(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Fri 10 October 2025 17:45, UK
Any artist who’s been playing as long as Roger Waters has is always going to have their personal favourites in their arsenal.
Even though not everything in Pink Floyd’s catalogue warrants repeated listens, there are pieces of their body of work that go well beyond anything that most rock musicians can even come close to. And while Waters does have a fine line between what’s exceptional and what’s rubbish from his past, there are many tunes that have stood the test of time for a reason.
Because, really, Floyd was always at their best when they moved away from the sci-fi angle they were always pushing in their early days. Syd Barrett was clearly the most qualified for that job, and the minute that he left, all the highlights of their catalogue seemed to go with him. ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’ was Waters’ greatest contribution up until that point, but it makes sense that they would need to move on from their early days if they wanted to stay relevant.
And while tunes like ‘Echoes’ did set up the version of Floyd that most people know about today, Barrett always seemed to linger like a ghost throughout every piece of their history. Sure, there would be times where they tapped into a mood that sounded vaguely space-related, but it was always bittersweet knowing that he wasn’t there to share in the spoils. So when they finally reached the big time, they knew the only thing to do was to do right by their old frontman.
Traces of Dark Side of the Moon had the lingering side effects of dealing with a close friend who has lost their mind, but Wish You Were Here is practically one big love letter to him. When not having to worry about the warnings that the band are sending out on tracks like ‘Have A Cigar’ and ‘Welcome to the Machine’, ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond’ encapsulates everything painfully human about the group.
From the moment he hit on ‘Echoes’, Waters knew that empathy was his greatest musical superpower, and ‘Shine On’ is all of that humanity packed into one tune. All of those experiences working with Barrett are captured here, and given that their old frontman did hear the song getting made, it’s almost like he was there to check in on his bandmates after a while.
Even when performing to this day, Waters has said that he always features the tune in the set as his way of praising his old mate, saying, “I play ‘Shine On’ every night when I am doing concerts. So the memory of him is very much there in that song. Actually, I have images of him on the screen as well as a tribute. But I also experience the loss of a friend that I experienced in ’68 when he became schizophrenic.”
And why not include it as part of the show? Most of the song is instrumental most of the time, so there’s no need to worry about David Gilmour’s vocals on the lion’s share of the tune. It might be a bit of a sit for everyone looking to hear ‘Another Brick in the Wall’, but even if they don’t have the first idea of who Syd Barrett is, it’s easy to get into it because of how much Waters is into it.
Although the tune hadn’t been in the setlist when he put together every single solo gig, the spirit of Barrett is always there in spirit. No matter how many times he wants to talk about the horrors of society in records like The Wall and Amused to Death, Waters always understood the importance of looking out for your fellow man rather than strictly criticising them. So when performing the tune today, it’s about grieving a friend as much as it is remembering the good times.
Related Topics