My Pink Floyd hit and this tragedy, by ROGER WATERS

By ROGER WATERS FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 23 December 2014



The revelations about the Americans’ torture of terror suspects have rightly caused outrage across the world.
The U.S. government has owned up to the shadow of institutionalised brutality that has hung over ‘The Land Of The Free’ since the inception of the War On Terror after 9/11.

The sense of disquiet should extend to the political establishment in Britain, given the mounting evidence that our own intelligence and security agencies may have colluded with the CIA in rendition, torture and a disregard for international human rights law including the Geneva Conventions.

Nothing illustrates our own national disgrace more graphically than the case of Shaker Aamer, a 46-year-old family man from London, who has now been held for almost 13 years in the notorious detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, having been seized by the U.S. military in Afghanistan in November 2001.

During Mr Aamer’s long spell of incarceration, he has never been put on trial or even had any charges levelled against him.

He has been subjected to systematic torture, humiliation and degradation, deprived not just of his liberty, but of all rights normally afforded to those in custody yet to be proven guilty of any crime.
The time has surely come for a judge-led inquiry to find out the true extent of Britain’s role in the barbaric treatment of Mr Aamer.

Yesterday, the Daily Mail reported on the growing pressure on David Cameron from nine human rights groups for just such an inquiry into the CIA’s torture of prisoners, including Mr Aamer.

No human being should be subjected to such monstrous and prolonged treatment — 13 years, with no evidence produced to suggest a crime!

It is little wonder that one recent medical report stated Mr Aamer is now suffering from a host of serious health problems, including failing eyesight, kidney damage and depression.

This is, after all, a man who has been incarcerated for so long without trial that he has never even seen his youngest child, a 12-year-old son.
His experience is a scandalous affront to justice, making a complete mockery of respect for the law and due legal process.

Even cold-blooded murderers rarely serve as lengthy a sentence as Mr Aamer has had to endure, and, if they do, they will at least have been convicted in a court by a jury of their peers.

I have a deep personal involvement in the campaign to release Mr Aamer, ever since his case was brought to my attention by the renowned defence advocate Clive Stafford Smith.

With a spirit of selfless determination, Clive runs the organisation Reprieve, which campaigns for the rights, among many others, of British prisoners held overseas. Appalled by Mr Aamer’s plight, Clive had contacted him and lent him his support.

That is how I became involved. In one letter to Clive from Guantanamo, Mr Aamer began with the opening lyrics of one of my songs, Hey You, from the 1979 Pink Floyd album The Wall. Mr Aamer said the lyrics captured his experience in Guantanamo. These lyrics run:

‘Hey you! Out there in the cold
Getting lonely, getting old. Can you feel me
Hey you! Standing in the aisles
With itchy feet and fading smiles. Can you feel me
Hey you! Don’t help them to bury the light
Don’t give in without a fight.’

Clive was able to pass Mr Aamer’s letter on to me, and I was profoundly touched that Hey You had had such a resonance with him. Other parts of his letter reinforced how much this man was suffering. He explained that for most of the time, he had to stay in his tiny cell and was denied access to a computer, books, journals or even stationery.

He was occasionally allowed to write a letter, but even this was difficult because the pens provided by the guards were wobbly and soft, like a ballpoint with the plastic outer casing removed.

Apparently, this was a security precaution to stop the detainees attacking their guards — an obviously ridiculous measure, given that the guards outnumbered the prisoners ten to one and were armed with M16 rifles.

On a more uplifting note, in his letter Mr Aamer paid tribute to an American Christian pastor who had been in touch with him and had spoken of his work to build an understanding between Christianity and Islam.

This highlighted Shaker’s attachment to the idea of understanding between peoples and faiths, to the idea of reconciliation and peace, and his fundamental opposition to extremism.

But then, his entire story seemed to undermine the American claims that he was a dangerous extremist embedded with Al-Qaeda and bent on the destruction of Western civilisation.

Born in Saudi Arabia and trained as a nurse, he came to Britain in the mid-1990s, married a British woman and started a family.

In 2001, he moved with his family to Afghanistan, where he began work for a humanitarian charity. This fact is disputed by the Americans, who claim he became an Al-Qaeda fighter.
Really? Where is the evidence?

Shaker has never been allowed to defend himself in a court of law. In effect, he has been held purely on the whim of the U.S. authorities.

This abuse of power exhibits all the hallmarks of despotism. Either we believe in freedom to live under the law, including the law of Habeas Corpus, or we don’t. Either we, the so‑called enlightened West, are law-abiding or we are a tyranny.

Strangely, the U.S. government, the ‘tyranny’ that guards the rest of us from Shaker Aamer, now appears all the more culpable with the extraordinary news that the British Government has repeatedly called upon them to release him.

The failure to heed this request must raise suspicions that American and British intelligence are worried that, if Mr Aamer is set free, he might reveal the shocking complicity of British intelligence in the savage interrogation of prisoners at Guantanamo, and at secret rendition sites elsewhere in the world.

Last month, I attended a gathering in Parliament Square in support of a movement to free Shaker Aamer. Among the others present was the campaigning journalist Andy Worthington. Andy, to his eternal credit, has devoted much of his recent working life to exposing the horrors of Guantanamo.
I was proud to be there, standing as I did alongside other Brits who still care about the law, about standards, about justice, about fair play.

Thanks to the recent Senate report into CIA torture, the public mood has changed, maybe even dramatically, in the past few days.

It is possible people are coming to see that justice is important and that the British legal principles dating back to Magna Carta in 1215 enshrine the rights of the individual and are to be defended at all costs.

Detention and incarceration without trial have absolutely no place in the legal system which we, the British people, are all rightfully proud to call our own.

From dailymail.co.uk

Roger Waters Recording First Rock Album in Over Two Decades

BY ANDY GREENE | November 13, 2013





Concept record is 'a quest,' says the Pink Floyd co-founder

David Wolff - Patrick/Redferns via Getty Images

Roger Waters wrapped up his three-year Wall tour in September, and since then he's turned his attention toward his first rock album since 1992's Amused to Death. "I finished a demo of it last night," he tells Rolling Stone. "It's 55 minutes long. It's songs and theater as well. I don't want to give too much away, but it's couched as a radio play. It has characters who speak to each other, and it's a quest. It's about an old man and a young child trying to figure out why they are killing the children."

He's not sure if he'll support the disc with a tour. "I'm suffering a little bit of withdrawal after ending the Wall tour," he says. "It's sort of a relief to not have to go out and do that every night, but they're such a great team. There were 180 of us together everyday. That piece was very moving every night."

The massive show was staged 219 times at stadiums and arenas all over the globe, grossing upwards of $458,000,000. "I can't top that tour," Waters says. "First of all, you have to accept the fact that I'm not going to live forever. I'm 70 years old. You just have to accept that when you do something as enormous as that tour. The hardest thing in the world is thinking of something to do, so going and doing it is a reward in itself." 

