A $250million offer was rejected by Pink Floyd following their Live 8 performance, according to Roger Waters.
The bassist and founding member says the band’s reunion at the Bob Geldof charity event led to a huge offer from an unnamed promoter. Though Waters “really loved” the reunion with David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright, the Live 8 performance in 2005 remains the final time the four were on stage together. Wright died in 2009, meaning a reunion of The Dark Side of the Moon four-piece is now impossible. Though Gilmour has featured at a Waters live show, the chances of the remaining members reuniting on stage remain highly unlikely. But Waters did say the band could have toured had they not passed on a lucrative offer.
Speaking to Word Magazine, Waters shared he was open to reuniting with the band, though this stance may have changed since Live 8. He said: “Oh it was terrific. I really loved it. I hope we do it again. It was more than good.
“If some other opportunity arose, I could even imagine us doing The Dark Side of the Moon again – you know, if there was a special occasion. It would be good to hear it again. Live 8 was so great.” No such plan came to be and the band has yet to perform since their twenty-minute set at Live 8.
But Waters says it would need to be another “good reason” to get back together if they were to take to the stage. He added: “A good reason. I don’t know. Something with a political or charitable connection.
“The day they announced the Pink Floyd were to play Live 8, I went out to dinner with a friend and an offer arrived – literally bang on the dinner table – for the four of us, the Pink Floyd, to tour again. An offer of $250 million. Guaranteed.”
Waters did not reveal why the offer was turned down but it may have something to do with the lack of a charitable angle associated with the performance. The bassist has toured as a solo artist in the years since Pink Floyd’s Live 8 reunion, as has Gilmour.
It may come as a surprise to those who know about the “awkward silence” which Pink Floyd sat in before their performance. Gilmour’s wife, the lyricist Polly Samson, managed to get a song out of the awkward encounter. She shared: “David wanted something as a full stop to the whole Pink Floyd thing.
“So, without a piece of music, I wrote Louder Than Words. It was an easy lyric to write because for years I’d noticed this thing. If you’re in a room with David, Nick [Mason] and Rick, or as I was in at Live 8 with David, Nick, Rick and Roger [Waters], nobody speaks.
“There is nothing but awkward silences. They have no small talk with each other, they have no big talk with each other, they just do not speak. If you happen to be the unlucky person in the room, it’s the most awkward feeling you can imagine.
“And then they get onstage with their instruments and suddenly they’re so eloquent, and the way they communicate is beautiful. And so I wrote Louder Than Words just to express that feeling.”
Even with the passing of the keyboard player, I believe that a tour with the remaining members would be the most sought after ticket ever. But then again, it’s not like they need the money.
It’s my birthday soon, that’s a great reason to play 🕘🕊️