Waters, Roger - The Story Lyrics






Benny is a Welsh coal miner. He is a radio ham. He is 23 years old, married to Molly. They have a son, young Ben, aged 4, and a new baby. They look after Benny's twin brother Billy, who is apparently a vegetable. The mine is closed by the market forces. The Male Voice Choir stops singing, the village is dying.

One night Benny takes Billy on a pub crawl. Drunk in a brightly-lit shopping mall, Benny vents his anger on a shop window full of multiple TV images of Margaret Thatcher's mocking condescension. In defiance, he steals a cordless 'phone. Later that night, Benny cavorts dangerously on the parapet of a motorway footbridge, in theatrical protest at the tabloid press. That same night, a cab driver is killed by a concrete block dropped off a similar bridge. The police come to question Benny; he hides the cordless 'phone under the cushion of Billy's wheelchair.

Billy is different, he can receive radio waves directly without the aid of a tuner; he explores the cordless 'phone, recognizing its radioness. Benny is sent to prison. Billy feels as if half of him has been cut off. He misses Benny's nightly conversations with radio hams in foreign parts. Molly, unable to cope, sends Billy to stay with his Great Uncle David, who had emigrated to the USA during the war. Much as Billy likes Uncle David and the sunshine and all the new radio in LA, he cannot adjust to the cultural upheaval and the loss of Benny, who for him is 'home'.

Uncle David, now an old man, is haunted by having worked on the Manhattan project during World War II, designing the Atom Bomb, and seeks to atone. He also is a radio ham; he often talks to other hams about the Black Hills of his youth, the Male Voice Choir, about home. He is saddened by the use of telecommunication to trivialise important issues, the soap opera of state. However, Live Aid has decynicised him to an extent. Billy listens to David and hears the truth the old man speaks.

Billy experiments with his cordless 'phone, he learns to make calls. He accesses computers and speech synthesizers, he learns to speak. Billy makes contact with Jim a DJ at Radio KAOS, a renegade rock station fighting a lone rear guard action against format radio. Billy and Jim become radio friends, Reagan and Thatcher bomb Lybia. Billy perceives this as an act of political "entertainment" fireworks to focus attention away from problems at "home".

Billy has developed his expertise with the cordless 'phone to the point where he can now control the most powerful computers in the world. He plans an "entertainment" of his own. He simulates nuclear attack everywhere, but de-activates the military capability of "the powers that be" to retaliate. In extremes perceptions change, Panic, comedy, compassion. In a SAC bunker a soldier in a white cravat turns a key to launch the counter attack. Nothing happens; impotently he kicks the console, hurting his foot. He watches the approaching blips on the radar screen. As impact approaches, he thinks of his wife and kids, he puts his fingers in his ears.

Silence. White out. Black out. Lights out. It didn't happen, we're still alive. Billy has drained the earth of power to create his illusion. All over the dark side of the earth, candles are lit. In the pub in Billy's home village in Wales one man starts to sing; the other men join in. The tide is turning.

Billy is home.

[Jim:] This is K.A.O.S. You and I are listening to KAOS in Los Angeles.
Let's go to the telephones now and take a request.
[Billy:] Hello, I'm Billy.
[Jim:] Yes?
[Billy:] I hear radio waves in my head.
[Jim:] You hear radio waves in your head? Ah! Is there a request that you have tonight for KAOS?





Other Lyrics by Artist

Rand Lyrics

Last Posts

Waters, Roger The Story Comments
  1. k.... y....

    why don’t u all relax about roger and just let him talk my god if yuh hate him so much just leave it’s not that hard

  2. A.... C....

    I love Syds songs! They do have strange odd phrases and little word tangels that are interesting, charming even...but they show an irregularity that became more and more probematic .. I think it was hard for the other band members to cope with espeacial for the more career minded.

  3. L.... H....

    Michael owen

  4. C.... D....

    What GOD Wants GOD Gets

  5. M.... I....

    Syd was the sane one of the band and this is the crazy mad man. He ruined Syd and the band, spoiled fucking nazi.

  6. M.... ....

    It's funny how a story can change depending on when the person is answering the question. In this case Waters says that Barrett didn't see him at Harrods when he was buying sweets. I recently saw a documentary and have read several other interviews with Waters where he clearly states that Barrett did see him, they literally ran into eachother and when Waters greeted him, Barrett was obviously shaken, dropped his bags and ran out without saying anything back to him. It was at that point, according to Waters that he realized that Barrett wanted NOTHING to do with anyone from that period of his life so Waters then decided out of respect for Syd that he would never contact him again. In this interview Waters acts like Barrett never even glanced at him.

  7. c.... y....

    One of those lucky guy who gets old gracefully good-looking 😍

  8. j.... b....

    So they sang about him in stadiums while he was alive and he didnt know it ?

  9. j.... b....

    I dont like Richard Wright.

  10. d.... r....