The memory of the tour still brings a big smile to his face. "I found that the loudest fans in the world are in Istanbul," he says. "I remember standing there with the band during 'Hey You.' We were behind the wall, so nobody could see us playing. We started looking at each other going, 'What is that sound?' When they sang 'Don't give in without a fight,' you could feel it. It was like the roof was coming off, even though there was no roof. It was amazing." 

With that in mind, he refuses to rule out the possibility of reviving The Wall tour at some point in the future. "I'm not thinking about that right now," he says. "But that's not to say I won't. I think there's an audience there. We did do 219 shows, which is a lot." 

From rollingstone.com

Roger Waters Reminds Curious Fans: 'I Am Not Part of Pink Floyd'

BY KORY GROW | October 2, 2014




"I have nothing to do with [new album] 'Endless River,' singer writes. "Phew! This is not rocket science, people. Get a grip"

Founding Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters left the group bitterly in 1985 and famously sued his ex-bandmates at the time for wishing to carry on with the group's name, but some of his fans appear to have forgotten this. The singer-songwriter has issued a note on Facebook to remind his fans that, while Pink Floyd are indeed issuing their first record in 20 years – the instrumental record The Endless River – he had no role in making it.

"Some people have been asking Laurie, my wife, about a new album I have coming out in November," Waters wrote. "Errhh? I don't have an album coming out, they are probably confused. David Gilmour and Nick Mason have an album coming out. It's called Endless River. David and Nick constitute the group Pink Floyd. I on the other hand, am not part of Pink Floyd. I left Pink Floyd in 1985, that's 29 years ago. I had nothing to do with either of the Pink Floyd studio albums, Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell, nor the Pink Floyd tours of 1987 and 1994, and I have nothing to do with Endless River. Phew! This is not rocket science people, get a grip."

Waters lost his lawsuit over the band name in 1987, and that same year the band issued A Momentary Lapse of Reason. In recent years, Waters has revisited his Pink Floyd past. On July 2nd, 2005, Waters, Mason, Gilmour and keyboardist Rick Wright performed together as Pink Floyd for the first time in nearly a quarter century at the Live 8 concert at London's Hyde park. Waters has mounted solo tours in recent years, performing the Floyd albums Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall in their entirety, and reunited again with Gilmour and Mason in London at a tour stop for the latter in 2011.

"It was really nice to be part of it and to show support for Roger, not that he really needs it," Mason told Rolling Stone after their 2011 reunion. "I suppose it's nice to have Roger wanting to register David and myself as part of it, in a way. It was a mutual thing: it was nice to be recognized but also very nice to lend support to Roger and make it clear that we're not punching it out in these auditoriums. We're not critical of him doing it."

In 2013, Waters told the BBC he regretted his lawsuit over the band name. "I was wrong," he said. "Of course I was. Who cares?"

In the same Facebook note, Waters also criticized the role of some countries in the Israel-Palestine conflict. "On another subject, my recent trip to Bruxelles was very moving," he wrote. "To listen to the testimony of some of those present in Gaza during the euphemistically named Operation Protective Edge, July and August 2014 was deeply disturbing. I am still non plussed by the acquiescence of the governments of the USA, UK and EU to the policies of the current Israeli administration. Should we encourage our leaders to sue for a peaceful solution or not?"

The Endless River – which does not feature Waters – will come out on November 10th. The band decided to put out the record after discovering recordings they had made with Wright, who died in 2008, during the sessions for The Division Bell. "We listened to over 20 hours of the three of us playing together and selected the music we wanted to work on for the new album," Gilmour said in a statement. "Over the last year we've added new parts, re-recorded others and generally harnessed studio technology to make a 21st century Pink Floyd album. With Rick gone, and with him the chance of ever doing it again, it feels right that these revisited and reworked tracks should be made available as part of our repertoire."

From www.rollingstone.com 

Roger Waters Says ‘The Wall’ is ‘Unashamedly Anti-War’

Brent Lang
Senior Film and Media Reporter
SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

Roger Waters is bringing one of his greatest artistic triumphs to the screen at a time when war and armed conflict is consuming broad swaths of the planet.

At the Toronto Film Festival premiere of “Roger Waters’ The Wall,” the former Pink Floyd singer and guitarist said he was inspired to make a film of his wildly successful concert tour of the famous album out of political necessity.

“Any armed conflict is an underscore and an exclamation mark to this movie, because this movie is unashamedly anti-war, ecumenical, and about love for all men and women whatever their race, color, creed, nationality or whatever,” said Waters.

It’s also the second time that a film has been made of “The Wall,” but unlike the 1982 Alan Parker film, this isn’t a narrative picture and it’s not autobiographical. That film dealt with an emotionally isolated singer, but the 2014 version widens its canvas, while retaining a soundtrack that includes such rock classics as “Comfortably Numb” and “Hey You.”

“When Roger decided that he wanted to bring it back on the road he said, ‘I’m not that guy. I’m happy. I’m not this angry kid anymore,'” said co-director Sean Evans. “We took the meat of it and made it more about the world and building walls in society, religion and politics.”

Waters has been outspoken of late, criticizing the United States, for instance, for supporting Israel in its standoff with Hamas. At the premiere, he did not speak about any specific war or hot zone, but implied he felt that people needed to become more politically active in order to prevent future bloodshed.

“It’s about our children and about each other and about how we so desperately need to transcend national boundaries in order to cooperate with one another rather than sitting entrenched on our side of a boundary or wall and lobbing bombs at each other over the top of it,” he said.

“We’re on a slippery slope and we need to dig our heels in and say enough, enough, this is not right,” Waters added.

The premiere happened to coincide with the rocker’s 71st birthday, an anniversary that the filmmakers insisted was coincidental.

From variety.com

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters: 'I've made an anti-war movie'

By Rebecca Hawkes and Reuters 08 Sep 2014

The Pink Floyd co-founder say it's time to protest against politicians

Roger Waters performs in Portugal in 2011 Photo: EPA

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters' new film, Roger Waters: The Wall, documents the singer-songwriter's three year The Wall Live tour, which ran from 2010 to 2013, and saw Waters perform Pink Floyd's famous 1980 double album in its entirety.

But Waters says that the film should be seen as a protest against the growing spread of armed conflict, rather than just a concert documentary.

The film, which had its world premiere on Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival, documents the band's impressive concerts, that included pyrotechnics, animation, a flying inflatable pig and an actual wall constructed on stage as the show progressed.

But it also includes vignettes of Waters visiting war cemeteries and memorials in Europe, including the grave of a grandfather who died in World War One, and the site of the 1944 battle that killed Water's father when the singer was just a baby.

