The terrifying thing about the dispute between Roger Waters y David Gilmour is that the name of Pink Floyd it is in the middle, and although it was reinvented for new albums with valuable songs, it was never the same.
David and Roger. Source: Collective Culture
David joined Pink Floyd in December 1967 when Nick Mason asked him if he would consider becoming the fifth member of Floyd, since the idea was that Syd Barrett, who saw his health deteriorate due to a habitual consumption of LSD, became the creator of the songs, but without interpreting them.
The event was finally confirmed in February 1968, however, since then, a creative dispute between the new member and Roger Waters, who immediately after Barrett's departure, tried to establish his order and commanded in the reins of the successful team that began to win a strong presence in the British market.
Despite the differences and the departure of the founding member, Pink Floyd responded surprisingly with some of the most successful and expanding albums in the history of the music genre. rock, And while their true worth is best measured in terms of full albums, together they placed some of the biggest hits in music history, such as, Comfortably Numb.
Incredibly, despite all the furor the merger caused, the band in the decade 1970 with discs like Animals y Wish You Were Here and the struggle of egos, experienced an undeniable tension between Waters and Gilmour in 1979 when they recorded The Wall, which for many is the second masterpiece after The Dark Side of the Moon, an album in which Waters assumed the leading role in terms of the concept and composition of the songs.
In 1982, no longer RickWright, that due to personal and artistic differences with Waters he had asked for his departure, Pink Floyd went back to the studio to record a new job, The Finalcut, without knowing that it would be the last time that an album had the participation of Waters.
In the result, it is evident that between the two creative leaders there was a growing tension, since it is almost a solo album by Waters, who again composed and sang the whole thing. When the album was finalized and released in 1983, Gilmour showed almost total disagreement with the result achieved on the album, so each member turned to their personal projects.
In 1985, Roger Waters He definitely left the band with the desire to dedicate himself completely to his solo career, although not without first making the name of Pink Floyd was never used by anyone again, which started a legal battle against the rest of his colleagues, who wanted to work as they had been doing, with everything and the name and return of Wright.
David Gilmour then he took the reins of the group and decided to move on, even earning the right to use the name with which the band achieved immortality. Under his leadership, Pink Floyd released the studio records A Momentary Lapse of Reason, in 1987; The Division Bell, 1994; and The Endless River, in 2014, the latter, as a set of takes left over from the recording of The Division Bell.
Mason, Wright, and Gilmour in 1994. Source: Collective Culture
In 1987, regarding the fight between the two, Gilmour would say to Rolling Stone that "(Roger) forced his way into becoming the central figure," while Waters alleged that his bandmates weren't really committed to the band's songs.
On top of that, David stated:
After Syd barret change things, Roger took the reins of the group becoming a good composer to reach the top with Dark Side Of The Moon y The Wall. But Pink Floyd it's not just Waters. Roger decided to leave the band because he didn't want to feel trapped in a group where Nick, Rick and I also wanted to have decision-making power. That is why he continued his musical career by taking another path and leaving me in charge of the situation.
The truth is that despite the extraordinary albums they made, some that definitely changed the course of music history, there never was a true friendship between the two, however, they put their differences aside for one night in 2005 for the event. live aid 8, where the classic line-up was reunited on a stage in what was described as a historical event.
That day, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason y Rick Wright offered a set of just over 20 minutes, marking the last time Pink Floyd it was complete on stage; after Wright's death on September 15, 2008, that won't be seen again.
In May of this year, Roger posted a statement referring to his dispute with David.