    I always thought that Waters was the big talent in the band...especially after hearing his work on some independent projects. In a way, at least commercially, Barrett might ultimately have had a negative influence on that band, had he remained a part of it.. Like Fleetwood Mac...or even AC/DC , where popularity and commercial success became enormous after personnel changes....There are always people who sentimentalize the "original" version of anything...World War 2 was the "best " war etc....
    I don't want to'dis' ole Syd....I do think his work was kind of quaint and quirky and 'childish' ...almost like an illustrated child's book....to me sort of silly and inconsequential, not that it was even meant to be more...but then I like Bach and Santago de Murcia etc.....and find them infinitely more evocative then Syd...not even a fair comparison.....but he seems in HINDSIGHT to be regarded as some sort of fabulous genius....and yes it's in the character of mythologizing famous people to aggrandize them retrospectively........Like Van Gogh, a certifiable genius in his realm, I think sold one painting in his lifetime, then, after he becomes 'certifiable' in another way, his work becomes priceless.....a tragic death can do wonders for the value of an artist's posthumous estate....Social physics, the inadvertent cosmic revenge of the peasantry on some talents...Their lives aren't worth a damn until they're over,and then a piece of their toilet paper becomes a million dollar bill...Possibly, as measured in most quantifiable ways and previously inferred in this "essay" , his departure was the optimal outcome for Floyd.....and the latter day references to him in their music exploits the sentimentalized mythology built up around him in a very deliberate way that isn't all just love and remorse...this band is a large corporate money machine, and has been for decades....a fact not so easily fissioned off from their output's character, Recall them touring their light show ...minus the actual band ......was a huge cash cow........a tad callous you'd say...but a smart monetization if ever i saw one....worth vast amounts of filthy lucre.....and the calculations that go into stunts like that are certainly inherent in their 'notational' decisions.....And....having blathered all this pompous shite, which I'd be amazed if anyone reads, I like this interview. Waters emerges a very bright insightful caring sort of guy...who seems very matter of fact and sincere....and that seems in line with the few extremely successful people I have actually met or known or seen interviewed...they are often very modest and self-effacing...way past needing to prove anything to anybody....Anyways...Syd's story is a fascination....kind of like Skip Spence of Moby Grape...or Peter Green of John Mayall etc....The world has a way of eating up some artists, to say nothing of just typical people....who suffer more anonymously....and maybe that's a peculiar blessing too.....

  11. P.... R....

    When did this interview take place?

  12. /.... p....

    Have you got it yet?

  13. L.... I....

    Interesting he mentions Syds love for sweets. He had diabetes which lead to the pancreatic cancer that ultimately finished him. The early onset of diabetes is really something to consider when thinking of the period between 67-68 when things started really heading south healthwise for RKB.

  14. A.... ....

    Aged very well has Roger. Good on him.

  15. O.... p....

    if there's a curious case of benjamin button then there is a curious case of roger waters where he turned from ugly to decent looking as he aged.

    O.... p....

    I think it's the teeth... his smile looks way better now and the whole face structure has more harmony :)

  16. S.... C....

    GOD WISHED SO DIDNT POP DEADLY PILLS AND GOT THE RECOVERY AS WELL ... GOD CARED ABOUT BEARING HEART...WE SHOULD MEET AGAIN ROGER... 4:19 SHIFTED TO HER DEATH AAAAAA MAD...

  17. R.... A....

    A gentlemen, I respect his opinions

  18. P.... M....

    I never rated Waters

  19. B.... B....

    5:00 dud's on to something

  20. P.... T....

    r.i.p. Syd .... shine on ......................................✨💎

  21. O.... ....

    Fucking Waters! Cannabis has nothing to do with Schizophrenia

  22. J.... M....

    Great interview. It is hard to see someone change with the symptoms of schizophrenia up close and personal

  23. S.... S....

    Syd ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

  24. n.... ....

    Syd was influenced by early doors albums, cool to hear!

  25. B.... A....

    "Fuck me, I'm going m a d"

  26. J.... ....

    Roger Waters is a brilliant man.....brilliant into being a fuckin' control freak enough to - fire (all) his PF band members- take the PF name and tried to end it- denied the PF band members freedom of artistic inputs- and brilliant enough to demoralize his PF members during recordings- brilliant enough to be maniacal meglomaniac ego trip fuck head!!!!!!!!!!!!!yeah he was brilliant enough …...what? brilliant about the WALL that's been played to death?obviously you're not brilliant enough to know the whole story of PF….

  27. S.... T....

    Based on quite a few interviews / documentaries I saw, the only times Roger is soft-spoken and gentle are when he talks about Syd.

  28. A.... G....

    It's pretty obvious Syd didn't want to do music anymore but was hindered by mental illness and his desire to not disappoint his friends. Their lives were in the balance to a degree and I think that pressure, drugs and mental illness did him in. If they all just figured this out before it devolved who knows what Syd might have done. Easier said then done though, SYd I really believe did not want to abandon the success because he knew it would impact more than just him.

    Oh interesting fact, I hear Sean Waltman was there the day Syd returned ;)

    A.... G....

    Syd did sessions upto 74 look them up most have no lyrics but musically its still Syds style, within a year he completely became unrecognisable , as you can seein the picture from abbey road in 75, instead of writing wish you were here, they should have put the effort into being a fuckin decent human being and friend instead of abandoning him 75 onwards wankers

  29. d.... j....

    Syd Barrett is Pink Flyod

    d.... j....

