Early Life
George Roger Waters was born on September 6, 1943 in England and grew up in Cambridge. His father was a known pacifist and Communist, but in a tragically ironic twist, he was killed in action in World War II just five months after Waters was born. Even though he never really knew his father, his mother and her stories of his father helped to formulate Waters’ lifelong distrust of government and authority in general.
Waters grew up loving sports, and he was an avid swimmer, known by locals as a “regular” for swims in the River Cam. He also loved football and made every effort to see whatever matches he could afford to attend. This love stayed with him, but he soon found other interests as he entered high school.
Waters made new friends in high school, and many of them wound up playing music together, as Waters had learned to write songs and to play the bass guitar. These new friends wound up being the founding members of one of the most mysterious and beloved bands of his generation.
The Pink Floyd Years
Pink Floyd was formed in 1966, and they began to play local clubs. They produced and released their debut album in 1967, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and the release was a success. However, their original main songwriter and lead singer, Syd Barrett, began to suffer from mental health problems, which resulted in Waters taking over the lead songwriting and general artistic direction lead for the band.
Waters got to work on these new duties in the early 1970’s and this decade was a time when Waters wrote and helped to arrange and produce some of the most historically successful albums in the history of music. Among the many albums Waters helped form are Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall.
The band had become world famous, and they were on top of the world for a time. However, egos, substance abuse and in-fighting eventually led to the breakup of the band in the early 1980’s and bitter lawsuits ensued over the intellectual property of the band. Waters lost most of these rights, but it did not deter him from moving forward with his career.
Solo Career
Waters set out to continue his innovation with concept albums, and he released a total of seven studio and live albums with varying degrees of success. Each of these albums charted, but none achieved the legendary status of his Pink Floyd efforts. However, Roger Waters tickets were a hot item, as he did continue to use many of the visual effects that were a staple of Pink Floyd concerts, and he remained a revered figure within the music industry.
Waters also expanded his horizons, and in 2005 he released an opera, Ça Ira, which climbed to number one on the US charts. This “completed the circle” of genres for Waters, whose true sound was never really classic “rock and roll” in nature. He also continues to incorporate many of the teachings and heroes of his past into his lyrics, and Roger Waters tickets will present you with an opportunity to see a man’s life on stage.