Rogers Waters Won’t Hold Back His Political Statements

Roger Waters, whose political opinions in interviews and concerts frequently generated news, claimed he has a legitimate reason for not holding back his views.

The Pink Floyd co-founder recently told the German newspaper the Berliner Zeitung (via Water’s website):

“Because I am who I am.

“If I wasn’t this person who has strong political convictions, I wouldn’t have written The Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Wish You Were Here, Amused to Death and all the other stuff.”

Over the years, Waters has been accused of exploiting his platform to express political opinions. Some of these include writing an open letter to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, last year urging him to commit to a cease-fire in the war against Ukraine.

Second, his current This Is Not a Drill tour displays messages that condemn the actions of various world leaders, including President Joe Biden, whom he labels as a “war criminal.” Aside from that, he criticized Pink Floyd’s tune “Hey Hey Rise Up,” which was released last year and was written in favor of Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion.

On top of those things, he re-recorded Pink Floyd’s classic 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon without his former bandmates. When he was asked why he said:

“Not enough people recognized what it’s about, what it was I was saying then.”

Whether or not his followers agree with his opinions, Waters has never been afraid to speak up. Before Waters ever enters the stage at the beginning of all This Is Not a Drill show, a message reading, “If you don’t agree with Roger’s politics, you might do well to fuck off to the bar right now,” is projected on the stage.

Waters believes that just because you’re a musician, doesn’t mean that you need to let go of your beliefs. He said:

“If you have political principles and are an artist, then the two areas are inextricably intertwined.

“That’s one reason why I left Pink Floyd, by the way: I had those principles, the others either did not or had different ones.”