Roger Waters Explains Opening Warning Statement at Start of Current Concerts
Former Pink Floyd bassist/singer Roger Waters is as outspokenly political and he is musically talented, so it’s no shock that each performance on his current “This Is Not a Drill” tour begins with the following emphatic warning: “If you’re one of those ‘I love Pink Floyd, but I can’t stand Roger’s politics’ people, you might do well to fuck off to the bar right now. Thank you, and please enjoy the show.”
In a recent video interview with CNN, Waters explained why he cautions attendees in such a characteristically blunt way:
It’s a really good way to start the show. Apart from anything else, it sets a few things straight. It also encourages a lot of the people who’ve come to the show because they have listened to everything I’ve written since, you know, 1965 or wherever I started writing songs [laughs]. So, they do know what my politics are and they do understand where my heart is and they understand sort of why I’m there.
On the other hand, he continues, “Maybe it also gives a message to people who don’t want to be there, in which case, them fucking off to the bar is probably not a bad idea.”
Waters is also quick to point out that the latter group of concertgoers may not enjoy it because of the tour’s all-encompassing message about “community” and “communication” concerning not only his bond with attendees but also between “us combined with all our brothers and sisters [and] all the rest of the world, irrespective of who they are, where they live, their ethnicity, their religion . . . or anything else.”
Lastly, he clarifies that he’s fine with naysayers sticking around if they “don’t annoy the people who do understand what’s going on in the arena.”
You can watch the full clip below, as well as grab tickets for the remaining performances.