal problems began to affect the album production. Wright stayed with the band as a paid session musician while Waters led the band through a complete performance of his opus on every night of the brief tour that followed (for which Gilmour acted as musical director).

In 1983 , the last Waters–Gilmour–Mason collaboration, The Final Cut, was released. The sleeve notes describe it as being a piece "by Roger Waters" that was "performed by Pink Floyd" (rather than an actual Pink Floyd record). So, to many the album came across more like a Roger Waters solo album than Pink Floyd (similar to A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell being tagged as Gilmour solo albums). It was the lowest selling Pink Floyd album in a decade without a hit single. Gilmour unsuccessfully tried to delay production on the album until he could author more material; Waters refused, and in 1985, he proclaimed that the band had dissolved due to irreconcilable differences. The ensuing battle between Waters and Gilmour over the latter's intention to continue to use the name Pink Floyd descended into threatened lawsuits and public bickering in the press. Waters claimed that, as the original band consisted of himself, Syd Barrett, Nick Mason and Richard Wright, Gilmour could not reasonably use the name Pink Floyd now that it was without three of its founding members. Another of Waters' arguments was that he had written almost all of the band's lyrics and a great part of the music after Barrett's departure. However, through agreement, Gilmour and Mason won the right to use the name and a majority of the band's songs, though Waters did retain the rights to the albums The Wall (save for three of the songs that Gilmour co-wrote), Animals, and The Final Cut, as well as claiming ownership of the famous Pink Floyd pigs.

For many fans and casual listeners, the collaborative years of 1971–1979 remain the "classic" Pink Floyd years due to the albums released and prominence of Pink Floyd in music culture; a 1987 end-of-year review in Rolling Stone noted that Waters' solo effort Radio K.A.O.S. and the post-Waters Pink Floyd album A Momentary Lapse of Reason, if taken together, might have made a nice follow-up to The Dark Side of the Moon. In 2005, Waters agreed to rejoin Pink Floyd on stage for Live 8, and on 2 July 2005, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright performed together on-stage for the first time since the June 1981 Wall concerts at Earl's Court in London.

 (1985–2005) Early solo years

After his departure from Pink Floyd, Waters embarked on a solo career producing three concept albums and a movie soundtrack which did not garner impressive sales. His solo work has managed critical acclaim and even some comparison to previous work with Pink Floyd.

His first truly solo album, 1984's The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, was a project about a man's dreams in a night. The list of musicians helping Waters during recording included legendary guitarist Eric Clapton and jazz saxophonist David Sanborn. Conceived around the same time as The Wall, the concept was shown to the Pink Floyd members, but they preferred The Wall over The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. The album had been demoed by Waters at the same time as The Wall, but the band had voted it too personal. Waters decided to shelve it until he could do it as a solo project. The album received mixed reviews, with Kurt Loder describing Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking in Rolling Stone as a "strangely static, faintly hideous record," adding that "Waters sounds like the kind of guy who'd bring Hershey bars and nylons along on a first date." (Loder gave the album one star out of five, though user ratings have averaged four out of five). On the other end of the spectrum, Mike DeGagne of the All Music Guide praised the album for its "ingenious symbolism and his brilliant use of stream of consciousness within a subconscious realm," rating it four out of five stars.

In 1986 Waters contributed songs to the soundtrack of the movie When the Wind Blows. His backing band, featuring Paul Carrack, was credited as The Bleeding Hearts Band.

In 1987 Waters (still accompanied by the Bleeding Hearts Band, although not always credited as such) released another concept album, Radio K.A.O.S., about a man named Billy who can hear radio waves in his head. Waters followed the release with a supporting tour, also in 1987. The sound system for the arena portion of the tour used numerous speakers which created a surround sound effect. His album did not garner the impressive sales he had achieved in Pink Floyd. One possible reason was that he was now competing with a reformed Pink Floyd who were touring to support their latest release, A Momentary Lapse of Reason. At the time Waters was quoted to have said "I'm competing against myself and losing."

After the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Waters staged a gigantic charity concert of The Wall in Berlin on July 21, 1990 to commemorate the end of the division between East and West Germany. The concert took place on Potsdamer Platz (a location which was part of the former "no-man's land" of the Berlin Wall), featured many guest superstars: The Band, Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper, Sinéad O'Connor, The Hooters, The Scorpions, Marianne Faithful, and Joni Mitchell. It was one of the biggest concerts ever staged with an attendance of over 300,000 and watched live by over five million people worldwide.

