Roger Waters plays Thailand
ThaiTicketmaster - Thailand, April 2002
George Roger Waters was born on September 6, 1943. From 1965 to 1983 Roger Waters was the bassist for the legendary band Pink Floyd with cohorts Syd Barrett, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. Waters can boast writing all of the lyrics and some of the music to 1973's "Dark Side of the Moon" which would remain on Billboard's Top 200 album chart longer than any other release in history.
He even fired Richard Wright, a keyboardist for the band, before work started for The Final Cut. After the release of The Final Cut, Waters left the band.
Once he parted ways with the band in 1984, Rogers released his debut solo album The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. After that came his second album, Radio K.A.O.S., released in 1990 as well as a concert version of The Wall in Berlin. His third album, Amused to Death was released in 1992.
Roger Waters - Thailand video clips
ThaiTicketmaster - Thailand, April 2002
ThaiTicketmaster are hosting a number of Roger video clips - accessable by clicking on the following link, which will open a new window.
www.ThaiTicketmaster.com/members/mplayer/Waters.htm.
Rock star talks politics
The Nation - Bangkok, 10 April 2002
Ex-Pink Floyd star Roger Waters and his accompanying band members held a press conference at the Dusit Thani Hotel just hours after landing in Bangkok yesterday to give awaiting fans in Thailand something to talk about.
Waters will be performing for the first time in Thailand tonight at the Impact Arena Muang Thani.
Waters and his band will be in Thailand for a few days before heading to India for their next show, but their few days here will give them ample time to get a glimpse of Thai culture.
"I definitely want to check out the floating markets and all the shopping," back-up vocalist PP Arnold said.
Waters was given a chance to talk politics at the press conference when he was asked why some of his songs, like "Mother", had anti-establishment messages.
He replied: "My experience with governments, whether they're democratised or not, is that there seems to be a flaw in every system. I think it's unwise to trust people who rise to power in governments."
Waters' adamant feelings toward establishment lead him to his strong opinions about the US, portraying to us the essence and flare of his rebellious music.
"We have a situation where the top man of the most powerful country in the world, the US, is clearly an idiot. I mean, he's almost educationally subnormal. He can hardly speak, and yet he has the most powerful position of any man," Waters said with disdain.
So what brings Waters and his music to Thailand? He confessed that he didn't schedule his tours and that it was up to his record company and other "businessmen" to find promoters that could afford the show.
"I confess it comes down to whether or not Bangkok can sustain the show, because it costs a certain amount of money to get everybody here and to get the equipment here. But I'm very happy it's happening, and I'm very happy to be here," Waters said.
It is, though, somewhat jarring to hear his antipathy towards power-hungry individuals and then learn that his world tour only stops at places that can fork up Bt50 million.
Yet the world is a contradictory place, and it's evident Waters is well aware of that with his symbolic interpretation of the huge, inflatable flying pig he uses in the show. "In traditional Western mythology [the flying pig] is a notion of things that are unlikely to happen, but a flying pig also has the potential to crap on you from great heights."
No final cut from Waters
The Nation - Bangkok, 30 March 2002
Legendary rocker Roger Waters insisted yesterday that his Bangkok fans - who will fork out between Bt1,000 and Bt3,000 for a ticket - won't be short-changed with a mini-set when he performs here on April 10.
"It'll be exactly the same show I've been doing everywhere else," the ex-bass player of the 1970s super group Pink Floyd told UBC 8 yesterday.
Some Thai concert goers suspect that megastars often trim their shows when they perform in Bangkok, spending less time on stage than they do in, say, Singapore.
Waters, who composed songs on the classic Pink Floyd albums "The Wall" and "Dark Side of the Moon", said Thai fans would also be treated with images from his past concerts.
"I'll use some of the images from the show that I did in Berlin in 1990, and from the Animals Tour in 1997. But there will be new material as well. I'll use all kinds of images. Some of them are still images, some are films, and some are animations I used on Pink Floyd tours in the past."
Waters will perform at the Impact Arena of Muang Thong Thani Chaeng Wattana. He also has good news for fans who have been waiting for a new album since 2000. A new one will be released next year, he said. Once his tour wraps up in June he's off to the studio to record it, Waters said.
Floyd star wows fans
The Nation - Bangkok, 11 April 2002
Roger Waters was at his dark and gloomy best last night in an electric show that proved Bangkok to be not just another "Brick in the Wall".
Waters, appearing on stage at Impact Arena dressed in a short-sleeved black shirt and black pants, played a three-hour set of Floyd hits and solo material before a wildly appreciative near-capacity crowd.
Backed by an 11-piece band that included well-travelled session musician Andy Fairweather Low and a trio of female vocalists, Waters played a first set that showcased some of his best work with Pink Floyd.
Beginning with 1979's "The Wall", the man dubbed the "creative genius" of Pink Floyd appeared on a platform above the rest of his band as the Dictator character from "In The Flesh", which is also the title of his show. The opening number was followed by "Another Brick In The Wall", "Mother", and "Southampton Dock".
The show featured an array of sound effects that ranged from barking dogs to cruise missiles being fired.
After a medley from "Animals", Waters - whose voice was occasionally drowned out - moved into "Wish You Were Here", a poignant tribute to Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett, who left the band in the late '60s after subsiding into mental illness.