    So I guess Brian Jones was the Rolling Stones ?
    Not !
    They both took too much drugs which they couldn’t handle
    Did not end well
    Pink Floyd moved on very nicely after Syd Barrett

  30. M.... 2....

    Heartbreaking💔Roger Waters is a very kind and generous person.I like him very much.May Syd rest in peace forever🖤🖤🖤

  31. A.... ....

    He literally started the band and was kicked out and they had the greatest album of all time

  32. W.... Q....

    Roger Waters should hang his head in shame for turning away from Syd. It is easy to say well, what were we to do? How about caring for a so called friend, and not monetarily. Roger didn't shed many tears when Syd got different., indeed he certainly reveled in his new found powers. Roger has done some good work, but I find him a less than wonderful person.

    W.... Q....

    Wayne Quirion
    What should he have done ?
    Take care of the adult

  33. K.... P....

    Why was it the last time he saw Syd though? Did any of them keep in touch with Syd?

  34. j.... c....

    Anyone else think syds song have you got it yet was less “strange” and more just funny

    j.... c....

    I've always took it as Syd was just playing a joke on the rest of the band, I think Roger kind of got that as well by the way he said "I've got it" at the end of that story.

  35. W.... D....

    Roger Waters seems like a really good guy.

  36. W.... K....

    Has anyone considered the fact that Syd,s solo stuff and to a lesser extent his floyd work was basically unlistenable.
    It was the pink floyd members that knocked it into some cohesive shape.
    Makes sense because they helps at both his solo albums.

  37. W.... K....

    Loving someone who has schizophrenia is so fucking painful.
    But you still love them which only makes it even more painful! LOL

    W.... K....

    You want so desperately to reach out to them but you can,t they are too far gone.

  38. W.... K....

    Syd layed the foundations
    Roger made the building
    And Dave turned it into a skyscraper.
    It is as simple as that? LOL

    W.... K....

    After Roger Left, Gilmour demolished the building. Pink Floyd wouldn’t be as good as when it was led by Syd or Roger.

    W.... K....

    That Pennsylvanian guy not true. David made Pink Floyd what it was. Syd started the construction. Roger and David finished it. If syd would have stayed then it would have only been better.

    W.... K....

    James popels
    If you’re talking about Saucerful to Final Cut era, no. AMLOR was awful, Division Bell and Endless River were alright, but nothing compared to Roger-led Floyd.

    W.... K....

    Dave put the Trump sign on it.

  39. D.... 2....

    ALL YOU GUY'S I'VE YOU GOT IT YET???

  40. P.... &....

    Roger is just making consumptions.

  41. M.... G....

    GILMOUR SPIRITO PINK floyd 💋💋💋

  42. c.... ....

    8.57 The only occasion I have ever seen RW was in Harrods.......OK never mind

  43. z.... w....

    ''I always feel bad thinking how Syd must have felt upon hearing the new Pink Floyd songs referring to him as "crazy" and describing him as is done in "The Wall" and many other Floyd music. If it was me, it would have made me very paranoid and sad to hear people talking about me in that way on the radio! I think that's why it's easy for me to picture Syd yelling out loud about "Roger ****ing Waters!". I get really upset when I hear that flub they left on the beginning of "If It's In You" on his first solo album. That was totally Roger Waters decision. I know everybody gets off on it but could you imagine this being done to anyone else, and people like it because its "zany" sounding. It's a really embarrassing flub and it got through to make people laugh, at Syd's expense. It's total BS IMO and it was Waters belittling Syd for a kick. In my opinion they exploited Syd's condition instead of protecting him from the world that he obviously had trouble dealing with. If their intention on "Wish You Were Here" was truly based on a love for Syd, I think they could have called him something nicer than "crazy" in the title and not totally played him up to be a loony tune, which he really wasn't. It is my opinion that Syd was NOT crazy. It was something more of an emotional condition combined with some damage done by the traumatic feelings he encountered during those intense few years. I think a lot of it had to do with the interaction with the band and their inability to grasp what made him tick. I think they dealt with it when he was problematic by mocking him in subtle ways and he got really pissed off, and eventually turned off. That's my take on it from what I've read and understand at least. ''

  44. P.... G....

    The story of Roger telling Syd "I got it" and put the guitar down and that was the last time he did anything with Syd is fucking sad. Rip syd

  45. J.... S....

    Fuck you Waters.

  46. S.... L....

    That zoom out thing had happened to me my whole life. Once or twice a year.

    S.... L....

    what is it?

  47. L.... S....

    This is gold.

  48. n.... t....

    anyone got the full interview??

  49. c.... p....

    He must have followed a script because this is not Roger Waters this is a doppelgänger. He doesn't even look like Roger Waters .go back and compare it to the original

    c.... p....

    found Syd

  50. C.... h....

    Syd had high functioning Asperger syndrome which seems always to be misdiagnosed as schizophrenia. What fucked him up was a lack of clarity and understanding. An inability of society to be straight and honest about anything. They shine like The Sun when understood accepted involved and their differentness is tolerated . When misunderstood manipulated and rejected they hurt like the deepest black hole. You have to be straight with them as this is what they need to function. There is still a chronic lack of awareness around and about these amazingly bright and gifted people whose lives are regularly harmed or destroyed as was unfortunately the case with Syd. If you cared about Syd become informed and make a difference to all the Syds currently out there.

