by Steve Brennan

Created on: March 22, 2009   Last Updated: March 23, 2009

One of the most famous and enduring of rock spats has been the bitter feud between former Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters and guitarist/singer David Gilmour, who assumed the helm following Waters' acrimonious departure in 1982. Waters effectively took control of the Floyd in the early 70s when original front man Syd Barrett, mentally fried from his constant LSD intake, was let go by the band, unable to play gigs or even string together a coherent sentence. Under Waters' leadership, they would go on to record some of the most era-defining and brilliantly ambitious albums of all time, such as Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall, perhaps their finest work.

His single-mindedness and domineering personality had, throughout his tenure as front man, caused severe friction and resentment in the band. He was accused of acting in a dictatorial manner, firing keyboard player Rick Wright during the making of The Wall, cutting dead any creative input from the rest of the group and belittling their suggestions and commitment. Following the disappointing The Final Cut (effectively a Waters' solo album in all but name), Waters announced his departure, and the world naturally assumed that Pink Floyd had come to the end of their natural life.

However, it was not so. Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason announced their intention to carry on as Pink Floyd without Waters, and re-hired Rick Wright to begin work on a new album. They first went through a lengthy court battle with Waters over legal ownership of the Floyd name, which they would win, much to Waters' chagrin. In response, he commissioned toilet paper imprinted with Gilmour's face. The feud would continue for the best part of 25 years, and the two men would not be reconciled until the 2005 reunion performance at Live8. In the intervening years Waters went on to produce some great work such as the albums Radio Kaos and The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, but he would never come close to matching the colossal commercial success enjoyed by Pink Floyd throughout the 80's and 90's. By contrast, when the remaining members came to release A Momentary Lapse Of Reason in 1987, it sold by the truckload and paved the way for another globe-conquering tour. It's a pity, then, that the album falls well short of being an essential addition to the Floyd canon.

Although much of the Floyd's best work such as Dark Side of the Moon came from collaborative efforts, it was Waters who was the lyricist and principal songwriter.

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