Pink Floyd songwriter Roger Waters suggests date for when he’ll stop touring as ‘physical demand’ is too much

The time for touring could be over for Roger Waters as the Pink Floyd veteran outlines when he will stop playing gigs.

Waters has hinted at the date several times in the past, and while it’s not a specific day or month he has in mind, The Wall hitmaker believes he will know when the time has come to stop playing. The veteran songwriter last performed a tour in 2023 and has made just three, brief performances since then. In an interview given back in 2011, Waters did reveal when he would feel ready to give up being on the road, and that moment has seemingly come to pass without anyone realising it. The Pink Floyd bassist, whose work with David Gilmour, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason will go down as some of the best in music history, may be finished with touring for good.

He said: “It’s a life I can tolerate. I enjoy doing the shows, but after that, you have a glass of wine and go to bed. Because I have to sing every day, I can’t talk much. And I hate not being able to talk, particularly when we’re on an aeroplane, when there is a loud noise level, so you have to speak louder. Also, when you’re at a party, and lots of people are talking to each other… after an hour, you lose your voice. And I can’t afford to do that. That’s something I don’t enjoy.”

Waters would also share that he did not envisage a future where he found himself on “55-date tours”, and that the age for stopping those massive showcases had come and gone. He added: “I’m 67 now, so I think there will come a point where I won’t want the physical demands – I can’t imagine what at aged 80 I’m going to want to do 55-date tours.

“At the moment, I’m pretty fit and I have no qualms about doing this one. I have started to work out in preparation, as it is physically quite demanding.” Despite the complaints from Waters over touring into his 80s, the legendary musician has been keeping himself fit and healthy, should his chat in 2011 be believed.

“I’m getting fitter,” he said. “I started going to a personal trainer. I’d never been to a gym in my life, so it was a bit of a shock. It’s unbelievably painful. I’m doing some cardio and a lot of strength and flexibility training to get stronger.”

In a separate interview, Waters outlined how it was much “harder” for him to keep touring as the shows demanded a level of physicality he could no longer give. Waters said: “It might be, you never know. I tend to do quite big shows, and I put a lot into it. Some people go out on tour until they die. Muddy Waters, or BB King, or some of those old blues players, they can just set up a chair and play, and that’s all they need to do.

“I feel that my shows have to be a bit more physical. That might be harder to keep going. When I finish this tour, I’ll be nearly 70 years old, which is getting up there for a rock’n’roller.”