Pink Floyd's Nick Mason compares departure of Roger Waters to death of Stalin
The drummer said it took a number of years for the band to recover
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason has compared Roger Waters’ Eighties departure from the band to the death of Joseph Stalin.
The drummer said it took several years for the “Comfortably Numb” singers to adjust to the change because Waters was such a central figure.
Mason told Mojo: “It must have been the same when Stalin died.
“It took quite a while [to recover], it was a three or four year period.”
His over-the-top analogy refers to the Russian leader’s death in 1953, which created a power struggle in the Soviet Union.
Mason also spoke about the specific moment in 1984 that Waters unveiled his plans to leave. “Roger thought we were all going to call it a day, and David [Gilmour] and I thought Roger was going to call it a day and we were going to carry on,” he said
Waters, who officially left the band in 1985, earlier this month issued a firm statement on Facebook telling fans to “get a grip” after he was questioned about his role in the forthcoming – and last ever – Pink Floyd album.
“I don’t have an album coming out,” he said.
“David Gilmour and Nick Mason have an album coming out. It's called Endless River. David and Nick constitute the group Pink Floyd.”
Two weeks before its release, the new album has been named Amazon's most pre-ordered album of the year.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments