Roger Waters says one show on solo tour was ‘energising and terrifying’ moment

A show which saw a crowd of 320,000 attendees was the most “energising and terrifying” moment of Roger Waters‘ career.

The Pink Floyd bassist and songwriter would confirm the huge crowd was a major part of why the show became so special to him. Waters claimed there was a head count performed at the venue to confirm the massive attendance in what he described as one of the most “symbolically” significant moments of his career. Speaking to Radio Bogotá, Waters shared his love for the show and suggested it was a collection of people from “all over the world.” Waters said: “It was very energising and terrifying at the same time. It was quite extraordinary, I mean, I’ve never seen that many people all in one place, and probably never will again. 

“Yeah, I think we had 320,000 people, they did a head count. And it was extraordinary, they came from all over the world, and they all gathered there in one place, very symbolically. And it was an extraordinary experience.”

It’s not the only career-defining performance Waters has played, with a Pink Floyd reunion at Live Aid seeing both the bassist and guitarist David Gilmour reunite. Waters had left the band in 1985, but Gilmour carried on as frontman until 1994.

The Live 8 show that the four-piece performed, Waters says, gave fans a new context for why he left the group. Speaking to Uncut Magazine about the reason he left the group and whether he would do it again, Waters said the reunion offered him and fans the chance to see he was not a “grumpy guy who left in a huff” and that he “thoroughly enjoyed” performing with his former bandmates.

He said: “There’s no question that when we got back together and did Live 8, things took on a slightly different perspective. A huge number of people saw us on TV, and I think it gave them an opportunity to say, ‘Aha, that’s the guy who wrote the songs’ and to make that connection.

“I think through the years after I left the band in ’85 and when they toured in ’87 and in ’94, I was perceived as the grumpy guy who left in a huff. After Live8 I think they went “Well, maybe he’s not so grumpy after all”. I thoroughly enjoyed Live8. I came to it with a very open mind and a very open heart and decided to just get on with it and do it. So maybe that changed people’s perceptions, to some extent.”

Waters would also say he “loved” performing with the band as they all “seemed to be able to play a bit and sing.” He added: “I don’t think you can generalise about it. It’s hard for bands. Often half of them are dead. I’m not really keen on the reunion when there’s only one bloke left standing. However if everybody’s alive and enthusiastic about doing it I think they’re great. The Live 8 thing was quite extraordinary.

“Even at our advanced years we all still seemed to be able to play a bit and sing. I thought those songs we did sounded great. It was very moving for me personally to hear those four musical voices joined together again onstage. And equally very moving to experience the enormous waves of love that were coming off the field at us. It was just fantastic. I loved it.”