  51. D.... ....

    I've always wondered why the guys all loved Sid so much why did they choose to basically abandon him after he was out of The Floyd & never go by to see him or anything. They do talk about him an lot though. Sid probably had at least enough of a hold on reality to understand his friends were gone.

    D.... ....

    i agree mate he needed mates not a fuckin song written about him, put the effort into being a mate not a song stating your mates think your already dead to them. brutal

    D.... ....

    It was to the point where he wasn't responding to anyone..anywhere..anytime. Syd turned the lights off

  52. d.... T....

    Strange days

  53. g.... ....

    I love how so many are so opinionated about people they don't know at all or haven't even met. Without exaggeration, one idiotic comment after another. Mind blowing.

    g.... ....

    Roger is obviously, apart from the often overbearing ego, a very pleasant and well-meaning guy. People hear they're supposed to dislike someone so they do. There's a word for that: sheep.

    g.... ....

    I don't like your opinion. UP AGAINST THE WALL!

    g.... ....

    @Brazilian Atlantis how is he egotistical ....if he thinks he"s good....its because he is - & knows it
    Thats fine ....its when you cant back it up - makes you a dick in my book

    g.... ....

    In your opinion.

    g.... ....

    gigisdad, why don't you enlighten us with your opinion?, ..you sound like an expert in the subject,.. or maybe you know shit but just love to whine?

  54. E.... S....

    6:01, Me: alright! <3

    But seriously speaking though, this is such an intensely deep and thought-provoking interview. Regardless of where one's individual inclinations towards Roger's personality stands, I feel that one thing can be agreed upon: the man is truly a force. Perhaps not exactly my personal cup of tea, but it doesn't make him any less beautiful in his own right.

  55. W.... V....

    Years ago, I knew Roger Waters and he told me the story of the last time he saw Syd in Harrods in Knightsbridge. He said Syd was wearing a trench coat and carrying 2 large, plastic laundry bags which he proceeded to fill with sweets from the pick 'n' mix stand. He said that Syd was scooping up all these chocolates & toffees and chucking them in the bag when Roger called out to him: 'Hey, Syd!' Startled, Syd stared intently at his former band mate; dropped the laundry bags and ran from the store. 'I never saw him again after that,' Roger said. A new Syd biog 'Crazy Diamond' had just been published & I asked Roger what he thought of it. 'What?' Roger cried 'When did that come out? I told him it's brand new, and said he could have mine as I had just finished reading it. And off he went with my book that my brother had given me for my birthday. It was the least I could do after all the years I'd spent listening to Pink Floyd & obsessing about Syd. Also, Roger was enchanted by my blue burmese cat. And it was a great honour for me to present Roger with a book about the early years of his band that he hadn't known existed.

    W.... V....

    I too road a unicorn.

    W.... V....

    i cant believe that anyone believed you jesus christ

    W.... V....

    @Mansoor LMFAO!

    W.... V....

    @Mansoor ye i sniffed a bit of bs after the aboves first line....ive come across a blue burmese cat once and it was mad too.

    W.... V....

    mate since your well informed, not taking the piss but why did the other 3 help Syd with his solo project and Roger didnt, then they all abandoned him , he needed mates not a fuckin song written. ie wish you were here. Time and effort to a so called special friend. my opinion, they all left him isolated with his mental health problems, as Roger wrote in the wall that wouldnt have helped him either, they should have really really spent time and effort with a mate in need..

  56. s.... s....

    What a shame about Syd, and how he was kicked to the curb by his mates.

    s.... s....

    scott simmons From everything Ive read/heard they didnt have much of a choice. Syd was a schizophrenic who also took far too many psychedelics which didnt help the situation. They brought Gilmour into the band to help out and try and keep Syd in the band. He would miss gigs and simply not show up to shows or do much performing at the shows he was present for. And despite his departure the members of Floyd still cared for him. They were never shy to speak about his time in the band when interviewed and most of their most successful work was at least partially in tribute to Syd (Dark Side, The Wall) if not an outright tribute to him (Wish You Were Here). Gilmour produced Syds first solo album and was the one who was making sure Syd received all of his royalties because Syd was too far gone to do much to stick up for himself.

    s.... s....

    @Evan so true, dude... Pink Floyd love him so much, Dave specially...

  57. A.... �....

    What fascinates me in Roger is the mixture of his strong personality and great sesitiveness.

    A.... �....

    Adam Świtlak sounds like a virgo to me!LOL

    A.... �....

    It's like John Cleese, someone who genuinely wanted to become a better person over the decades so he did.

    A.... �....

    @Brazilian Atlantis after Amused To Death, Roger disappeared from the scenes for about 9 years and came a changed man. But the fans keep painting Roger as the ultimate embodiment of evil.

  58. m.... ....

    does anyone know what year this is from?

    m.... ....

    i am so sad doesn’t look like that long ago. Defo within the last years I would guess

  59. B.... G....

    Roger looks like Steve Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter" in this interview.

    B.... G....

    ha thats spot on!

  60. X.... X....

    Waters seems like he was a bit of a mean person, and passive aggresive, like he had it with Syd. But no question his songs were very good.

