Why Roger Waters Has Regrets About “The Wall”

In 1990, Roger Waters made a bold move to perform The Wall – Live in Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall. This massive concert, with its unique staging and updated production, drew a huge crowd and became a landmark moment in rock history. But while the performance was a success, Waters felt a bittersweet connection to it, regretting that his creation, The Wall, was still so heavily associated with Pink Floyd rather than with him alone.

Was It a Message for Gilmour and Mason?

In an interview with Q Magazine, Waters was asked if the Berlin concert was meant to outshine his former Pink Floyd bandmates, David Gilmour and Nick Mason. “No, it’s not ‘top that!’” he explained, though he admitted it would be “gratifying” for people to see The Wall as his work. Waters continued with a bit of sarcasm:

“Though after hearing them at Knebworth, I don’t think I should worry. They haven’t got the faintest idea of what it’s about. But then they never did.”

Frustrated by Pink Floyd’s Name

One of Waters’ greatest frustrations was the enduring association of The Wall with Pink Floyd’s name. “Most of the audience for this show will probably think it’s Pink Floyd anyway,” he said, adding that this attachment to the Pink Floyd “brand” was “limpet-like.” Waters felt that, since The Wall was his vision and creation, it should be seen as his work rather than as a group project.

Legacy Overshadowed

For Waters, the album was one that he was most proud of, and he wished for it to be recognized as his masterpiece. He lamented that neither Gilmour nor Mason seemed to grasp its deeper meaning, which left him feeling that his hard work was overshadowed by Pink Floyd’s legacy. To this day, Waters lives with the tension between his personal connection to The Wall and the public’s association of the album with the Pink Floyd brand.