Pink Floyd to Tour Without Pink Floyd Songs

The surviving members of legendary rock band Pink Floyd will reunite next year with a North American tour. A tour that the band says will be “on Pink Floyd’s terms.”

“We’ve decided to put our grievances – our very strong grievances – aside and just sort of get on with it,” says guitarist David Gilmour via Skype, “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 won’t perform the shit he put out as an impostor of the Pink Floyd band. 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.”

A photo of David Gilmour from 59 years ago.

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. 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.
Drummer Nick Mason explains, “Rick was always the peacemaker in the group. Without him I didn’t see any way to get Dave and Roger to work together ever again. Can I have another beer, please?”
Mason came by our Penn Valley offices to play us a DVD of the rehearsals. He happened to be 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 that of the already 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 just starting out.”
Mason told us more about the music.
“Picking and choosing which songs to play, rather than turning into slap-fights, has actually 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 favourite songs done in the Pink Floyd style. It’s really a lot to take in, really.”
 
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 didn’t – wouldn’t – give it back to Mr. Mason. He was kind enough to leave it with us at the Scooper. 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 Nevada County Scooper by phone. “The fans who hear our version of The Grateful Dead’s ‘Casey Jones’, they’re not going to complain. Any more than the fans who hear us do a Pink Floyd version of Metallica’s ‘Seek and Destroy’. The songs we’ve chosen are really all quite beautiful tunes that send some sort of message.”
Pink Floyd’s North American Tour will start in the Spring of 2016 and will span just 8 cities. Get your tickets now.

 http://www.ncscooper.com/pink-floyd-to-tour-without-pink-floyd-songs/