  61. b.... ....

    Waters' egomania... one of the only options available to the mediocre to stop them hating themselves. He knows that what he tapped into, his supposed 'talent', is catering to our mediocrity. That's the mediocrity of the masses. He caters to it with his own mediocrity. And he hates it because he knows that Syd tapped into that much rarer thing that is the masses' capacity to appreciate genius.

    b.... ....

    Sounds like you know him personally, I would find it difficult to make that assessment after seeing a 10:00 min interview
    You obviously are an expert

    b.... ....

    blackmore4

    Syd was not a genius, just artistically talented. Many talented people out there, he was one of many.
    Not a free pass to destroy one’s life

  62. C.... L....

    Roger Waters didn't care about Syd, only Pink Floyd and success. If someone you cared about was slipping away into illness you would make yourself available to them and not let them completely slip away. Syd lived in his own bubble, surviving quietly until his death.

    RIP Syd Barrett, your creative genius lives on! <3

    C.... L....

    You idiot..how do you know what Roger did?Make a nonsense statement with no facts,just your ill-informed negative view.
    Tell me how you stop mental illness by caring you moron.

    C.... L....

    Mow Ville Syd just didn't want pop-star fame in a BS world. His jumping off the deep end was the stuff of legend

    C.... L....

    "you would make yourself available to them" You mean like when Roger coproduced _The Madcap Laughs_?

    Generally speaking Syd's family asked the members of Floyd to not be around Syd because it could upset him, so as gentlemen they did what Syd's family wanted, and made sure Syd's family had enough money. You bullshitter.

    C.... L....

    Caroline López-Martinez Shut the fuck up.

    C.... L....

    It's clear that you know nothing about this subject. People like you are dangerous.

  63. 2.... ....

    I find it hard to understand that he was sort of oblivious and a ghost since 1968... The reason he was buying candy is of the crappy medicine zyprexa fucks with the blood sugar guess thats why he went "first". if Roger was his xhildhood friend I think his pride cut the bond it seems.

  64. R.... U....

    "1m trying to think of the other bands... And Ican't, I won't be able to, because... You know...



    (drugs)"

  65. P.... B....

    Syd Barret just another Brian Wilson to genius for normal people to realise their true genius

    P.... B....

    Psychedelic BluesMan I think most people recognize Brian Wilson

    P.... B....

    Psychedelic BluesMan Both people who shouldn’t have taken acid, if you have psychological disorders then don’t take it it’s as simple as that.

  66. R.... R....

    Hey Ceran, ok in this sense is somewhat questionable all the way around. I agree with David Gilmore who declared that Syd was one of the 5 true stars in the rock genre. The standard Syd veal says he was crazy demented. I wonder, that's all. Is there a possibility that he felt he was playing a part? The shrink that the band sent him to said that the problem was not with Syd but with the band. Maybe he didn't want to be a star. I don't know and I don't think we will ever get a straight answer on Syd's condition. I would love to talk with either Jerry Nailor or Syd's sister.

  67. R.... R....

    (Cont) In those situations.(2): His roommate, the painter, said that Syd wasn't crazy. Just lazy. (3) Jerry Nailor, the drummer for Stars, pointed out emphatically that Syd has two looks, depending on the situation. One normal and the other crazy. He said that Syd used whatever expression was best at that moment. (3): The shrink that Floyd sent Barrett to believes that the problem was not with Syd but instead, the band. (4) His 1972 interview with Mick Rock seemed pretty normal to him and to me as well.Anyway, these are just a few examples. As for me, I'm about 60/40 that he was gone. But there still is that part.......Hmmmm

    R.... R....

    i think it was disgrace how Syd was treated, needed mates about him not a song written about really already being fuckin dead. wankers

  68. R.... R....

    Yes, you are right Kuaun. But there is still a part of me that believes it was contrived for a number of reasons. (1): While living in Cambridge he kept up a perfectly fine relationship with the shopkeepers and with his sister and her family. I've been around crazy and you don't see those things happen

    R.... R....

    "Perfectly fine" is a bit of wishful thinking. Old friends that ran into him in the supermarket (etc) said he'd give a quick hello and was both uncomfortable seeing them and unable to receive their warmth. After an initial "everything is fine" interview, his sister later broke down and said everything was not fine with her brother.

  69. T.... ....

    I love this man so much. intellectual and sincere

  70. R.... N....

    Why the fuck are you goddamn idiots hating on a great musician for no apparent reason??Please give me a good example on why he's a bad person.

    R.... N....

    Trevin Ellison How did this get out?

    R.... N....

    Venomous Watermelon They let him out after awhile, they didn't fucking keep him in there forever just while he was tripping

    R.... N....

    Roger Waters never locked Syd in a closet. You're getting your stories mixed up. Go back and check your facts.

    R.... N....

    Trevin Ellison No I meant how did it get to other people like me and you

    R.... N....

    Venomous Watermelon
    The idiots don't like his political leanings, and the stance he takes against fascism, wherever he happens to see it. That's my guess, anyways.

  71. k.... ....

