Born on September 6: Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), now in troubled waters

Born in Surrey (England) in 1943, the former Pink Floyd bassist today causes as much of a stir for his political stance as for his music.

In the eyes of his admirers, Roger Waters is akin to a living god. Along with his partner, guitarist David Gilmour, with whom he is now at loggerheads, he largely shaped some of the landmarks of modern music. Whether it's the more experimental early albums, including Syd Barrett's "A Saucerful of Secrets" (1968) and "Ummagumma" (1969), or the immensely popular hits that remain, "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973), "Animals" (1977), or the conceptual "The Wall" (1979), Pink Floyd's recordings still shine like fiery letters in the rock pantheon.

In the eyes of his detractors, however, Waters is nothing more than a senile old man enamored with conspiracy theories, a notorious anti-vaxxer (at least regarding COVID-19), and even an anti-Semite. Want some examples?

While the musician can't be blamed for championing the Palestinian people for decades (without, however, endorsing Hamas's methods), it was, to say the least, inappropriate to take the stage on May 17, 2023, in Berlin, wearing a uniform unmistakably reminiscent of Adolf Hitler's SS. An investigation was even opened into suspicions of incitement to hatred. As usual, to exonerate himself, he used a rhetoric that neither Donald Trump nor Elon Musk would disown. "My recent concert in Berlin generated malicious attacks from those who want to silence me because they disagree with my political views," he declared on social media. One of his most ardent defenders in this matter was Robert Kennedy Jr., the black sheep of the assassinated president's family, who—surprise!—defected to Trump and was ultimately appointed US Secretary of Health. Not bad for an anti-vaxxer! It all makes sense then...

Invited (by Moscow) to speak at the United Nations on February 8, 2023, he certainly condemned Putin's attack as "illegal," but nevertheless argued that it had been "provoked" by the West. He thus endorsed the Kremlin's master's bloodthirsty neo-colonialism. His former partner, David Gilmour (who had become a sort of traitor in Waters' eyes), preferred to rekindle the flame of Pink Floyd for him one last time. With Nick Mason (the long-time drummer of the English band), Guy Pratt (bass), and Nitin Swahney (piano), he entrusted the microphone to Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian band Boombox for the moving "Hey Hey Rise Up," clearly defending the victim and without making frivolous excuses for the aggressor. A point for Gilmour, then!

In the end, Waters has spouted such a string of nonsense over the past few years that even his publisher BMG (a Sony subsidiary) has preferred to cut ties with him, according to the American trade magazine Variety. The result, according to him and in barely veiled terms, is "pressure from the Jewish lobby and more specifically the Anti-Defamation League," an American association founded in 1913. No less!

Both musically and scenically, however, it must be recognizsd in all objectivity that "This Is Not A Drill," the world tour in The grumpy grandpa's 2023 has lived up to its promises, despite some visual excesses. It just goes to show that Roger Waters would do well to think twice and weigh his words carefully before expressing himself bluntly on sensitive subjects.
 
(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Roger Waters on the Werchter Plain in June 1984 after the release of his album "The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking"