Waters Regrets Suing Floyd

A three-year legal dispute erupted between Waters and the other three band members, who wanted to continue working as Pink Floyd, in 1985.

“I did think that was wrong, and I was wrong – of course I was,” Waters said in an interview with BBC 2’s HARDTalk programme that aired Sept. 19.

“In fact it was one of the few times that the legal profession has taught me something,” he said, describing how the band reacted to his view that it was time to end it. “They went, what do you mean? That’s irrelevant, it is a label and it has commercial value, you can’t say it’s going to cease to exist.”

“It was the correct thing for us to split up, or for me to leave if you like, so I could express my ideas unfettered.”

Asked if he thought it was wrong for Floydmates David Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason and the late keyboardist Rick Wright to continue touring and recording as Pink Floyd after he left, Waters was emphatic and said he did think it was wrong.

The interview, which also aired Sept. 20, went on to reveal that the bassist has plans for a new record.

“I’ve had a very, very strong idea, and I shall pursue it, and I will make at least one more record. I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into it,” he said.

He also said he believes Amused To Death, his last solo record, which was released in ’92, was a better album than 1979’s The Wall, which he’s toured throughout the world for the last three years with an elaborate stage production.

Although the BBC trailers said the interview would touch on allegations that Waters is anti-Semitic, viewers would have learned nothing new on the subject.

Waters has frequently said the visuals used in “The Wall” are “representative of religious and national and commercial interests, all of which have a malign influence on our lives and prevent us from treating each other decently.”

He said attacking the Israeli government’s policies doesn’t mean he’s anti-Jewish. In recent weeks Waters’ call for musicians to boycott Israel has drawn criticism from Israeli promoter Shuki Weiss.

German promoter Marek Lieberberg, who recently did “The Wall” in Berlin and Dusseldorf, told Pollstar he and Waters have agreed to disagree over some of the imagery that appears in the show.