    Roger Waters is a brilliant man. He's intense. He's a nice person but he's very intelligent, very observant, very perceptive and intense.............so he can come off as a bit of a judgmental prick but he isn't. He was primarily responsible for Dark Side of the Moon {he'd record a lot of it at home and then bring it in to the studio} which is easily one of the 3 or 4 greatest rock albums of all time. He's primarily responsible for the Wall. He had a huge part in Wish You Were Here. Gilmour's musicianship was a big factor also. I'm not downplaying that, but Dark Side of the Moon was their "magnum opus" and that was primarily Roger.

    k.... ....

    Mr Krabs agree

    Piper i.e syd is his journey wow total masterclass

    Started pink floyd when listened to their echoes was mesmerised by it

    But having listened to piper at the gates of dawn
    Haven't been able to listen to any other stuff

    k.... ....

    Look I like the guy too, but DSOTM was a collaboration. This obsession with giving credit for the success and development to Roger isn't even something the band members do. Roger didn't write Davids guitar, nor did he do Nicks drumming or Ricks beautiful compositions arguably some of the best on the album. David was heavily involved in the production as was Roger as was Parsons. You do a disservice to each and every talented person behind that epic album when you dismantle it into that bullshit statement frankly. Hell even the record company did their bit as they've said.

    k.... ....

    Cali Braxus
    Guess you know him personally

    k.... ....

    Tim Day
    That is your opinion, you are entitled to it

    k.... ....

    Raunaq Bedi
    Your loss

  72. C.... m....

    Did he ever record in 2000

  73. s.... ....

    roger may be 'socialist'

    but

    roger may be 'pompous'

  74. B.... F....

    Roger reminds me of a friend of mine. Roger is a stuck up Bastard

    B.... F....

    why so?

    B.... F....

    Up yours.

    B.... F....

    He does seem somewhat arrogant. I'm still a fan though.

    B.... F....

    Roger is an artist type and his behavior can be misinterpreted as stuck up or arrogant when in reality he’s just trying to figure out what plagues him. You can tell from his lyrics that he is very sensitive and vulnerable. The fact that what happened to Syd traumatized him a bit. A childhood friend whom you grow with and invest yourself in loses their mind and is left as a living husk of their former selves.


    Roger dedicated the majority of his music to his friend and occasional muse, Syd. I think he’s a greatly talented artist who is just very self-reflective and trying to unravel himself and the world.

  75. S.... F....

    The interviewer's voice sounds a lot like Mike Rutherford from Genesis. I wonder if it was him.

  76. U.... ....

    Roger waters was a dick, wasn't he? He fell out with the other bandmates, and he was the only pink floyd member that Syd Barrett much disliked and for this there must be many reasons. I've heard bits of Waters' solo work, and I find it terribly dull and unimaginative.

    U.... ....

    Psychedelic Madman the locking syd in the closet story is so not true stop spreading bull shit!!

    U.... ....

    Hey, Roger is a dick, but his solo work is pretty great man, i love hating on Roger sometimes, but i can't hate on his work.

    U.... ....

    He was forced to quit the band. He later regretted threatening to sue the other band members and wanted to reunite one last time but Gilmour refused nearly every time.

    U.... ....

    Now that's just delusional.

    U.... ....

    Wow, heated argument, ludicrous claims. As far as I got it Syd and Roger were besties

  77. R.... R....

    Is it possible that the Floyd was messed up and Syd was the One who was ok?

    R.... R....

    Yes. Normies are the most insane. They destroy everything of originality.

    R.... R....

    HE NOTICED THE JEALOUSY

    R.... R....

    That is a very powerful question. Over time there are so many people who have been condemned as 'mad' or 'beyond help', but who perhaps were quietly sidelined because of their greater awareness or understanding of reality. Greater understanding can lead to revolution, and most people will do anything to avoid that. In years or decades to come, we might find out that there are cracks in our known reality, and that only a few people (ie those diagnosed with schizophrenia) have been aware of them.

    R.... R....

    tjf4375
    Bro, schizophrenia is a disorder where you’re have difficulty or are unable to distinguish your thoughts from reality. I get that you mean well, but saying shit like that just makes things harder on us schizophrenics. For one, those who don’t accept that what they have is a neurological disorder may actually believe you and develop delusions of grandiosity (something we’re often prone to). Also it can communicate the idea that schizophrenia isn’t so much of a disability when it very much is. When I tell people I have schizophrenia, they’re usually skeptical because I’m pretty high-functioning. But that’s only because I’m privileged enough to have access to medication and other mental health help. Schizophrenia still makes it really difficult for me to live a normal life, so when you say stuff like “schizophrenics are the sane ones,” it kind of detracts from the suffering I and other schizophrenics have gone through.

  78. R.... R....

    Does anyone else believe that Syd planned his actions so as to look crazy, even if he wasn't. C'mon, I mean, brushing your teeth at the recording studio with a shaved head and pulled up pants. Beautiful. By this time he knew that they were going to be super successful and he may have wanted the band to feel sorry for him. Just saying. He never had to worry about money after that and considering what happened with the band members, maybe he lucked out. You know, geniuses don't think as 'normal' people do. He didn't have a stupid job to go to either. Very British I must say!

    R.... R....

    Umm. No. The man was insane. I'm sorry to take down your optimistic view of things but... Barret was the definition of crazy.

