The first brick that Roger Waters mentions in “The Wall” represents the loss of his father. Eric Fletcher Waters died in 1944 when Roger was just 4 months old. By the late Forties, at school in Cambridge, Roger was becoming aware of the pain of his loss. In an interview two years ago when Roger started touring The Wall he said, "When men in uniform came to collect their children, that’s when I realised I didn’t have a father any more. 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." Ironically, Roger’s dad also lost his father during WWI.
Roger's father’s death inspired many of the songs Waters, now 68, wrote for Pink Floyd, most notably on the 1979 album “The Wall”, which charts the decline and fall of a rock star so emotionally scarred by the loss of his father during the war that he retreats ever further behind a psychological barrier.
Obviously, Roger is very anti-war and understandably so. This is hugely evident throughout the concert, especially at intermission when images of fallen loved ones are projected onto the Wall in remembrance. What’s not so evident however is what Roger does behind the wall. During intermission , Roger takes time back-stage to do a meet and greet with disabled veterans from a program called ‘Wounded Warriors Project’. Roughly 15 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan get free tickets to the show, a signed head-shot and the chance to meet, chat and get pictures with Roger Waters. Roger only meets with veterans to honor them and thank you them for their service. It should be noted that Roger won’t do any other meet and greets, not even for us folks who work in media.
For more information on this great cause please visit The Wounded Warrior Project. http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