1992's Amused to Death, about the corrupting, desensitizing nature of television, is perhaps Waters' most critically acclaimed solo recording, with music critics comparing it to later Pink Floyd work, such as The Wall. The album had one hit which was "What God Wants, Pt. 1" which hit #4 on Mainstream Rock charts. Jeff Beck, another legendary guitarist, saw action on Waters' album as he played lead guitar. There was no tour in support of this record, Waters would later perform several songs from this record nearly eight years later on his In the Flesh tours. 

In 1999 Waters embarked on the In the Flesh tour which saw him performing some of his most famous work, both solo and Pink Floyd material. The tour was a success in the US, and after Waters had booked mostly smaller venues (after the let-down in attendance from his 1987 tour), tickets sold so well that most of the concerts had to be upgraded to larger venues. With Gilmour's Pink Floyd retiring after 1994, and many Floyd albums selling at the pace of Beatles records, Waters was in great demand. The tour eventually stretched across the world. Tickets were at such high demand, that the tour had to be spanned over three years. Almost every show was sold out with some venues garnering more sales than Pink Floyd shows of early touring years. One concert (Filmed in Portland, Oregon) was released on CD and DVD, named In the Flesh Live, after the tour. During this tour he played two new songs from his next solo album, "Flickering Flame" and "Each Small Candle", as the final encore to the show

Waters, performing live in 2006

In 2002 Waters performed at a concert organised by the Countryside Alliance . In June of 2002 Waters played the Glastonbury Festival performing many classic Pink Floyd songs. This was the first time a special speaker system had been set up among the Glastonbury audience to enable sound effects to appear to be moving around amongst the crowd. 

Miramax Films announced in mid-2004 that a production of The Wall was to appear on Broadway with Waters playing a prominent part in its production. Reports stated that the musical contained not only the original tracks from The Wall, but also songs from Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and other Pink Floyd albums, as well as new material.

On the night of 1 May 2004, the overture for Ça Ira was pre-premièred on occasion of the Welcome Europe celebrations in the accession country of Malta, performed over Grand Harbour in Valletta and illuminated by light artist Gert Hof. The event was broadcast over all EBU television stations.

In September 2004, Waters released two new tracks, "To Kill The Child" and "Leaving Beirut". These were released only on the Internet. Both of these tracks were inspired by the U.S./UK 2003 invasion of Iraq. Waters, who currently resides in the U.S., has said that the songs were written immediately after the start of the war, but he delayed releasing them until just before the 2004 Presidential election, hoping to derail George W. Bush's re-election. The lyrics included "Oh George! Oh George! That Texas education must have fucked you up when you were very small" (from "Leaving Beirut"). Although the songs' criticism was primarily aimed at the American government, Tony Blair is also referenced: "Not in my name, Tony, you great war leader". They were also released as a limited edition on CD in Japan.

After the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and subsequent tsunami disaster, Waters performed "Wish You Were Here" with Eric Clapton during a benefit concert on the American network NBC.

 (2005–present) Later solo years

 Roger Waters performing on his Dark Side Of The Moon Live tour at the Equity Members Stadium in Perth, Australia in 2007 

On July 2, 2005 Waters and Pink Floyd reunited for a performance at the Live 8 concert. They played a six-song, 23-minute set, including "Speak to Me/Breathe"/"Breathe (Reprise)", "Money", "Wish You Were Here", and "Comfortably Numb". Before going into "Wish You Were Here", 

Waters said:

“It's actually quite emotional standing up here with these three guys after all these years. Standing to be counted with the rest of you. Anyway, we're doing this for everyone who's not here, but particularly, of course, for Syd.”

Waters remarked shortly after Live 8 to the Associated Press that, while the experience of playing as Pink Floyd again was positive, the chances of a bona fide reunion would be "slight", considering his and Gilmour's continuing musical and ideological differences. During an interview with Rolling Stone, Waters further denied the possibility of a future Pink Floyd tour, saying "I didn't mind rolling over for one day, but I couldn't roll over for a whole fucking tour." He has since stated on a radio interview that he would be interested in the possibility of recording a new album with the rest of Pink Floyd as long as he had creative control. However, David Gilmour has said on several occasions that he is retired from extensive touring, shedding more doubt on the possibility of a bona fide Pink Floyd reunion tour.

