Roger Waters says Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb is based on a ‘terrible’ hotel room experience

Roger Waters has claimed a Pink Floyd classic featured on The Wall is based on a nightmare hotel room experience.

The bassist and songwriter shared as much in an interview celebrating The Wall, Pink Floyd’s 1979 classic. A gig in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the source of the song Comfortably Numb, according to Waters, who recalled the horror stop-off on the tour. Speaking to radio host Jim Ladd about The Wall for the album’s thirtieth anniversary in 2010, Waters shared all on what had inspired the song. Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour still features Comfortably Numb in his setlist, while Waters has also featured the song on his most recent tour in 2023.

Waters, explaining the origins of Comfortably Numb, said: “We were in Philadelphia years before, doing a gig in The Spectrum, I think there. And I had a terrible stomach bug of some kind and I had awful stomach pains and I didn’t think I was going to be able to go on.

“So I got the quack from the hotel, and he came up to the room and he said, ‘Oh we can sort that out, I’ll just give you this shot.’ And I have no idea what it was like… And I had to do the whole gig like that, I could hardly move. It was the weirdest feeling. And that was a sort of kick-off for writing that song.”

The song received further praise for featuring what many believe is the “best guitar solo in rock history”, with fans pinpointing a particular performance that still sticks out to them.

An upload of the performance to YouTube saw fans flock to the comments and heap praise onto David Gilmour, the band’s guitarist and vocalist for the song. Gilmour received plenty of praise from fans who suggested it was the very best solo he had given the song, and that it was also a “beautiful” vocal performance. The song is featured on the Is There Anybody Out There live album, as well as The Dark Side of the Moon. Though the song was seven years old at this point, it was featured on The Wall setlist.

Fans were full of praise for this version, with one writing: “Probably the best guitar solo in rock and roll history.” Another added: “I will never get bored of this song, no matter how many times I listen to it.” A third shared: “David Gilmour… what a beautiful voice!”

Others were left wondering if Comfortably Numb was the “most beautiful” rock song ever written. One listener asked: “Is this the most beautiful rock song ever written?” Another listener agreed, adding: “Can’t find any better rock song than this one so far.”

A third added: “Goosebumps, when the light switches to David on top of the wall, and the crowd goes nuts.” The version, which can be found below, would mark one of the last tours from Pink Floyd with Roger Waters as a member. He would leave the band two years after the release of The Final Cut, ending his ties with the group in 1985.