The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking: Pink Floyd's Roger Waters

2013/02/08

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters - Statement of support to BC SJP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 4, 2013

CONTACT: Sundus Seif - brooklyncollegesjp@gmail.com

SJP Brooklyn College Welcomes Support of Musician & Human Rights Activist Roger Waters

The Brooklyn College chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine is pleased to welcome the support of internationally renowned musician and human rights advocate Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd fame, in the face of attacks from politicians and others who wish to silence critics of Israel and supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement at our school. Today, Mr. Waters released the following statement:

A SHORT NOTE OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE STUDENTS OF BROOKLYN COLLEGE

My young friends, I am proud of you. You are the fresh air "we the people" need to breathe. You are the true America. You represent all that the founding fathers intended and hoped for. You are standing up for truth and liberty. You believe that all men should be equal. You believe in civil liberty. You believe in the first amendment. You believe in, and try to live by the Constitution. You believe in The Law. You believe that the pursuit of liberty and happiness is the right of all men, women and children, regardless of their race, religion or nationality. Your empathies extend beyond the narrow confines of national or corporate interests. You man the barricades of intellectual and political freedom.

That you have come under attack from powerful political and media forces for trying to shed light on the predicament of the good peoples of Palestine and Israel is wrong. I stand with you. Sadly, none of us knows what lies behind the closed doors of government, even though we should for we have a right to know, to speak, discuss, still not your voice, be not afraid. More power to you. As long as young people like you stand up in face of all the bigotry and fear, in face of all the secrecy and doubt, stand up, unafraid, and shed your light, and seek the truth, then, "We The People," bowed, maybe? But still unbroken, we, will have at last, the right to hope!

With great respect.

ROGER WATERS

For more information, visit SJP Brooklyn College's website at www.brooklynsjp.com

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George Roger Waters

George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter and conceptual leader. The band subsequently achieved worldwide success in the 1970s with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall. Although Waters' primary instrument in Pink Floyd was the bass guitar, he also experimented with synthesisers and tape loops and played rhythm guitars in recordings and in concerts. Amid creative differences within the group, Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and began a legal battle with the remaining members over their future use of the group's name and material. The dispute was settled out of court in 1987, and nearly eighteen years passed before he performed with Pink Floyd again. It is estimated that as of 2010, the group have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million units sold in the United States.

Waters' solo career includes three studio albums: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (1984), Radio K.A.O.S. (1987) and Amused to Death (1992). In 1986, he contributed songs and a score to the soundtrack of the animated movie When the Wind Blows based on the Raymond Briggs' book of the same name. In 1990, he staged one of the largest and most elaborate rock concerts in history, The Wall – Live in Berlin, with an estimated 200,000 people in attendance. In 1996, he was inducted into the US and the UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He has toured extensively as a solo act since 1999 and played The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety for his world tours of 2006–2008. In 2005, he released Ça Ira, an opera in three acts translated from Étienne and Nadine Roda-Gils' libretto based on the early French Revolution. On 2 July 2005, he reunited with Pink Floyd bandmates Nick Mason, Richard Wright and David Gilmour for the Live 8 global awareness event; it was the group's first appearance with Waters in 24 years.

In 2010, he began The Wall Live, a worldwide tour that features a complete performance of The Wall. During this tour, at The O2 Arena in London on 12 May 2011, Gilmour and Mason once again appeared with Waters, Gilmour performing "Comfortably Numb", and Gilmour and Mason joining Waters for "Outside the Wall".

He has been married four times and has three children. In 2004 he became engaged to actress and filmmaker Laurie Durning; the duo married in 2012.