Waters is known to be working on two new solo albums (as remarked to Jim Ladd, with whom he worked on Radio K.A.O.S.): one has the working title of Heartland. Two new songs that might appear on this album have been released on Flickering Flame: The Solo Years Vol. 1: "Each Small Candle" and "Flickering Flame". The other of the two albums deals with the theme of love, much in the vein of Pros and Cons. A work-in-progress, which may appear on this album and was dubbed "Woman" by bootleggers, was heard during the sound checks for the In the Flesh tour. However, in a recent telephone interview, he confirmed that the release of his next project has been delayed due to not having a concept to draw all the individual songs together into one piece.

In February of 2005 , it was announced on Roger Waters' website that his opera, Ça Ira, had been completed after 16 years of work. It was released as a CD/DVD set by Sony Classical on September 27, 2005 with Baritone Bryn Terfel, soprano Ying Huang and tenor Paul Groves. The original libretto was written in French by the late Étienne Roda-Gil, who set the opera during the optimistic days of the early French Revolution. From 1997 Waters rewrote the libretto in English. 

On May 20, 2006 he performed with a set band consisting of Roger Taylor and Eric Clapton and former band-mate Nick Mason performing two songs, "Wish You Were Here", and "Comfortably Numb".

Solid state laser system designed by Marc Brickman that depicted Dark Side of the Moon album art, used on Waters' latest tour. 

Roger Waters toured Europe during the Summer of 2006 and North America in the fall for his The Dark Side of the Moon Live Tour. As part of his performance he played a complete run-through of the 1973 Pink Floyd classic, The Dark Side of the Moon, as the second half of the show. The first half was a mix of Floyd classics and Waters' solo material. Elaborate staging designed by Mark Fisher, complete with projections, and a full, 360 degree quadrophonic sound system were used. This new Waters' solo tour is expected to be as successful as his previous In the Flesh tour. His former Pink Floyd bandmate, Nick Mason joined Waters on some of the tour dates. Richard Wright was invited to participate on the tour as well but he declined the offer to work on solo projects. There is also a 2007 leg of the Tour, starting in January in Australia, followed by New Zealand and going through Asia, Europe, South America, and finally North America in June.

Waters' former bandmate Nick Mason began patching their relationship in 2002. After speaking to Mason and Bob Geldof about a possible Pink Floyd reunion at Live 8, Waters contacted Gilmour by phone and e-mail, and it appears that they have buried the hatchet since the historic concert and now communicate on a friendly basis. Waters has made overtures to Richard Wright, as well. Syd Barrett, who died on Friday 7 July 2006, remained an emotional subject for most of his friends and former colleagues. Waters said in interviews before Barrett's death that it would be difficult and inappropriate for him to try to insert himself back into his old friend's life. Waters will be performing another Dark Side of the Moon concert in the summer of 2007.

He contributed to the The Last Mimzy soundtrack with award-winning composer Howard Shore in March 2007. His song, "Hello (I Love You)", was played during the credits of the film. Waters commented on its development: "I think together we've come up with a song that captures the themes of the movie - the clash between humanity's best and worst instincts, and how a child's innocence can win the day."

In March 2007, Roger Waters told Rolling Stone magazine that he would be a performer at the U.S. leg of the Live Earth event--an international multi-venue concert aimed to raise awareness about global climate change. At that time he also confirmed that his former Pink Floyd bandmates would not be joining him at the event. On July 7th, 2007, Waters played at Live Earth, performing the intro to "In the Flesh", "Money", "Us and Them", "Brain Damage", and "Eclipse". Waters finished off with "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)", featuring the Trenton Youth Choir and his trademark inflatable pig.

Waters has also recently become a spokesperson for Millennium Promise, a non-profit organization that helps fight extreme poverty and malaria. He wrote a special commentary for CNN's website on June 11, 2007 about the topic.

Hits and awards

Waters' solo singles have seen little chart activity; "What God Wants, Pt. 1" reached #35 in the UK in September 1992. His three major solo albums have been acclaimed Gold by the RIAA, and his opera Ça Ira reached #1 on both the UK and U.S. Classical Charts. Waters has also been inducted into the U.S. and UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd, and received a "Media Event of the Year" award for mounting The Wall Live in Berlin.

Equipment and instruments

Though Waters does not talk a lot about the musical equipment he uses in his tours and during his recordings, it is known that when he first started playing with Pink Floyd he used a Hofner bass, quickly replacing that with a Rickenbacker 4001S bass guitar. In the early 1970s, he switched to a Fender Precision Bass. He often plays with a pick, but is also known to play fingerstyle occasionally. He also uses RotoSound Jazz Bass 77 bass guitar strings. On his current tour, Waters uses Ashdown Engineering amplifiers. He is known to use delay and flanger pedals in his music.

