Roger Waters has defended David Gilmour‘s guitar solos, taking to Twitter to express his frustration over a recent article that implied his distaste for his former Pink Floyd bandmate’s work.
“It’s the usual, shit-stirring, ill-informed nonsense,” Waters wrote in a statement posted in a Tweet. “However, there is, in the article, something upon which I need to set the record straight.”
The article, published in The New Statesman and written by journalist Stuart Maconie, reported that Waters’ recent decision to re-record The Dark Side of the Moon on his own involved the removal of “as quoted in Spain’s El Pais newspaper, David Gilmour’s ‘horrible guitar solos.'” (El Pais‘s reporting did not cite a source for this quote.)
“Now, I don’t know who he thinks he’s quoting when he says Gilmour’s ‘horrible guitar solos,'” Waters said, “but it sure as shit ain’t me.”
In an interview with The Berliner Zeitung earlier this month, Waters explained why he recorded the new album without the other members of Pink Floyd. “The new concept is meant to reflect on the meaning of the work, to bring out the heart and soul of the album,” he said, “musically and spiritually. I’m the only one singing my songs on these new recordings, and there are no rock and roll guitar solos.”
Waters continued in his new statement, defending Gilmour’s guitar work over many decades. “I was there,” he said. “I love Dave’s guitar solos on [The Dark Side of the Moon], both of them, and on [Wish You Were Here] and on Animals and on The Wall and on The Final Cut. In my, albeit biased view, Dave’s solos on those albums constitute a collection of some of the very best guitar solos in the history of rock and roll. So, Stuart Maconie, you little prick, next time, please check your copy with the subjects of your grubby little piece, before you go to print. Love R.”
Waters and Gilmour recently feuded online over the release of Pink Floyd’s 2021 charity single, “Hey Hey Rise Up,” which led Polly Samson, Gilmour’s novelist wife who has written lyrics for Pink Floyd, to accuse Waters of being “antisemitic” and a “Putin apologist.” Gilmour agreed with the accusation, writing: “Every word demonstrably true.”
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