How Does David Gilmour Feel About Singing Roger Waters’ Songs

Looking at the history of rock music, it is evident that internal conflicts, disagreements, and differences are inevitable when a group of people comes together for a band. Problems like individual creative directions, different priorities, clash of egos, or other personal issues are all common that band members face throughout their careers.

Sometimes they accept these differences and try to go on their way anyhow, but it also results in a permanent split in some cases. Unfortunately, the famous conflict between Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour and Roger Waters ended up with the latter’s departure from the band. The vicious feud between them doesn’t seem to resolve soon, which profoundly saddens millions of Pink Floyd fans.

Why Did Roger Waters Leave Pink Floyd?

The tensions within the band escalated, especially during the making process of their 1983 album, ‘The Final Cut.’ Roger Waters wrote all the lyrics and music for the album, but David Gilmour asked him for more time to write new material, which was rejected by Waters. It was probably the final straw, but the conflict between them had already manifested itself much earlier.

Consequently, these long-term creative differences led Roger Waters to part ways with the band in 1985. Later on, he even began a legal battle over the band’s name and material. The two sides reached an agreement in 1987 and went their ways. Waters is regarded as the creative genius behind Pink Floyd by many as he wrote most of the material. After his departure, David Gilmour sang Waters’ songs and once opened up about it.

What Did David Gilmour Say About Singing Songs Written By Roger Waters?

David Gilmour gave an interview in 2006, in which he reflected on the making process of the band’s third live album, ‘Pulse,’ released on May 29, 1995. The album is based on the European leg of the band’s ‘Division Bell Tour’ in 1994. Actually, they had no intention of recording a live album, but performing ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ completely changed their mind and convinced them to make a live album.

During the interview, Gilmour was asked whether he felt comfortable singing Roger Waters’s songs. He replied by saying that he felt comfortable and asked the interviewer why he asked such a question. Then, the interviewer reminded him of the feud between him and Waters and said that he might feel uncomfortable due to all these conflicts they experienced.

The Pink Floyd icon explained that there were just three Roger Waters songs on the record, and he sang just the two. He stressed that most of the material on the album was written by the rest of the band, so there was no reason for him to feel uncomfortable. He still credited Waters for writing some of the songs but highlighted that it is a Pink Floyd record at the end, so he and the other band members all felt comfortable while performing.

The interviewer asked:

“Did you feel comfortable with those songs?”

David Gilmour replied:

“Yes, I absolutely felt comfortable doing them. Why do you ask?”

Again, the interviewer said:

“Partially because obviously in the actual video you generously give tribute for writing songs, and there is an assumption that you may be uncomfortable singing Roger’s songs.”

Gilmour’s reply follows:

“There are three songs of Rogers’ that are exclusively Roger songs on that record. I think there are two songs that he sang originally. So I’ve never felt remotely uncomfortable singing the songs that I sang in the first place. Of course, a lot of the music was written by the rest of us. So I think it was correct to give him his due credit for writing the words, but it is a Pink Floyd record, and we all felt pretty comfortable with doing it.”

You can watch the full interview below.