Roger Waters says he is “far, far more important” than The Weeknd and Drake

Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters has seemingly taken umbrage at being skipped over for a live review in favour of pop/r’n’b megastar The Weeknd, judging by a new interview. 

While in conversation with Canadian newspaper The Globe And Mail (opens in new tab), it was suggested to Waters that his recent shows in Toronto weren’t covered by the paper due to The Weeknd – a Toronto native –  kicking off his highly anticipated After Hours Til Dawn stadium tour the same weekend. Waters then goes on to point out that not only was The Weeknd’s show cancelled (due to a nationwide power outage that was affecting the area), but that Waters actually played two nights in the city compared to The Weeknd’s planned one.

“I have no idea what or who the Weeknd is, because I don’t listen to much music,” he adds. “People have told me he’s a big act. Well, good luck to him. I’ve got nothing against him. Would it not have been possible to review his show one night and my show another night?”

“I’m not trying to make a personal attack,” he insists. “I’m just saying it seemed odd. And, by the way, with all due respect to the Weeknd or Drake or any of them, I am far, far, far more important than any of them will ever be, however many billions of streams they’ve got. There is stuff going on here that is fundamentally important to all of our lives.”

Waters is likely referring to the politicised nature of his shows – something The Globe And Mail point out might not be to every Pink Floyd fan’s taste. When the paper asks whether Waters is satisfying concert-goers who just want to hear The Dark Side of the Moon played, Waters responds:

“I played a lot of The Dark Side of the Moon [in Toronto], to some extent against my better judgment. I am under pressure from all of those people to actually deliver some of that to them. And I enjoy it, because I wrote the songs and I still like them and I stand by what I said in Us and Them and Money and Eclipse. I have no problem performing those songs and Comfortably Numb and Wish You Were Here with this band.”

Source: loudersound.com