Roger Waters convinced David Gilmour to reform Pink Floyd at Live 8 with just one phone call

Roger Waters says he successfully convinced David Gilmour to reform Pink Floyd for the Live 8 show after Bob Geldof was unsuccessful.

The bassist shared the story of how he got an email from Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason regarding an offer to reform the band for the charity event. Geldof had reportedly approached guitarist Gilmour and received a flat “no”. Mason suggested Waters could convince Gilmour to join them on stage, and the founding member was convinced to do so as it was a “good cause” for a reunion. Waters would speak fondly of the show after the reunion in various interviews. Pink Floyd performed a four-song set at Live 8 in 2005, and it would mark the final time Waters, Mason, Gilmour, and Richard Wright would perform together. Wright would die in 2008, while Waters would tour The Dark Side of the Moon in full on his own.

Waters explained: “I tell Bob that if I’m going to make the call to Dave I need to know exactly what Bob wants us to do. Bob has to leave but says he’ll call me back. Two and a half weeks later he does call back. 

“Apparently he’s written a long and impassioned plea to Dave to reconsider. He’s run this missive past Nick, before sending it to Dave. Nick’s told him it’s a waste of ink and that the only thing that might impact on Dave is a call from me Bob then tells me exactly what he wants us to do at Live 8. It all sounds cool to me, so I get Dave’s telephone numbers from Bob and make the call. 

“Dave answers the phone. Notwithstanding his surprise, which is palpable, we have a very cordial conversation. He expresses some reservations, but agrees to reconsider his position. 24 hours later my phone rings, it’s Dave. ‘Ok, he says, ‘Let’s do it’.”

Gilmour’s wife and frequent musical collaborator, Polly Samson, would use the Live 8 experience as the basis for a song. Despite the positive attitude from Waters after the show, the lead-up to the performance saw the four sitting in “awkward silence”.

Samson, speaking to Louder, said: “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.”