In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Harry recalled the day shortly before Christmas of that year when his father made a visit to his Santa Monica home to inform him that after 14 years of playing keyboards in the band, he would not be onboard for the impending “Us + Them” tour, as Consequence reports.
“I was fired,” Harry said. “It was pretty miserable.”
Roger was apparently cleaning house with his live lineup, axing everyone except keyboardist Jon Carin and guitarist Dave Kilminster. There were no exceptions for immediate family.
“I think he just wanted a change of blood, something new, something fresh,” said Harry, who still doesn’t know exactly why he was let go. “I’m not sure of his exact reasoning, but everyone except two people got fired. But the other guys that got the sack weren’t his son, so it was doubly hurtful for me.”
That hasn’t kept Harry from performing his dad’s music in other capacities. He recently wrapped up a tour with Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade — covering Pink Floyd’s Animals in its entirety — and even accepted an offer to sit in on three shows with the Pink Floyd tribute act Brit Floyd alongside ex-Floyd background singer Durga McBroom and former Floyd saxophonist Scott Page. After all, Harry is quite familiar with the material.
As for his dad’s controversial political views, Harry implored that “it’s just not true at all that he’s an antisemite,” as Roger has been accused of by onetime Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour and others.
“People say, ‘Oh, he dresses up in an SS uniform, and he has a Star of David on the [inflatable] pig,” Harry continued. “And I just want to say, ‘You fuckin’ idiots. He’s been doing that for 40 years. It’s satire.’ There’s also a Mercedes sign, a hammer and sickle, and a dollar sign on the pig … He’s bringing to light all the evils of the world. But people confuse that and think he’s an antisemite, which is really stupid.”
Recently the Court in Chile has rejected ban on Roger Waters performing over claims of antisemitism.
The Representative Committee of Jewish Entities in Chile had sought to stop the shows from taking place.
A court in Chile has ruled that Roger Waters’ upcoming concerts in the country can go ahead, despite attempts to block them over accusations of antisemitism.
The former Pink Floyd bassist, who has repeatedly insisted he is not an antisemite, is set to play at the Estadio Monumental in Santiago on November 25 and 26, as part of his This Is Not A Drill Tour.