    R.... R....

    How can you say something like this? Barrett was seriously ill. Thinking he did it all on purpose is very rude.

    R.... R....

    Robert Reynolds Nick Mason does!LOL

    R.... R....

    "planned his actions so as to look crazy" The main theme in the comments section seems to be denial. Someone can be an artistic hero of yours and have had mental illness. Don't be scared. It's okay.

  79. S.... L....

    ''We have no doubt that Syd was schizophrenic'''.... OK, Mr. Water, i like your great music but... do you have a real written diagnostic from a doctor?!?! His condition, with no doubt, was bad, but... probably, it was only for momentarily (due to drug use). His sister, who knew him, told that he was not mentally sick recently. You should consider his state as... probably... a momentarily state. Anyway, when your young, you can't know everything about health. But at over 50yo... Mr. Water should not say that!!!

    S.... L....

    Surely a medical man like yourself, and eminently qualified to make a psych call like this, would first have taken some kind of basic English language course. Where were you educated, in a ditch somewhere?

    S.... L....

    @Cali Braxus I'm sure that i'm better than you in my own native french/italian languages. When you'll speak more than three langages... I'll consider your stupid comment.

    S.... L....

    Schizophrenia is just a different way of thinking

    S.... L....

    "Schizophrenia is just a different way of thinking" Ever been psychotic? I have. I also have, e.g., a son with borderline personality disorder. And a daughter with OCD so bad she sometimes feels compelled to cut her legs off. And had a mom who was a bad mom because she had NPD. The amount the NPD made her a good mom was zero. Mental illness refers to not being able to think. It doesn't refer to thinking a special awesome way with insights that make you better than everyone else. It refers to not being able to think.

    Fuck you childish romantics. Mental illness sucks. All it is is bad. That's why, by definition, it is illness. Love Syd, I do, but don't love him by being full of shit.

    S.... L....

    the did go to rd laing

  80. B.... B....

    I bet Waters is one of the people that used to lock Syd up in a closet while he was tripping, and Dud would be screaming and banding to get out. It's said he was quite bullied by people around him. And it freaked him out. Gilmour replaced Syd and it was Gilmour who helped Syd record and stuff at the end, not Waters...

    B.... B....

    Where are you people getting this? NO accounts of those who locked Syd in a closet include Roger Waters. You obviously want to believe that, but it has no basis in fact.

    B.... B....

    Waters DID assist on Syd's Madcap album, along with Gilmour. Look it up. He did not on the second (though Wright did).

    B.... B....

    Phoenix Chastaine I was tripping once in a basement and my friend went upstairs after putting on Careful With That Axe Eugene, but turned off the lights and shut the door behind him. Adn gI'ev liffed a nroaml knife!

    B.... B....

    @Ed Decordon David , Nick and Rick helped his solo projects, but all abandoning him in 75 after writing songs on wish you were here about how he was dead to them, he was still here when they should have put the effort into so called friendship... fuckin brutal

    B.... B....

    @MrSnappy67 no he just abandoned syd instead top bloke eh

  81. J.... L....

    There was a 50+ minute version of this interview...wondering why it disappeared...

    J.... L....

    Jason Lefler dude same ive been trying to find iit again

    J.... L....

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl0DWSRnMmw I think this is the one

  82. S.... T....

    "A VICIOUS society has invented psychiatry to defend itself against the investigations of certain superior lucid minds whose intuitive powers were disturbing to it." ---Antonin Artaud, quoted in Rob Chapman's A VERY IRREGULAR HEAD: The Life of Syd Barrett (2010), p. 15.

    Roger Waters knows NOTHING about psychiatry, LSD, or the inner world of Syd Barrett, and he looks guilty as hell, as do Nick Mason and David Gilmour. Syd, the so-called "crazy diamond" will continue to outshine them all long after they've shuffled off.

    S.... T....

    +Scott Thompson actually, I think that the work they subsequently created will shine on quite brightly.
    it will continue to remind people of Syd.
    i don't think that someone needs to be a psychiatrist to comment on observable reality.
    he doesn't look guilty to me and nor should he be or feel guilty.
    people make mistakes.
    for instance, taking LSD.
    nobody forced Syd to risk his brain with this stuff.
    if Roger and company hadn't written songs like Shine On You Crazy Diamond,
    much of Syd's life would've been a footnote at best,
    even though his work is fantastic in many cases.
    he knew the guy a long time,
    so he knew a bit about his inner world,
    though nobody can know everything about another person's inner world.
    I just think that there is a lot of armchair oversimplification about how the rest of the Floyd were bastards and Syd was an innocent lamb.
    nobody could help that he had schizophrenic symptoms.
    they survived and he didn't.
    it's really about that simple.
    he is a bit like the soldier who didn't make it back from Vietnam.
    he shouldn't have been there in the first place but it took going there to find out, tragically.
    the others just happened to survive.

    S.... T....

    Are you a scientologist? No, you can't be, they can't access the internet freely. Psychiatry is merely the medical discipline that deals with mental illness. Would you prefer it not to exist at all? Let's just ignore all mental sickness and abandon all mental patients on their own, is that a better way of dealing with the issue in your opinion?

    S.... T....