While usually credited only as a bass guitarist and vocalist, Waters is also known to play electric guitar (as he did on Wish You Were Here and Animals, where he played rhythm guitar on tracks "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"-part 9, "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" and "Sheep") as well as add synthesizer and tape effects, both to Pink Floyd and his solo works. He also plays acoustic guitar frequently during his live tours, mostly on tracks from The Final Cut and on the track "Mother".

The following is a list of equipment Waters either has used on his solo or Pink Floyd recordings, as well as on tours.

Bass guitars

Hofner bass guitar. His first bass.

Rickenbacker RM-1999(also known as 4001S). Fireglo with rosewood fretboard. Used between 1966-1969.

Fender Precision Bass. Waters was first seen in 1968 with a Precision. After 1970 he has rarely used any other bass guitars.

Sunburst with rosewood fretboard. First seen in September 1968. Also used in the early 70's.

White with black pickguard and rosewood fretboard. First seen used at the KQED TV recording April 1970.

Multi-coloured with rosewood fretboard. Actual colours of bass are unknown since only black and white footage/photos exist. This is a WWII German camoflage pattern. Used extremely rarely in early 70s.

Black with white pickguard, maple fretboard. First seen in a concert in London in 1972. Also used live during the 70's. In the late 70's Phil Taylor (David Gilmour's guitar technician) replaced the white pickguard with a black. During the Wall sessions and tour Waters had three of them.

Sunburst with maple pickguard. Used during the Dark Side of the Moon recordings.

Black with maple fretboard. His main bass guitars during the 1980s solo album and tours.

Guitars

CBS Fender Stratocaster. Black with white pickguard, maple fretboard. First seen in Live at Pompeii.

CBS Fender Stratocaster. Black with maple fretboard. Used on the 1977 tour.

The 2 above guitars are the same guitar, and belongs to David Gilmour. 

Fender Stratocaster. Black with white fretboard. Used on The Wall recording sessions.

Ovation Legend acoustic/electric guitar. Used on the 1977 tour.

Ovation Legend 1619-4 acoustic guitar. Used on The Wall recording sessions and tour. Also used on The Pros & Cons of Hitch Hiking Tour.

Ovation Classical 1613 acoustic guitar. Used on The Wall tour.

Washburn electric-acoustic guitar. Blue. Used on Radio K.A.O.S. tour. and The Wall Live in Berlin.

Gibson Les Paul guitar. Black. Used on Radio K.A.O.S. tour.

Unknown Fender Telecaster copy. Black, with three control knobs. Used exclusively at the The Wall Live in Berlin, on Hey You.

Martin 000-28EC acoustic guitar. Used on In the Flesh tour.

Martin 000-28ECHF Bellezza Nera acoustic guitar. Used on Dark Side of the Moon Live tour.

Washburn RR300 electric guitar (hi-strung). Sunburst. Used on In the Flesh tour.

Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster. Red with white pickguard. Used on In the Flesh tour.

Fender Stratocaster. All black. Used on 2002 In the Flesh tour.

Personal interests and trivia

Waters has a chip in his teeth that was caused by someone throwing a (pre-decimal) penny at him during a performance in West London in the 1960s, as described in Nick Mason's book, Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd. The incident apparently took place in The Feathers (now The Town House) pub, Ealing Broadway.

Waters stands 6 feet, 3 inches (193 cm) tall Waters has been married three times, and has two children: India, who is a model, and Harry, who is currently playing keyboards on The Dark Side of the Moon Live Tour. India and Harry can both be heard speaking on The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. Waters first married Judy Trim in 1969 and they divorced in 1975. He married again in 1976 to Lady Carolyn Christie who gave birth to his children. They divorced in 1992. He married a third time to the actress Priscilla Phillips on 28 July 1993 and they subsequently divorced in 2001. As of 2005 Waters is engaged to marry a fourth time to actress Laurie Durning whom he is understood to have been seeing for a number of years. 

Solo discography

November 28, 1970 - Music from "The Body" (w/Ron Geesin)

May 28, 1984 -The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

June 15, 1987 - Radio K.A.O.S.

July 21, 1990 -The Wall: Live in Berlin

September 1, 1992 - Amused to Death

December 15, 2000 - In the Flesh: Live

April 2, 2002- Flickering Flame: The Solo Years Vol. 1

2004 - To Kill the Child/Leaving Beirut

September 26, 2005 - Ça Ira

March 12, 2007 - "Hello (I Love You)"