The concert itself featured projections on its set of veterans, activists and average people who died in wars, protests and attacks on civilians.

Waters said a major theme of the original album is the need to challenge politicians who seem increasingly willing to resort to the use of violence.

"It's a question that's not being asked of our leaders often enough. If this film asks that question, at least in part, then it would be good," Waters told Reuters on the red carpet ahead of the premiere.

"It's a protest movie. It's an anti-war, protest movie."

The film received a standing ovation after a screening packed with fans. The audience also sang an impromptu "Happy Birthday" when Waters, who turned 71 on Saturday, took to the stage.

The Wall Live became one of the top grossing concert tours of all time as it grew to more than 200 shows in Europe, North and South America and Australia.

Waters said he had welcomed the opportunity to spread the album's core message that politicians and citizens must work to overcome the divisions fueling the wars we see today.

"It's very easy for people to say... that will never happen, because they are this, and they are that. And you can't talk to them," he told Reuters.

"They just lived in a different part of the globe and are educated differently. And they need education the same way that we do so that we can cross the great divide that we might call the wall."

From www.telegraph.co.uk

Roger Waters' 'The Wall' Tour Documentary Premieres in Toronto

BY DANIEL KREPS | September 7, 2014

Sonia Moskowitz, Getty Images

Roger Waters celebrated his 71st birthday September 6th at the Toronto International Film Festival by attending the world premiere of his new documentary Roger Waters: The Wall. TIFF was the perfect venue for the former Pink Floyd bassist to debut his film since The Wall Live tour actually began its run at Toronto's Air Canada Centre on September 15, 2010, so Roger Waters: The Wall's TIFF premiere was like coming full circle. Also, what better way to follow "Bill Murray Day" than with a film that explores Waters' epic tour from behind "the Wall."

Longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich is credited with "Sound" in Roger Waters: The Wall, along with veteran sound mixer Adam Scrivener. The documentary runs for 133 minutes – 12 minutes longer than the classic double-LP itself – and was co-directed by Waters and Sean Evans, who was The Wall Tour's creative director. Roger Waters: The Wall was filmed in three cities on two continents. So far, no release date has been announced for the documentary, but there will be two more Toronto screenings. Waters also revealed that his tour documentary could double as "an anti-war, protest film."

Following the premiere, and after an impromptu serenade of "Happy Birthday" by the crowd, Waters conducted a Q&A session with audience members and was asked why Pink Floyd's The Wall is so enduring. "I think people are sick and tired of being told that the most important thing in their life is commerce and the new this and the new that," Waters said according to the Toronto Sun. "I think people are probably ready to go now, 'Well, all of that rhetoric lead us to lob bombs over the top of the wall, that divides society ecologically, economically, philosophically and politically, from all our fellow human beings. And we no longer want to be told by our political leaders that they are scum and that we are great.' So that I believe that it may be we're no longer interested in the 'us and them' form of political philosophy that we've been fed on for the last couple of 1,000 years and that we may be ready to move into a new place." All that, plus "Comfortably Numb" is awesome.

"I can't top that tour," Waters told Rolling Stone last November. "First of all, you have to accept the fact that I'm not going to live forever... You just have to accept that when you do something as enormous as that tour. The hardest thing in the world is thinking of something to do, so going and doing it is a reward in itself."

www.rollingstone.com

Roger Waters Discusses Emotional Anti-War Documentary ‘The Wall’ at TIFF

By Karen Bliss
September 07, 2014

"It has a more universal message, which is passionately anti-war," Roger Waters says.

If a concert film can be emotional and even require a tissue, Roger Waters The Wall is it.

Roger Waters Premieres His New Doc at Toronto International Film Festival

Roger Waters, the Pink Floyd co-founder marked his 71st birthday at the Toronto International Film Festival Saturday (Sept. 6) night for the world premiere of this unique live concert documentary. The film takes his strong anti-war stance and interweaves a highly personal mission into concert footage from his 2010-2013 sold out The Wall Live tour, which actually started in Toronto.

The 133-minute documentary, which includes all 26 songs from Pink Floyd’s 1979 album, The Wall, is still seeking a distributor.

“The only difference in the movie is that I’ve made a road movie about visiting the graves of both my grandfather and my father -- well, my father doesn’t have a grave because his remains were never found. He died in 1944 at Anzio [Italy] in the Second World War, but there is a memorial to him which during the movie I visit,” Waters told Billboard before the screening.

“I basically visit all kinds of serious iconic places with friends of mine from the past, in this movie. I hope that that road movie is integrated within the context of the concert movie we’ve made and serves to accentuate some of the points that we made in the concert.”

Waters worked closely with co-director and co-writer Sean Evans, the creative director on The Wall Live and previous visuals designer for Waters’ 2006-2008 The Dark Side of the Moon Live tour and his opera Ça Ira.

“It has to do with his impetus for writing The Wall,” Evans says of the narrative component to the film. “It’s all one big circle and it’s great how it all ties back.”

In The Wall Live -- based on the songs from Pink Floyd’s classic double album, The Wall, and subsequent tour -- Waters hammered home the idea that war is commerce and the immense cost in human lives. The stage show includes military costumes, animation of fighter planes and bombs, and dozens of fan-submitted photos of people all over the world whose lives were lost to war in this last century.

The original album and Alan Parker’s legendary 1982 film were based on the destructive life of an isolated rock star whose father was killed in action during World War II.

“I wrote this piece nearly 40 years ago. It came to me a few years ago that it had a broader message than the original message of the whiny guy who spat at the kid in Montreal in 1977,” Waters says, referencing his notorious reaction to a disruptive fan during Pink Floyd’s In The Flesh/Animals tour.

“And it has a more universal message, which is passionately anti-war, believing that war is a business -- Smedley Butler’s whole ‘War Is A Racket.’ It’s all about people making money. It actually doesn’t help the people who are expected to be collateral damage -- and most casualties in modern warfare are civilians.”

Like the concert, the documentary includes all The Wall songs in chronological order, but Waters’ road trip makes the message more powerful. He is not just looking at war from the outside; he knows firsthand the lifelong pain such loss has on the families of those left behind.

As the end credits roll, he respectfully shows all the photos of fallen loved ones.

After the screening, Waters did a 25-minute Q&A session, telling the audience at the Elgin Theatre he hoped this new film version of The Wall is “more universal and ecumenical and anti-war and humanitarian than the original version that I did with my much loved old colleagues from Pink Floyd, Dave and Rick and Nick.”

He added another hope -- that we’d “find a different way of organizing our politics and our commerce that don’t require that we murder each other.”

“Because we are all brothers and sisters under the skin and above it,” he says. “I know it sounds ridiculous to say, but it’s super important that we stop lopping bombs over the top of the wall and start trying to dismantle it so that we can say ‘Hi’ to whoever is on the other side, whether the divide is religious or nationalistic or political or economical.”