    Scott Thompson Roger Waters is an intelligent, well read, individual. I'm willing to wager that he's read a book, or two, on the subject of Psychiatry over the course of his life.

    S.... T....

    Scott Thompson fully agree

    What a great crazy mind very smart guy

    Miss him

    S.... T....

    "so-called" Syd was mentally ill; your romantic mush (liked so far by 26 people who like romantic mush) does not somehow change that unfortunate real-world fact. Everyone connected with Pink Floyd desperately wanted Syd to not be crazy because they had a good thing going; that runs contrary to that silly hypothesis about lucidity disturbing anybody. If Roger feels guilty about anything it's likely that Syd wanted to rejoin during Wish and they said, uh, no.

  83. M.... S....

    In the later days, Syd thought the other guys in the band were stupid. Interesting how Roger gets some very subtle digs in at Syd here, without appearing disrespectful.

    M.... S....

    Jason Lefler
    All things come to an end, he ruined his life. Self destruct

    M.... S....

    Cali Braxus
    You know this for certain
    Sheesh

    M.... S....

    psychedelicpiper
    Syd was an adult, can’t tell adults what to do. He made his own poor choices
    No sympathy here. Yes he had a brilliant disturbed mind. There are proper meds for that, not class A drugs

    M.... S....

    Cali Braxus
    Very much disagree
    Who are you to judge
    Your comments are mean spirited, the facts are the facts, he was a junkie plain and simple
    Many talented people are junkies, many untalented people are junkies
    Nothing to see here. You should move on with your obsessions. Roger Waters need not explain himself to anyone. Just play the music and enjoy it for what it is.

    M.... S....

    Hootiebird61
    Disagree

  84. m.... !....

    God bless Roger Waters and long live Syd Barrett.

    m.... !....

    sportster88, ask him!

    m.... !....

    Its Jamie Davies will LSD and magic mushrooms terrify me to death if I start taking them Axel Kuhne mate?

    m.... !....

    I'm afread Mr Waters chats shite at times . Can you tell when? Syd was trapped with a big band that couldn't do it (rock N roll) or do the stroll ( well they don't do it right ). Still it didn't stop PF making a fortune out of being laid back hippies. Worlds gone wrong indeed!!!!!

    m.... !....

    Its Jamie Davies will LSD or magic mushrooms terrify me to death if I start taking them W G mate?

    m.... !....

    That’s like saying nobody bless Roger waters, because there’s no such thing as a God asshole

  85. S.... B....

    So sad..I don't know if he had mental illness, but he did remove himself socially from his past..he took far too many drugs, self-medicating with LSD and Mandrax...he tried to destroy the band he founded, rather than just walk away. There's something to say about that regarding mental and emotional states and intentions...he had been an extremely social and upbeat personality, then became the polar opposite. Why would he do that even if he no longer desired to be a pop star?...he could have just told his bandmates he was tired of the music industry, walked away, and still be the extroverted social person...but he changed completely, introverted...mentally ill ?..maybe, but the drugs exacerbated something a mental or emotional condition inherent.

    S.... B....

    He was schizo

    S.... B....

    +valentin armenta Extremely likely.

    S.... B....

    At least he lived a long life, albeit an empty one, artistically speaking. Unlike Kurt Cobain who decided to take the Hemingway out.

  86. A.... ....

    I really appreciate you generalizing and highlighting the key points of the documentary and not just re-uploading this interview in its entirety. Thanks again. 

  87. M.... ....

    he was not "strange" he was so beautiful

    M.... ....

    The two aren't mutually exclusive.

    M.... ....

    strange is sometimes beautiful, but at the same time, people try to be strange on purpose and that's ugly

  88. E.... D....

    yup had plenty of those attacks myself

  89. R.... ....

    Roger, you probably had a panic attack argh those are NOT fun but hey it helped you sit down on the piano and write one of the most successful albums of all time :)

    R.... ....

    Yep. Exactly my thoughts

  90. T.... ....

    yeah I think so too...

  91. L.... a....

    He got tired of society. I get tired of society a lot, and then I go out into the nature all alone and play tunes there with my guitar. It's a blissful feeling.

    L.... a....

    This guy has never been seen again.

    L.... a....

    Up Dod lmao I hope he comes back to society one day

    L.... a....

    You still alive.

  92. T.... ....

    Think he was a bit but not as bad as people thought....an artist that got sick of performing like a monkey I think....wanted to go back to painting and photography....so he did.....did he have a break down? Yeah I'd say for sure....but was never diagnosed with anything or on any meds or involuntarily institutionalized.....just an avante garde artist (even Waters says that)....lot of people I think even some of his "pals" didn't/don't get it.

  93. L.... a....

    Syd wasn't ill, in my opinion.

    L.... a....

    Larry al-Shiva Not ill, but his brain was harmed, he couldn't think normally, his behavior annoyed everyone and forgot many basic human things (specially when YOU ARE MUSICIAN and SHOULD TO PLAY).

    L.... a....

    Larry al-Shiva: Sorry I'm a fan of Syd Barrett but many decisions wouldn't understand if we didn't witness what happened

    L.... a....

    Larry al-Shiva he was on drugs though

    L.... a....

    Larry al-Shiva
    On self destruct like Peter Green