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In 1990, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Roger Waters staged an all-star performance of The Wall at the very site where the wall came down. Two years later, he released his third solo album Amused to Death featuring the single What God Wants with Jeff Beck on guitar. Let's check in on Pink Floyd's ex-band mate. #rogerwaters #pinkfloyd #thewall #amusedtodeath #liveinberlin #soloalbum
Roger Waters of course came to prominence in Pink Floyd as the band's original bass player in the 1960s with Nick Mason on drums, Richard Wright on organ and original guitarist and writer Syd Barrett on guitar and lead vocals. Syd penned their early singles such as Arnold Layne, See Emily Play along with most of the material on their first album Piper at the Gates of Dawn such as Astronomy Domine. Syd's breakdown lead to David Gilmour coming in, but Roger would soon contribute a good chunk of their songwriting including Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun on Saucerful of Secrets. Through More, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, Meddle and Obscured by Clouds the band remained a collaborative unit where everyone contributed, most notably on Echoes with Roger writing the lyrics. But it was on Dark Side of the Moon (1973) where Roger contributed all the lyrics and came up with the initial concept. He wrote Money, Brain Damage and Eclipse on his own, collaborated with Rick on Us and Them and with all four members on Time. With the enormous success of the album, Roger took a more prominent role as the band's writer and leader. He still collaborated with Dave and Rick on Shine on You Crazy Diamond from the 1975 album Wish You Were Here, dedicated to Syd, and with David on the title track, and the song Dogs from Animals (1977) but Roger would begin writing and singing a majority of the band's material. During the Animals tour, after a disaster of a concert where he spat on a fan, Roger came up with the concept for The Wall (1979) a double-album rock opera which featured the hit single Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2 along with concert staples Run Like Hell, Young Lust, Hey You, Nobody Home and Comfortably Numb co-written and sung by David Gilmour. But the band morale was at an all time low and Roger forced Rick to quit the band. He stayed on for the 1980s live shows where they built a live wall on stage, but the theatrics made the show difficult to tour and the band lost money. Roger would oversee production of the movie and the 1983 album The Final Cut, made up of outtakes from The Wall. Tensions between David and Roger reached an all time low and Roger quit Pink Floyd in 1985. A year before, Roger released his first solo album The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking featuring Eric Clapton on guitar. When David and Nick, and later Rick, sought to continue the band, Roger sued them to stop using the band name unsuccessfully. Pink Floyd continued with the 1987 release A Momentary Lapse of Reason, featuring the single Learning to Fly, and the following Delicate Sound of Thunder Tour. Both were enormously successful. Meanwhile Roger released Radio KAOS, featuring the song The Tide is Turning (after Live Aid). His tour was in direct competition with Pink Floyd and did not fair as well. However in 1990, The Berlin Wall was torn down and Roger sought to celebrate the event by performing The Wall at the very sight in no man's land. Special guests included The Scorpions on In the Flesh, Cyndi Lauper on Another Brick Pt. 2, Sinead O'connor on Moteher (with Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson of The Band), Joni Mitchell on Goodbye Blue Sky, Bryan Adams on Young Lust, Paul Carrack on Hey You, Van Morrison on Comfortably Numb, and Tim Curry on The Trial. The concert was attended by 350,000 people and released on home video and made into a live album. Two years later in 1992, Roger would release his third studio album Amused to Death, considered by many to be his finest work. The concept dealt with war in the age of Cable TV (released at the time of the Gulf War). Jeff Beck joined him on guitar for songs like What God Wants, Three Wishes and the title track. Despite the critical acclaim, Roger would not tour until the 1999 In the Flesh tour. Meanwhile Pink Floyd released The Division Bell in 1994, another best-seller, and successful tour, their last. In 2005, Roger Waters would rejoin his bandmates for one final set at Live Aid. Roger and David would carry on with solo careers. Syd would pass away in 2006 and Rick in 2008. Roger would revamp The Wall for a tour in the early 2010s. In recent years, Roger has been the subject of controversy for his stance on the Israeli government, Putin and the war in Ukraine. Polly Samson, wife of David Gilmour and lyricist called him out on twitter for being "Antisemitic." Returning to Germany for his This Is Not a Drill tour, he would be criticized for wearing a fascist outfit as worn in The Wall.