From www.billboard.com

 

Roger Waters memorialises his fallen WWII father

Nick Squires in Aprilia
18 Feb 2014


Pink Floyd rock star unveils a memorial to the father he never knew, 70 years after he was killed during a battle between British and German forces south of Rome.

Seventy years to the day after his father was killed in a desperate battle with German troops in Italy, Roger Waters unveiled a memorial in which he paid moving tribute to the man he never knew.

The founder of Pink Floyd was just a baby when his father, Lt Eric Waters, died during the bitter, close-quarters fighting that took place after British and American troops landed at Anzio in Jan 1944 in order to outflank the Germans and liberate Rome.

His unit, Z Company of the 8th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, was all but wiped out in an aggressive German counter-attack on Feb 18, 1944.

His remains were never found.

The death of his father has haunted the British rock star all his life and inspired many of Pink Floyd's best known songs, including some off the album The Wall.

But as he stood in front of a newly-erected white marble obelisk commemorating his father in the town of Aprilia south of Rome, he finally achieved a degree of closure.

"It is 70 years to the day since my father died here and I have finally come to the end of a journey to discover what really happened to him," the musician and composer said, after placing a wreath of red poppies at the foot of the monument, next to a British steel helmet peppered with shrapnel holes, retrieved from the battle field.

Waters, 70, said that at the outbreak of the Second World War his father had declared himself a conscientious objector, but as the evils of Nazism became more and more apparent he decided that he should join up.

"So he went back to the conscription board in London and told them he had changed his mind. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers, which is how he ended up here 70 years ago. He believed he was involved in a necessary fight against the Nazis, and for that he paid the ultimate price."

Waters said he found the unveiling of the memorial "extremely moving" and at one point had to staunch a nose bleed with tissues.

"I feel an enormous attachment to my father today. I'm very happy to be here," he said, placing his hand over his heart.

Until recently, the guitarist had no idea exactly how or where his father had died.

He knew only that he had been killed following the landings, when tens of thousands of Allied troops streamed ashore at Anzio and Nettuno and established a precarious bridgehead.

But last year his story was taken up by Harry Shindler, an Anzio veteran who lives in Italy and who is head of the Italy Star Association of British veterans.

He scoured war diaries and military maps held by what is now the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers at the Tower of London, and came upon an intelligence report that described the desperate last few hours of Lt Waters' unit and the exact spot where he was killed.

Mr Shindler, 93, who on Wednesday will be awarded an MBE by the British ambassador in Rome in recognition of his services to veterans, has since become friends with Waters.

"Roger, I hope that you can go into calmer waters now and that this wall at least is down for you," Mr Shindler, who also served with the Royal Fusiliers, said.

On Monday the two men paid a private visit to another recently-built memorial, a circular stone monument which marks the spot where Lt Waters died, close to a gully that British troops called "the Wadi".

Although the death of his father caused him huge pain during his life, he seems to have found some peace with the enemy soldiers who killed him.

The monument, which lies on the edge of a grove of olive trees, is inscribed with words from 'Two Suns in the Sunset', the closing track on the Pink Floyd album The Final Cut: "Ashes and diamonds/Foe and friend/We were all equal in the end."

Waters was flanked by two soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, who flew out from the UK to take part in the commemoration.

"In the regiment we have a saying - 'once a fusilier, always a fusilier' - so we feel it's very important for serving members to attend events like this," said Major Chris Head, who was a platoon commander in Z Company, just like Waters' father.

Colonel Duncan Venn, the British military attaché in Rome, said: "It must be very difficult for the relatives of soldiers whose remains were never found because they have no focus for their grieving. Hopefully these monuments will offer some comfort to Roger Waters."

From telegraph.co.uk

Roger Waters unveils war memorial in honour of his father

Published: Wed, February 19


PINK FLOYD star ROGER WATERS fought back tears as he unveiled a monument to his father in Italy exactly 70 years after he was killed in battle.

The rocker's dad, Lieutenant Eric Waters, died during the 1944 battle of Anzio when his son was just a baby, and the star spent years trying to piece together his final movements.

Waters returned to the area to unveil a special memorial in honour his father on Tuesday (18Feb14), exactly 70 years after his death.

He laid a wreath of symbolic red poppies at the foot of the plinth, which is inscribed with his father's name and rank along with a Pink Floyd lyric, and Waters was overcome with emotion as he paid tribute to his long lost dad, saying, "It is 70 years to the day since my father died here and I have finally come to the end of a journey to discover what really happened to him... I feel an enormous attachment to my father today. I'm very happy to be here."


Waters also planted an olive tree in a field close to where his father fell in battle. A solider played military funeral anthem the Last Post, and Waters later borrowed his bugle to give an impromptu performance of his band's track Outside The Wall.

From express.co.uk

Roger Waters to be made honorary citizen of Italian city

Published:
Wed, January 22, 2014



PINK FLOYD star ROGER WATERS is to be made an honorary citizen of the Italian city where his father died in action during World War II.

The rocker spent years attempting to track down the exact place where his dad, Lieutenant Eric Waters, was killed in 1944 during Italy's battle of Anzio, and he was helped to discover the location by another war veteran last year .

Waters, who was just five months old when he lost his father, is now set to be honoured by local officials in Anzio as part of the 70th anniversary commemorations.

He will be made an honorary citizen of the city during a ceremony on 18 February, exactly 70 years since the day his father died, while a monument to Eric Waters will be erected there. The tribute will be inscribed with lyrics from Pink Floyd's song Two Suns In The Sunset.

From express.co.uk

  

Roger Waters odkrył losy ojca

23.01.2014
Autor: mnie, bzato; Źródło: PAP

Po latach poszukiwań brytyjski muzyk, założyciel zespołu Pink Floyd, Roger Waters dowiedział się, gdzie walczył i zginął jego ojciec, który brał udział w lądowaniu aliantów koło Rzymu w styczniu 1944 roku. Artysta poznał też prawdopodobne miejsce jego pochówku.

W 70. rocznicę lądowania aliantów w rejonie podrzymskiego Anzio włoska prasa przypomina, że większość swojego życia legendarny kompozytor poszukiwał informacji na temat swego ojca, porucznika Erica Fletchera Watersa, którego stracił, gdy miał 5 miesięcy.

Desantowi sił aliantów we Włoszech, którego celem było otwarcie drogi na Rzym, muzyk zadedykował utwór „When the Tigers Broke Free".

Po wielu poszukiwaniach w zeszłym roku były muzyk Pink Floyd nabrał przekonania, że po wylądowaniu we Włoszech 22 stycznia 1944 roku jego ojciec walczył w okolicach miasta Cassino i że został pochowany na tamtejszym cmentarzu. Gdy odwiedził to miejsce w marcu zeszłego roku powiedział: „Moja podróż kończy się tutaj". Wydawało mu się wtedy, że zyskał pewność, że ustalił miejsce pochówku młodego strzelca brytyjskich sił królewskich i że jego misja zakończyła się.

