roger waters | AAA Music
aaamusic | On 30, May 2010
Roger Waters has announced today (May 27th) the European tour dates to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the masterpiece The Wall.
The man, the genius, the legend, the one who has spoken to more than one generation with Pink Floyd is an extremely calm and relaxed man, very opinionated and passionate about politics and society.
Waters presents to a selected audience of media from all over Europe his tour, how he got the idea and why The Wall is still an up-to-date and incredibly relevant album, not only for the impact it had at the time of release but the freshness of the topics, which still reflect our society.
During the Q&A sessions Waters explains what we can expect from the show: 240 foot wide and 35 foot tall wall, projections, props and special effects, with the use of some of the 1980-81 stage materials and footages, such as the puppets, as well as extra music (discovered by Waters while editing the footage from those years) will be included in the show. It is a indoor show, so no open spaces for this tour. It also features a collaboration with Mark Fisher and Gerald Scarfe.
An opinionated man. This is one of the reasons which led to the creation of the album The Wall, although the most important one it is that it was a way to fight his demons. When asked if the album served as therapy, an earnest Waters confirms that it did serve as an initial therapy to deal with the feelings created by the loss of his father (who died after few months of Waters birth during the WWII) and how he discovered years later, while in therapy, that he felt responsible for the death of his father. This leads to his views on the wars our society has fought since 1979, especially the Iraq and Afghanistan ones. Feeling ashamed for what the British government has done in 2003, with Blair not acknowledging that 75% of the population didn’t want to enter the war and 2million people protested against it, Waters feels for the youngster sent to fight an unnecessary war. Perhaps because he shared the same cruel destiny, there is a page on his website where Waters asks fans to send pictures of those who died in any war, with their stories. Lots of images have been sent of people who died not only in the above mentioned wars but also during WWI and WWII. Those images, alongside Waters father, are likely to feature in the production, as a way to pay respect to their lives.
This production of the show will then feature not only The Wall, but also broader issues: back in 1979, when it was first released, the walls our society had were also real ones (one for all, the Berlin Wall), today we have broader walls, thanks to the vast use of media and technology, which is now, as Waters says, largely used as a propaganda medium.
When asked if he still identifies with Pink, he declares that ”still relates to that younger man”, “I have changed but I still feel the same. If i live another 25 years I will still be that man.”
Pink Floyd and Waters have always been keen on using technology for their shows, but when asked whether Waters enjoys gadgets we learn that he doesn’t like them much. As per youngster, ”They are twittering their life away”. Waters sees the current society and the use of technology as the opposite of what he thought the successful generation would do. This leads to what is the answer to conflicts around the world. The main problem in Waters view is the wall between poor and rich, and the answer can easily be the Northern Europe model (Netherlands, Denmark), which have proved to be successful economies, especially after the banking financial crisis of last year, which, as Waters states, proves that Tatcher and Reagan were wrong and failed. But Waters also blames the US for the consumer society: all you are expected to do as an US citizen (Waters resides in Manhattan) is to consume, this is how the population is kept under control. Words of wisdom of a wise man.
The Wall will visit:
March
21 Lisbon – Atlantico Pavilion
25 Madrid – Palacio de deportes
29 Barcelona – Palau Sant Jordi
April
1 Milan – Mediolanum forum
2 Milan – Mediolanum forum
8 Arnhem (Netherlands) – Gelredome
12 Budapest – Sports arena
15 Prague – O2 Arena
18 Lodz (Poland) – Atlas arena
23 Moscow – Olympiski
25 St. Petersburg – Skk arena
27 Helsinki – Hartwall arena
30 Oslo – Telenor
May
4 Stockholm – Globe
7 Copenhagen – Parken
11 London – O2 arena
12 London – O2 arena
17 London – O2 arena
20 Manchester – Manchester Evening News Arena
21 Manchester – Manchester Evening News Arena
23 Dublin – The O2 arena
27 Antwerp (Belgium)- Sportspaleis
30 Paris – Bercy
June
3 Mannheim (Germany) – Sap arena
6 Zurich – Hallenstadion
10 Hamburg – Colorline arena
15 Berlin – O2 World
18 Dusseldorf – Esprit arena
Tickets go on sale on June 4th.
