London, UK — The surviving members of the legendary rock band Pink Floyd will reunite next year for a North American tour. A tour that the band says will be “on Pink Floyd’s terms.”
“We’ve decided to put our very strong grievances – aside and just get on with it,” says guitarist David Gilmour, “and the only way we could manage to do that was to put the entire Pink Floyd repertoire aside for this tour. Roger [Waters] has refused to play any Pink Floyd songs, and I am okay with that.”
Roger Waters just laughed.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Waters says. “I’m willing to play virtually any Pink Floyd song ever written. I have, however, explained to Dave that I wouldn’t perform the shit he put out as an impostor of the Pink Floyd band. So we have these various points of disagreement, but I think Dave, Nick, and I all are willing to do what Rick would have wanted us to do.”
Rick Wright was the keyboardist for Pink Floyd since the band’s founding, going back to the Syd Barrett days when Roger didn’t think he ran the whole thing. Unfortunately, Rick Wright died on September 15, 2008. Wright’s passing has cast many doubts on the possibility of a Pink Floyd reunion, as he was an integral part of the sound of the band.
“Rick was always the peacemaker in the group,” explained drummer Nick Mason. “Without him, I didn’t see any way to get Dave and Roger to work together again. Can I have another beer, please?”
Mason came by our office to play us a DVD of the rehearsals. He was picking up some “equipment” from a guy I know in North San Juan. What we saw on our 80″ 4K screen was simply astounding. Waters has added his light show to the world-famous Pink Floyd visual effects repertoire. The results were other-worldly and visually stunning.
After opening the bottle and taking a long pull, Mason continued.
“This idea of doing other groups’ songs, I think it’s brilliant. And Dave and Roger are working together beautifully, like little schoolboys. It’s quite terrific. So much like when we were starting.”
Mason told us more about the music.
“Picking and choosing which songs to play, rather than turning into slap fights, has been quite cathartic for the three of us. Oh, yes. It’s been quite a lot of fun. I’ve never played any music but my own, you know? And it’s quite interesting to hear some of my favorite songs done in the Pink Floyd style. It’s a lot to take in.”
The music we heard was angelic. Gilmour’s voice transformed Led Zeppelin’s ‘Black Dog’ into a psychedelic voyage. Roger Waters’ interpretation of Primus’s ‘Tommy the Cat’ had our faces melting. I kept the DVD. I wouldn’t give it back to Mr. Mason. He was kind enough to leave it with us at the The Fazzler offices. We swore we wouldn’t show any of you any of it.
“We agreed that it might be a lark to sort of get our aggressions out by playing songs that we weren’t so invested in,” explained bassist Roger Waters to The Fazzler by phone. “The fans who hear our version of The Grateful Dead’s ‘Casey Jones’ will not complain. More than the fans who listen to us do a Pink Floyd version of Metallica’s ‘Seek and Destroy.’ The chosen songs are all quite beautiful tunes that send some message.”
Pink Floyd’s North American Tour will start in the Fall of 2023 and span just eight cities.