Lecz wkrótce potem do Watersa zgłosił się 92-letni mieszkający od wojny we Włoszech brytyjski weteran Harry Shindler, który w telewizji obejrzał relację o wizycie muzyka. Wyjaśnił mu, że jednostka, w której był jego ojciec, nie walczyła na linii Gustawa koło Cassino i zatem nie mógł on tam zginąć.

Brytyjski kombatant uznał za swój obowiązek ustalenie losów ojca kompozytora. W Londynie odnalazł zapiski brytyjskiego żołnierza z 18 lutego 1944 roku, czyli dnia śmierci Erica Fletchera Watersa oraz informację o walkach jego oddziału koło miejscowości Aprilia w pobliżu Rzymu. Sędziwy weteran poprosił o dalszą pomoc poszukiwacza i historyka-amatora, architekta z zawodu, Emidio Giovannozziego, który w wolnych chwilach gra, co jest czystym zbiegiem okoliczności, muzykę Pink Floyd.

Posługując się różnymi relacjami z czasów wojny, dokumentami i mapami wojskowymi, a także najnowszymi osiągnięciami techniki Giovannozzi ustalił dokładne miejsce walk aliantów z Niemcami pod Aprilią oraz śmierci tysięcy żołnierzy, uczestników desantu. Z relacji wynika, że dopiero w maju, a więc trzy miesiące po bitwie polegli w niej żołnierze sił alianckich zostali pochowani jako bezimienni w Anzio, na cmentarzu Falasche. Wszystko wskazuje na to, że jest to też miejsce pochówku ojca Rogera Watersa.


18 lutego, w 70. rocznicę walk pod Aprilią, w ich miejscu odsłonięta zostanie tablica pamiątkowa ku czci poległych żołnierzy. Odsłoni ją syn jednego z nich, Roger Waters. Następnie otrzyma on honorowe obywatelstwo Anzio.

tvp.info

Roger Waters Recording First Rock Album in Over Two Decades

By ANDY GREENE
NOVEMBER 13, 2013



Concept record is 'a quest,' says the Pink Floyd co-founder

Roger Waters performs in Paris.

Roger Waters wrapped up his three-year Wall tour in September, and since then he's turned his attention toward his first rock album since 1992's Amused to Death. "I finished a demo of it last night," he tells Rolling Stone. "It's 55 minutes long. It's songs and theater as well. I don't want to give too much away, but it's couched as a radio play. It has characters who speak to each other, and it's a quest. It's about an old man and a young child trying to figure out why they are killing the children."

He's not sure if he'll support the disc with a tour. "I'm suffering a little bit of withdrawal after ending the Wall tour," he says. "It's sort of a relief to not have to go out and do that every night, but they're such a great team. There were 180 of us together everyday. That piece was very moving every night."

The massive show was staged 219 times at stadiums and arenas all over the globe, grossing upwards of $458,000,000. "I can't top that tour," Waters says. "First of all, you have to accept the fact that I'm not going to live forever. I'm 70 years old. You just have to accept that when you do something as enormous as that tour. The hardest thing in the world is thinking of something to do, so going and doing it is a reward in itself." 

The memory of the tour still brings a big smile to his face. "I found that the loudest fans in the world are in Istanbul," he says. "I remember standing there with the band during 'Hey You.' We were behind the wall, so nobody could see us playing. We started looking at each other going, 'What is that sound?' When they sang 'Don't give in without a fight,' you could feel it. It was like the roof was coming off, even though there was no roof. It was amazing." 

With that in mind, he refuses to rule out the possibility of reviving The Wall tour at some point in the future. "I'm not thinking about that right now," he says. "But that's not to say I won't. I think there's an audience there. We did do 219 shows, which is a lot." 

From www.rollingstone.com

Roger Waters sends poem to vet who located spot father was felled in war

By Nick Squires, Rome and Rosa Silverman  11 Nov 2013


Roger Waters, the Pink Floyd bassist and song writer, has sent a poem to the British army veteran who located the exact spot where the musician’s father was killed in action in Italy during the Second World War

Harry Shindler used British intelligence reports and military maps last month to identify the place where the guitarist’s father, Lieutenant Eric Waters, died in the aftermath of the Allied landings at Anzio, south of Rome.
Roger Waters contacted him and sent him a poem entitled “One River”, along with a letter which he signed “To Harry, with gratitude”.
The rock star was just five months old when his father died at the age of 31 during intense fighting between Allied and German forces in February 1944.
The poem alludes to the acute sense of loss he felt and the pain of never having known his father, who was serving with Z Company of the 8th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers.

“When the wind sighs through the crop and good men fall, And children soft in their mothers' arms cringe, unbelieving, from the desperadoes' casual blade, My father, distant now but live and warm and strong, in uniform tobacco haze, Speaks out 'My son',” the poem begins.
“He says, Stay not the passion of your loss, But rather keen and hone its edge, That you may never turn away, Numb, brute, from bets too difficult to hedge.”
Mr Shindler, 93, who served at Anzio and is now head of the Italy Star Association of veterans, said he was deeply touched by the poem.
“It’s very moving indeed,” he told The Telegraph. “I think Roger was grateful that I went to all this trouble to find where his father was killed. I see my job as to make sure that nobody forgets all the lads who died down there and what happened after the landings. I came through it, fortunately, but many didn’t.”
Mr Shindler used War Office records at the National Archives in Kew and military maps to find the location of Lt Waters’ death - a fox hole a few miles inland from the sea, on the outer perimeter of the Allied bridgehead.
“It’s in a field surrounded by ditches, near a stream. It’s a pretty damp place and it was even worse in February 1944 – the weather was awful, we had a shocking winter and it was very muddy,” he said.
Roger Waters is expected to travel to Italy in February to mark the 70th anniversary of his father’s death.
“We’re expecting him to come on Feb 18 to unveil a monument to his father,” Mr Shindler said. “The town of Anzio wants to give him honorary citizenship.”
Lt Waters’ body was never recovered but his name is commemorated at the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at nearby Monte Cassino, also the scene of intense fighting.
Mr Shindler is negotiating with local authorities in the town of Aprilia, near Anzio, to erect a plaque to commemorate not only Lt Waters, but all the Allied soldiers whose remains were never retrieved from the battlefield.
The 70th anniversary of the start of the Anzio landings, which were codenamed Operation Shingle, falls on Jan 22 next year and is expected to be attended by veterans and dignitaries from Britain, Commonwealth countries such as New Zealand and Canada, and the United States.
The Allies suffered around 40,000 casualties in the battle of Anzio, which eventually led to the liberation of Rome.
The British intelligence summary found by Mr Shindler revealed that on the night of Feb 17, 1944, Lt Waters’ company came under sustained assault from a German counter-attack involving tanks and infantry.
By the morning of the next day, Feb 18, the situation was desperate, the unit was eventually surrounded and Lt Waters was killed.
Mr Shindler, who lives in Italy, heard of the story after Roger Waters visited Monte Cassino, south-east of Rome, in March this year in a tribute to his father.
The death of his father inspired several of the songs that Waters, 70, wrote for Pink Floyd, in particular When The Tigers Broke Free, which also appeared in the film The Wall.
He once said the loss of his father had left him very angry.
“It took me years to come to terms with it. Because he was missing in action, presumed killed, until quite recently I expected him to come home.”
Roger Waters, who wrote the poem in the 1990s during the Balkan conflict, said Mr Shindler's discovery had been "an extraordinary turn of events".
He told the Telegraph that he had spoken to the veteran on the phone a number of times now and was looking forward to meeting him in Italy in February for the anniversary of the battle in which his father died. He planned to take Mr Shindler out for a drink.
"Harry is such a remarkable man," he said. "This isn't a one-off for him.
"He has been doing it for years and years.
"He's made it his life's work to find out what happened to men who served."
While knowing where his father died could not provide closure, it had offered him "the opportunity to connect with a lovely man like Harry Shindler," he said.

