Roger Waters
Biography Roger Waters
Roger Waters
became a legend of rock music through his seminal creations, The Wall and The Dark Side of the Moon. Waters has sold more than 250 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million units sold in the United States, and has sold more tickets in the last three years than any other performing artist. He now turns to his latest creation and great passion – his own operatic composition.
In 1965, Waters co-founded the band Pink Floyd with drummer Nick Mason, keyboardist Richard Wright and guitarist, singer and songwriter Syd Barrett. Waters initially served as the group's bassist and co-lead vocalist, but following the departure of Barrett in 1968, he also became their lyricist and conceptual leader. Pink Floyd subsequently achieved international success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall and The Final Cut. By the early 1980s, they had become one of the most critically acclaimed and best-selling acts in the history of popular music; as of 2013, they have sold more than 250 million albums worldwide.
Waters' solo career has included three studio albums: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, Radio K.A.O.S. and Amused to Death. In 1990, he staged one of the largest and most extravagant rock concerts in history, The Wall - Live in Berlin, with an official attendance of 200,000. In 1996, he was inducted into the US and the UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. In 2005, he released Ça Ira an opera in three acts translated from Etienne and Nadine Roda-Gils' libretto about the French Revolution. Later that year, he reunited with Pink Floyd bandmates Mason, Wright and David Gilmour for the Live 8 global awareness event; it was the group's first appearance with Waters since 1981. He has toured extensively as a solo act since 1999 and played The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety for his world tour of 2006-2008. In 2010, he began The Wall Live and in 2011 Gilmour and Mason appeared with him during a performance of the double album in London. As of 2013, the tour is the highest-grossing of all time by a solo artist.