Because of allegations of anti-Semitism, Roger Waters should not appear in Frankfurt. The musician is now taking legal action against the planned concert cancellation – and refers to freedom of expression.
Ex-Pink Floyd member Roger Waters offends with his political views
The musician Roger Waters is now defending himself in court against the planned ban on his concert in Frankfurt am Main as a result of allegations of anti-Semitism. The cancellation of the May 28 event announced by the city was a “blatant attempt to silence him,” Waters' management said back in March. The decision could have “serious and far-reaching consequences for artists and activists around the world”. The musician justifies his step by saying that politicians “have no right to intimidate and harass artists and their fans with performance bans”. He fights “for all our human rights, including the right to freedom of speech”.
< h2>City of Frankfurt: “Israel-hostile behavior”
The city of Frankfurt announced that the reason for the planned concert ban was the artist's “continued anti-Israel behavior”. Waters is considered “one of the most far-reaching anti-Semites in the world”. The ban on Waters concerts is also being discussed in Cologne and Munich. Further appearances during his Germany tour are planned in Hamburg and Berlin. In Berlin, the Anti-Semitism Commissioner and the German-Israeli Society Berlin-Brandenburg have spoken out in favor of a rejection.
Management has denied allegations that Roger Waters is anti-Semitic. The musician “has instructed his lawyers to immediately take all necessary steps to overturn this unjustified decision and to ensure that his basic human right to freedom of expression is protected,” it said in one Management statement.
In 2005, Pink Floyd reunited for a Live 8 concert (David Gilmour , Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright, from left to right)
Speaker for Russia
The musician has attracted attention in the past with Nazi comparisons, his support of the BDS movement and conspiracy theory statements. On February 8, the 79-year-old Briton, a former member of avant-garde rock band Pink Floyd, addressed the UN Security Council in New York via video link at the invitation of Russia. In his speech he said, among other things, that he represented more than half of humanity with his opinion. The Russian Federation's attack on Ukraine was illegal but “not unprovoked”. That's why he condemned “even the provocateurs” – and this was addressed to Kiev – “strongly”.
It wasn't the first time Waters had spoken publicly about the Ukraine war. In September 2022, he accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of “extreme nationalism” and called on the West to stop arms deliveries to Ukraine. As a result, he was banned from performing in Kraków, Poland, and was declared an “undesirable person” by the city administration.
Supporter of the boycott movement BDS
BDS stands for “boycott, divestment and sanctions” and calls on musicians , athletes, companies and politicians not to invest in or perform in Israel. In May 2019, the majority of the German Bundestag voted in favor of the resolution “Resolutely oppose the BDS movement – fight anti-Semitism”.
Roger Waters with Pink Floyd at the “The Wall” concert in Dortmund in 1981
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) told the “Jewish General” that she could not ban a concert, but she would like organizers to refrain from holding concerts with Waters – “and if they should take place anyway, that he play in front of empty halls “. Roth said she regretted the musician's development, who has now become “obvious an active BDS supporter and a conspiracy theorist on top of that.”
Former bandmates distance themselves
Let's in the past Waters used pig-shaped balloons with a Star of David on them at concerts. On his current tour, he lets the hint appear that people who like Pink Floyd but reject his politics can “fuck off”.
Most recently, his former bandmates, who incidentally take a stand against the Russian war of aggression, had also distanced themselves from Roger Waters. In early February, Polly Samson, the Pink Floyd songwriter and wife of Waters' former bandmate David Gilmour, called Waters “anti-Semitic” and a “Putin apologist” on Twitter.
The cancellation of concerts is jarring but also to criticism. An online petition saying those who canceled concerts should “deal with their own history of anti-Semitism, racism and genocide […]” drew musicians including Peter Gabriel and Eric Clapton, the US linguist Noam Chomsky and the actress Susan Sarandon.
The English group Pink Floyd, founded in 1965, is one of the most successful bands in rock history with albums such as “The Dark Side of The Moon” and “The Wall”. . Roger Waters left the band in the mid-1980s and has since pursued a solo career.
This is an updated version of the February 9, 2023 article.