From www.telegraph.co.uk
 

Bruce Springsteen, Roger Waters Rock New York for Wounded Veterans

By ANDY GREENE
NOVEMBER 7, 2013



Bruce Springsteen is a man of many talents, though stand-up comedy is most definitely not one of them. But as the final performer of the annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit last night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden – which also featured Roger Waters and short sets by comedy superstars Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Cosby and Jim Gaffigan – he was unable to resist the urge to tell a few jokes. "I'm puzzled," he said. "This is a night of comedy with soldiers in the audience, but the entire night went by without anybody telling any dirty jokes? I can't let that happen."

With that, Springsteen got uncharacteristically bawdy. "An old man is having trouble getting an erection," he said shortly after walking onstage clutching an acoustic guitar. "He goes to the doctor and he tells him the story, 'I can't sustain an erection. I've tried Viagra. I've tried it all, like jellybeans. Nothing.' Doctor says, 'You may be beyond medical help, but there's a gypsy around the corner. Go around to her and tell her this.' The gypsy listens and she says, 'Take this vial, and when the time comes, sprinkle it a little bit where it counts and say: "One, two, three." And then it's Washington Monument, Louisville Slugger time. But it's only going to work once.' The guy goes, 'Great, great. How do I get it back down?' 'That's easy, say, "One, two, three, four." It's going to go down.' The guy runs home, all excited, sees his wife and tells her to get into bed. He hops in, gets his clothes off and sprinkles a little bit on and says, 'One, two, three.' His wife goes, 'I don't get it, what's the 'One, two,three for?'"

Thankfully for the large audience of rock fans, military vets and deep-pocketed benefactors, there were far better jokes throughout the three-hour show. This was the seventh annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit, and the biggest one yet. ABC News reporter Bob Woodruff and his wife Lee put the first one together at New York's Town Hall in 2007, a little more than a year and a half after a roadside bomb in Iraq left him in a coma for 36 days. He awoke with an intense desire to help injured soldiers returning home from war, and they've raised $16 million for the Bob Woodruff Foundation through these annual benefits, which always attract the biggest names in comedy. Springsteen has played all of them, and Waters has participated in the last two. The event is part of New York Comedy Festival, and Caroline's on Broadway founder Caroline Hirsch plays a crucial role in putting it all together.

After introductory remarks by the Woodruffs and a stirring rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner," Stewart kicked off the night with a mini-set focused on subjects familiar to anyone who has watched The Daily Show in recent weeks. "They always say the Democrats are playing checkers and the Republicans are playing chess," he said in a hysterical bit about the troubled Affordable Care Act website. "But right now the Republicans are playing chess and the Democrats are in the nurse's office because they glued their balls to the inside of their thigh. That is the one injury that I have had."

He then handed the mic over to Bill Cosby, who sat on a chair and delivered a 20-minute (occasionally rambling) set focused almost entirely on his epic fights with his parents and siblings while growing up in Philadelphia. "I'll tell you now, after reading the Bible, I sided with Cain," he said. "The whole time through that story I just kept saying, 'I'm with you, brother.'" The only time he deviated from the childhood tales was when somebody in the audience interrupted a joke. "Let me tell my story," he said. "I don't care what war you were in, you will behave when I'm talking. I was in the service way before you guys were born. I was there when there was no guns. We just dug a hole and yelled at each other."

Jim Gaffigan came up next, and devoted his 10-minute set largely to food and self-depreciating fat jokes. "I just want to eat something healthy," he said. "I recently saw an apple and for a moment, just a moment, I didn't recognize it. I was like, 'What is that? Oh, it's an apple! It's so weird to not see it in a pie.' No one really wants fruit. It's a bunch of work. You got to wash it and peel off that sticker that Al Qaeda put on there. It's too much work. Some people make the gathering of fruit into an activity, 'Why don't we go apple picking?' Because I'd rather die."

Jerry Seinfeld was the final comedian of the night, and he killed with a 15-minute routine that dealt with his standard topics of raising children, dealing with his wife and the awkwardness of public bathrooms. "My daughter is having a birthday party tomorrow," he said. "Do you find that other people's children never look quite right? 'Is that boy's head supposed to look like that? He's a melon-head.' Then the parents come to pick him up and it's, 'Oh, they're melon-heads too. It's just a big melon-head family.'"

Waters played with a small band of veterans last year, but this year he assembled 20-plus soldiers who joined up with a handful of members of his touring band, including guitarist G.E. Smith and keyboardist Jon Carin. Waters is as anti-war as they come, but he's always a strong supporter of the troops and he's spent weeks organizing this four-song set, even going down to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington D.C. to meet wounded soldiers and form a unique rock orchestra. There was a huge choir, three drummers (one of whom had one arm, but didn't miss a beat) a bassist, about six acoustic guitarists and many others. They all blended together seamlessly.

Waters grabbed an acoustic guitar and sat on the side of the stage, allowing 22-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Timothy Donley, who lost both legs and part of his right arm in Afghanistan, to sing a rousing rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." This is a song that's been dusted off for a lot of benefits over the years. Adam Sandler even mocked the tradition at the 12/12/12 Hurricane Sandy benefit last year, but Donley sang his heart out and made the familiar tune feel fresh again. He deserved the huge standing ovation.

