Belleville’s Clifton David Broadbridge has scaled The Wall before – and now he’s about to work for the man behind it.
Broadbridge, who this month turns 48, is preparing for a tour as lead singer Roger Waters Presents Legacy – A Pink Floyd Show. He’s joined the Harry Rogers Band, with Harry’s father, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, overseeing the project.
“It’s very surreal,” Broadbridge said Thursday in an Intelligencer telephone interview. He said Pink Floyd is “my top-favourite band of all time.
“The music is so important to so many people, and because Roger is presenting the show, and directing the show, and producing it, there is such a high bar to it.
“Of course I’m very happy. It’s a wonderful thing to happen, but the work is really what matters.”
The father-son Waters team searched globally for their lead singer.
“Harry’s band is missing one thing: the voice I had when I was young,” Roger Waters said at the time.
Harry Waters watched every audition recording. He narrowed the field to 40 singers, then eight – and then Broadbridge.
A show press release promised “exceptional musicianship, authentic sound, and a frontman chosen through an unprecedented worldwide search.”
Schooled in classic rock
Broadbridge, who attended Belleville’s Nicholson Catholic College before embarking on his career as a classic-rock-loving guitarist and singer, is now based in Nashville.
He’s a veteran of many Pink Floyd shows with Classic Albums Live, having performed 1960s and ‘70s rock shows with that act for more than 20 years. He’ll perform this weekend at Picton’s Base31 when Classic Albums presents Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album.
He said he was in St. Maarten while on a spring 2026 musical cruise to perform Rumours with that act when a man approached him to compliment Broadbridge on one of his guitar solos.
Robbie Wyckoff introduced himself, saying he had been Roger Waters’ singer for his tour of The Wall.
A few months later, Broadbridge discovered Harry Waters was looking for a singer.
After sending in two video auditions, he woke up to a text message from Harry Waters.
“We should talk. Give me a call,” wrote Waters.
“My friends are so mean,” Broadbridge thought, suspecting a prank by the two people he’d told about the audition.
The real deal
Instead, he was soon in a video interview with the younger Waters and Graham Broad, Roger Waters’ longtime drummer.
Harry Waters was on tour with Sean Lennon and Primus’ Les Claypool on the latter’s Claypool Gold tour, and wanted to meet Broadbridge.
They, along with one of Waters’ friends, met in Murfreesboro, Tenn., south of Nashville. Broadbridge lugged his guitar, microphone, and Pink Floyd backing tracks.
“And then in walked Sean Lennon, and I just basically sang for them while Harry kind of jammed along on the keyboards, giving me notes and stuff for like two-and-a-half or three hours.
“Then Sean and Harry helped me carry my gear back out to my car, and then I was off, on my way.
“It was an interesting lesson in life,” said Broadbridge. “What’s meant for you will find you.”
Roger Waters is presenting, directing, and producing the show, Broadbridge said.
“There’s such a high bar to it.”
“Very special” music
That’s why, despite his hiring being “a wonderful thing,” Broadbridge downplays his part.
“The work is really what matters.
“Pink Floyd is very special, and unlike a lot of rock and roll, their music isn’t so much about relationships and, you know, that kind of thing. Roger Waters, lyrically, goes extremely deep into the state of mankind.
“It’s very theatrical, but it also can be very nuanced. I think Dark Side of the Moon is one of the best-selling albums of all time because it just strikes a chord with people so deeply.”
He said he’ll be singing the parts first performed by Roger Waters and singer-guitarist David Gilmour in the band’s “golden era” between 1971 and 1979, and from Waters’ solo career.
“The last thing that I want to do is go out and do an impression.”
Recalling his past performances of the Floyd catalogue, Broadbridge said he instead tries to match the original singers’ phrasing and timing.
He said he’d be happy if the show lasted for several years.
International tour starts Feb. 15
The tour starts Feb. 15 and will reach more than 100 cities in North America and Europe. Large screens will display images inspired by Pink Floyd and visuals created by Roger Waters. Shows will last more than two hours.
It will reach Ontario’s Casino Rama on April 23 and Hard Rock Live Ottawa a day later.
Vancouver’s Aug. 31 show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is the only other Canadian stop scheduled to date.
“These songs have meant so much to so many people for so many years, and I’m excited for audiences to come together and experience them live again,” Roger Waters said in a news release. “Harry has assembled a terrific band, and I can’t wait for fans around the world to see the special show we’ve created together.”
Added Harry: “Collaborating with Dad on this new production is such an honour, and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to bring this music to fans old and new, around the world.”
Graham Broad will again be on drums. Also in the 10-piece band are singer and Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila, and her husband, Brit Floyd guitarist Edo Scordo.
Broadbridge said while he “always considered myself a guitarist that sings,” he doesn’t mind not having a guitarist role in this band. He, too, was quick to speak of the talent in the group.
He again downplayed his part, saying he’s grateful for his musical gifts and his Catholic upbringing helps him to stay grounded.
Broadbridge just finished an album with Greg Bissonette, who has recorded with David Lee Roth, Steve Vai, and Santana, among others, and toured with Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band.
Having the Waters’ show ahead is motivating him to release more of his own work before the tour, he said.
Broadbridge said he has had both success and “many, many failures” and does not let his work define him.
He does, however, have a lot of practising ahead of him.
“It’s not that I don’t know the songs … It’s that the level of expectation on myself and from everyone else is extremely high – and it should be.”
Ticket sales started Friday, Oct. 2.