Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour vows to never perform with Roger Waters again: “Absolutely not”
David Gilmour has addressed his former Pink Floyd bandmate Roger Waters and confirmed they’ll never perform together in the future.
The two musicians have been feuding for many decades. In recent years, Pink Floyd were unable to release a remastered version of Animals because of a disagreement over the liner notes. Gilmour alleged that Waters was forcing them upon the rest of the band, which he didn’t want to publish and ultimately, the release never saw the light of day.
Furthermore, Waters was accused of antisemitism in 2023. As a result, he had shows cancelled in Germany due to the allegations, which he denies. Notably, Labour MP Christian Wakeford called for Waters’ concert at Manchester’s AO Arena to be cancelled during a speech in the House of Commons.
Gilmour’s wife, Polly Samson, also accused Waters of antisemitism, writing on X: “Sadly, Roger Waters, you are antisemitic to your rotten core. Also a Putin apologist and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy, megalomaniac. Enough of your nonsense.”
Soon after, Gilmour supported Samson’s comments by quoting the post and adding: “Every word demonstrably true.”
Waters has never publicly acknowledged the remarks by Samson or Gilmour. When probed during an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, he replied, “No comment. Oh, shut up… They’re public, and I’m private”.
Now, Gilmour has again ruled out the possibility of reuniting with his former bandmate due to Waters’ controversial political beliefs. He told The Guardian: “Absolutely not. I tend to steer clear of people who actively support genocidal and autocratic dictators like Putin and Maduro [president of Venezuela].”
Gilmour continued: “Nothing would make me share a stage with someone who thinks such treatment of women and the LGBT community is OK. On the other hand, I’d love to be back on stage with [Pink Floyd keyboardist] Rick Wright, who was one of the gentlest and most musically gifted people I’ve ever known.”
The former Pink Floyd guitarist’s opinion on Waters should come as no surprise. Only last month, he told ITV News of a potential reunion, “Dream on, it’s not going to happen. There’s only three people left and we’re not talking and unlikely to so it’s not gonna happen.”
Elsewhere, in the new conversation with The Guardian, Gilmour lamented the current state of the music industry, claiming the “rich and the powerful have siphoned off the majority of this money”. He also said that it’s a “tragedy” that artists can only make an income through touring because it’s “not encouraging new music to be created.”
Pink Floyd sell their back catalogue
The new remarks by Gilmour arrive shortly after Pink Floyd agreed a £400 million deal to sell their back catalogue to Sony. It was previously under discussion in 2022, but negotiations never reached a conclusion despite attracting attention from a series of labels and investment funds.
However, before the deal was announced, Gilmour said “it is something that is still in discussion” to Rolling Stone. Additionally, Gilmour claimed he was more concerned with removing himself from the “mud bath” that Pink Floyd has become rather than monetary gains.
“To be rid of the decision making and arguments that are involved with keeping it going is my dream,” he explained, “If things were different… and I am not interested in that from a financial standpoint. I’m only interested in it from getting out of the mud bath that it has been for quite a while.”
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