John Lennon's "Imagine" was the next selection, and Waters handled the lead vocals. "This is one of the songs that I suggested for this concert," he said. "I sent it to the guys through Bob and Lee Woodruff. I wasn't entirely sure they would want to do this." It's easy to understand his hesitation. "Imagine" has been called the "socialist national anthem" and it's certainly anti-war, but a good song is malleable and can mean different things at different times. At this show, it felt like everybody (onstage and off) was imaging a world where these brave soldiers didn't have to go overseas and return home with devastating injuries.

Some people in the audience were yelling out "Pink Floyd!" by this point, but the set continued with Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." Waters switched over the bass for this, and former Marine JW Cortes belted out the civil rights-era tune with incredible passion and intensity. He sounded like a mixture of Marvin Gaye and John Legend, absolutely stunning most everyone in the room.  The Pink Floyd fans were finally satisfied when Waters dug out "Comfortably Numb" for the finale. Donley handled the David Gilmour vocal parts, and the famous guitar solo was impressively replicated, though nobody does it like Gilmour.

There were a lot of Springsteen fanatics in the audience and calls of "Brooooooce" filled the hall about a minute after Waters and his band left the stage. (Fun fact: Springsteen has made fewer U.S. live appearances in 2013 than any year in his career, going all the way back to 1965.) After telling his erectile dysfunction joke, he played a barn-burning solo-acoustic "Dancing in the Dark" and followed it up with a joke about an "Amazonian" prostitute named Hurricane Tessie that farts on men and spanks them. It was weird. Patti Scialfa came out for a tender duet on "If I Should Fall Behind," and then Springsteen sat at the pump organ for a stirring"Dream Baby Dream." Pre-recorded guitars, synths and strings kicked in midway through, and Springsteen stood up and  poured himself into every word of the Suicide cover, before quietly ending it back on the pump organ.

They were dangerously closed to the 11 p.m. curfew after Springsteen's brief set, so Brian Williams quickly rushed onstage to help auction off one of Springsteen's electric guitars. As Bruce strummed out the bluesy chords to "Mystery Train" on the instrument, a bidding war broke out in the audience. When the price hit $140,000, Springsteen sweetened the pot by tossing in an hour of personal guitar lessons. That sped up the process, and at $230,000 Springsteen added an invitation to watch him record at his home studio. That was enough to get an extra $20,000, and a gray-haired man in a leather jacket won the entire package for a quarter of a million dollars.

The cost of going over curfew at MSG is apparently $10,000 a minute (one hopes they make an exception for this event), so as soon as the auction wrapped Bob and Lee Woodruff ran out to quickly thank everybody and wave goodbye. It's unclear when Springsteen will perform an American show again, but he'll certainly be back for Stand Up for Heroes again next year. Maybe they'll even upgrade it to the arena at Madison Square Garden by then.

From www.rollingstone.com

Roger Waters 'Absolutely Determined to Make Another Album'

By PATRICK FLANARY
NOVEMBER 6,2013



More than 20 years since making a rock concept record, Roger Waters tells Rolling Stone he has finished a song for an album tentatively titled Heartland. Completed on lunch breaks during the elaborate Wall tour that ended in July, the untitled song confronts what Waters calls "religious extremism."

"I'm not sure what it will be called," Waters said in an interview Monday in Manhattan, where he will perform at the Bob Woodruff Foundation's Stand Up for Heroes benefit, part of this week's New York Comedy Festival. "I'll tell you what the first line is – I haven't told anyone else, and I may be sticking my head too far above the parapet – but the first line is, 'If I had been God . . . '"

Waters, who last referenced God outright on 1992's Amused to Death in the three-part song "What God Wants," said this song was just what he needed to move forward with Heartland.

"The Heartland idea sort of came from another song I wrote maybe 15 years ago, or longer even, which was a song that I wrote for a movie – a really, really bad movie called Michael that was about an angel," Waters said. "I'm absolutely determined to make another album. And I think this new song may give me the chance to do that. It provides a cornerstone and a core idea for me to write a new album about. You know, it's just one of my obsessions, which is, I'm sort of obsessed with the idea that religious extremism is a maligned factor in most of our lives."

Waters' other obsessions – themes of battlefield bloodshed, threatened liberty, isolation and madness – have advanced much of his solo work beyond Pink Floyd, though he confirmed his next album will not feature former bandmates David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason. Waters last recorded with the group, excluding Richard Wright, on 1983's anti-war opus, The Final Cut.

That album opened with "The Post War Dream," the idea of which "is somewhat in tatters" in the real world, Waters said. "But having said that, it is developing in other parts of the world . . . We are determined to continue to fight against the onslaught, if you like, of a society driven mad by the headlong rush to maximize the bottom line."

Long known for his condemnation of war yet strong devotion to troops worldwide, Waters will rehearse with a band of wounded veterans he recruited from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center prior to Hurricane Sandy. Eight soldiers and three Marines will join him for three songs, including Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here," at Thursday's Stand Up for Heroes benefit at Beacon Theatre, which will also include performances from Bruce Springsteen and John Mayer.

"These guys are good," Waters said of his recruits. "I'm really proud to be working with them."

From www.rollingstone.com

Rogers Waters Returns to Benefit for Wounded

NEW YORK November 6, 2013 (AP)
By JOHN CARUCCI Associated Press



Their faces are young and strong, but their bodies sit in wheelchairs or stand on artificial limbs.

They laugh and smile as Roger Waters holds court in a rehearsal hall. The wounded servicemen are waiting to rehearse their set with the former Pink Floyd frontman ahead of Wednesday's "Stand Up for Heroes," the annual fund raising benefit that supports wounded veterans through the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

They are excited for the chance to perform with the rock great, but these young men are not the only ones with admiration in their eyes.

"I feel a great sense of empathy for the people that live on the sharp end of conflicts and the ones that actually get injured," said the 70-year old Waters at Monday's rehearsal. "I get so much more out of it than I put into it."

Throughout his long career, Waters has written music about victims of conflict, with both "The Wall" and "The Final Cut" having a direct connection to war (he lost his father in World War II, and his grandfather in the first World War).

Last year, he played a touching version of his seminal "Wish You Were Here" while accompanied by 14 wounded soldiers he met at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Waters wants to do his part to help returning veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts because he feels that all too often, they fall through the cracks.

"I'm not a U.S. citizen, but I pay taxes here, and I wish a far greater percent of my tax dollars went to look after these guys," Waters said.

He joins Bruce Springsteen (who's performed at every one of the benefits), "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld and other guests.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation was started by the 52-year old ABC journalist after he was seriously injured by an improvised explosive device while covering the war in Iraq in 2006. The foundation helps returning veterans and their families reintegrate with society.

"I never imagined any of this when I woke up out of that coma," Woodruff said. "You wake up in the hospital happy to be alive, but then realize we're not the same anymore."

He added: "I wanted to create a way to help these guys because this was a new kind of war."

