Roger Waters fires his own son, who has now joined a Pink Floyd tribute band

4 December 2023, 11:34

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"I was fired, it was pretty miserable."

When Roger Waters's son Harry joined his dad's touring lineup back in the day, it wouldn't have been unkind to suggest that his connection to the name on the marquee was as key to him getting the gig as his undeniable ability on the keyboards.

But that deep familial connection to the former Pink Floyd star didn't save him from the axe when he was let go from the band in 2016 after 14 years of playing with his dad.

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"I was fired, it was pretty miserable," Harry told Rolling Stone. "I think he just wanted a change of blood, something new, something fresh.

"I'm not sure of his exact reasoning, but everyone except two people got fired. But the other guys that got the sack weren't his son, so it was doubly hurtful for me."

Being axed hasn't turned Harry off playing the Pink Floyd songs he has come to know so well though.

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Not only did he cover the band's 1977 album Animals in full as part of Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade this summer, and he's now gone even further by joining an actual Pink Floyd tribute band, the excellently-named Brit Floyd.

For a trio of special shows in November, the band also enlisted former Floyd touring members – saxophone player Scott Page and backing singer Durga McBroom, who is best known as Blue Pearl singer-songwriter behind the 1990s hit 'Naked in the Rain'.

Durga first performed with Pink Floyd on the post-Roger Waters A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour back in 1987.

Brit Floyd (w/ Harry Waters) - Hey You (You Tube Theater, Los Angeles CA 11/30/2023)

She also has the honour of featuring on a Pink Floyd studio album, with her voice appearing on three tracks on 2014's final album The Endless River.

Page's association with Pink Floyd goes back just as far, with the guitarist/saxophonist playing a key part in the same A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour dates.

"For the last 3 shows of the year we decided we wanted to do something really special!" read a message on the Brit Floyd website.

"We are so pleased to announce that Harry Waters, Scott Page, Durga McBroom and PJ Olsson [of the Alan Parsons Project] will be joining us on stage!"

Harry himself even appeared on a classic Pink Floyd song when he was barely old enough to talk, when his dad brought him into the studio to read the line "look mummy, there’s an aeroplane up in the sky" at the start of 'Goodbye Blue Sky' from The Wall,

“I certainly remember sitting there with a microphone and being asked to say some things," Harry said. "Whenever I hear it, I go, 'Oh God, that’s me'. It's quite weird."

Goodbye Blue Sky

Harry added of the Brit Floyd live dates, which took place at the end of November in the US: "I've never met any of them, but I’ll just turn up and play.

"I've been playing this music for 30 years or so. I think we'll be okay without rehearsal. I think we all know the material pretty well."

While Harry is not slated to be the group for its future tour dates, fans in England can still get the chance to see the band on their 2024 Pulse Tour a year from now

The upcoming UK tour dates are as follows:

• Tuesday, November 19 – Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
• Wednesday, November 20 – The Anvil, Basingstoke
• Thursday, November 21 – The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Gateshead