Not long after, he was approached by Caroline Hirsch, who made the "Stand Up for Heroes" benefit a part of her yearly New York Comedy Festival.

She said she was proud to do it.

"These soldiers will be coming back and need to be taken care of for the rest of their lives; we cannot forget what they have done for us," Hirsch said.

Stand Up For Heroes

From abcnews.go.com

Touching moment Pink Floyd star visits World War II cemetery in Italy to honour his soldier father who died in heroic final stand

By NICK PISA
PUBLISHED: 10 October 2013



Roger Waters' father Eric died in Italy in the closing stages of the war

He made an emotional journey to the battlefield where his father died

Pink Floyd star was just five months when his father was killed in action

Lt Waters' name is on a memorial at Cassino but remains were never found

Roger Waters said his father died because of foolhardy generals in songs he recorded

This is the touching moment Pink Floyd star Roger Waters visits a cemetery near where his soldier father died in the final months of World War II.
Eric Fletcher Waters was serving as a second lieutenant with the Royal Fusiliers as they advanced through Italy in 1944 when he was killed in action.
His newborn son Roger was aged just five months when he was killed on the battlefield near Cassino.
Earlier this year, the Pink Floyd musician made an emotional journey to visit the battlefield where his father was killed along with thousands of other Allied troops.
He was able to pinpoint the exact spot where he died and also visited a graveyard where his death is marked on a memorial.
The second lieutenant's remains were never found.

Graveside: Roger Waters of Pink Floyd visits a cemetery in Cassino, Italy, as he makes an emotional journey to visit the battlefield where his father was killed along with thousands of other Allied troops

A war diary belonging to Pink Floyd star Roger Waters' father has been uncovered by a fellow soldier (pictured) the Waters family while father Eric was serving in the Royal Fusiliers

Now, War Diary documents unearthed at the National Archives in Kew by former veteran Harry Shindler, paint a clear picture of the final 24 hours of Lt Waters and the brave men of Z company (coy) who were with him at Anzio in February 1944.

The first line dated February 17 records how at 11am 'intensive shelling and mortaring' took place in the area where Lt Waters, commanding officer John Oliver-Bellasis and the rest of Z company as they tried to advance on a heavily defended German position.

Later in the day, an entry timed 1745, describes colourfully how the Germans called on Lt Waters and his comrades to give up: 'Z coy reported an attack on the left forward platoon. The bosche called on them to surrender but were answered with all available SA (semi automatic) fire. Casualties were inflicted.

The diary, which documents dramatic dispatches from Mr Waters' time in service

Just over an hour later, the entry adds: 'Situation well in hand, enemy decided to withdraw. 'Prisoners from Z coy said they had recently marched from Rome and were told they would not be used in an attack. Had also been told that b'head was almost finished.'

The report goes on to record a quiet night but then in the early hours of the morning at 1.45am, the day Lt Waters was killed, describes an 'enemy concentration reported on the rt of 7th Oxf & Bucks, which is followed by an entry at 0630 of how the Oxf and Bucks troops are being attacked 'and sounds of tracked vehilces heard to their front.'

At 7.15am 'Z coy reported attack by approx 50 Bosches. Successfully dealt with.' More than two hours later at 0945am it adds: '5 enemy killed and several spandaus captured as result of above.' Then 30 minutes later the battle which will claim Lt Waters life begins.

On the offensive: This picture shows troops landing in Anzio, on the Italian coast, in 1944

It reads: 'Further attack on Z coy. This time in greater strength than previous attack. Enemy in close contact with forward positions. Unable to send assistance as Z coy having trouble on their rt.'

An hour later the Diary records: 'Z coy reported enemy all round their positions, very stiff fighting going on.' Then at 1130am the final report reads: 'Lt Waters killed and Lt Hill wounded, situation now critical. Message received over air that assistance would now be too late.'

Lt Waters was killed in the first wave of fighting as the Allies attempted to secure the beach head at Anzio, south of Rome. 

Lt Waters name is on a memorial at the nearby Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Cassino but his remains were never found.

Eric Waters' death provided the inspiration for several songs and it is commemorated in particular with When The Tigers Broke Free, which also appeared in the film The Wall.

In the song, Waters describes how he feels that his 31-year-old father died because of foolhardy generals.

The last verse has the lyrics 'It was dark all around. There was frost in the ground When the tigers broke free. And no one survived  From the Royal Fusiliers Company Z. They were all left behind, Most of them dead.

'The rest of them dying. And that's how the High Command Took my daddy from me.'

He also describes coming across a letter of condolence from George V as he tried on his father's uniform, adding how he found it disturbing that it was rubber-stamped and not actually signed.

After visiting the cemetery at Cassino in March, Waters, 70, told a local Italian TV station: 'I'm on a journey through Europe, my grandfather was killed in 1916 and my father was killed down the road in Anzio. This is the end of my journey.

'Some of my past is in my music and so is my future. I'm making a film that won't be aired in public.'

Speaking of his father, Waters recalled in an interview his childhood and how his father's death had affected him. He said: 'When men in uniform came to collect their children, that's when I realised I didn't have a father anymore.

'I was very angry. It took me years to come to terms with it. Because he was missing in action, presumed killed, until quite recently I expected him to come home. The sacrifice of his life has been a great gift and a great burden to me.'

The film and album The Wall tells the story of how a troubled rock star called Pink, who is said to be Waters, is left psychologically scarred by the loss of his father in the war. The film opens with scenes of a solider - Eric Waters - along with his comrades, storming a beachhead.

Mr Shindler, 93, a veteran who fought in Italy during Word War Two and is in charge of the Itay Star Association which represents former soldiers, said: 'I started to dig around on the story when I saw a report of this man on the TV. 

'I was very moved that he wanted to find out more about his father's death and the circumstances of how he was killed. I don't know who Pink Floyd are, my music stops at The Beatles.

'The report describes the events leading up to his father's death and how they were surrounded and outnumbered but despite putting on a brave fight their was nothing they could do.'

Mr Shindler adds that he had been in touch with Roger Waters agent but had no direct contact with the musician who recently completed a successful tour of Europe.

On his official website Waters has posted a tribute to his father and urged fans to send in photos and stories of their 'Fallen Loved Ones'.

He writes it 'is a request, from me, reaching out to ask you to provide a photograph and personal details of a "Loved One" lost in war. Your "Loved One’s" pictures and details would be included, along with those of my father Eric, in my up coming show THE WALL, as an act of remembrance. The "Fallen Loved One" does not have to have been a soldier. Civilian deaths are equally, if not more, harrowing.

'I make this request to you in light of my belief that many of these tragic losses of life are avoidable. I feel empathy with the families of all the victims and anger at "THE POWERS THAT BE", who are responsible, in equal measure. Please join me in honouring our dead and protesting their loss.'

From www.dailymail.co.uk