Roger Waters Allowed to Perform Frankfurt Show After Previous Cancelation

Roger Waters will now perform his May 28 show in Frankfurt, Germany following a ruling from an administrative court.

According to The Guardian, the court ruled Waters has the right to perform his show. The outlet noted, "While acknowledging that aspects of his show were 'tasteless' and obviously lent on symbolism inspired by the Nazi regime, [Frankfurt's administrative court] cited artistic freedom among its main reasons for the decision ... City authorities in Frankfurt and elsewhere in Germany had objected to the concert on the grounds that a previous tour had featured as part of the stage show a balloon shaped like a pig depicting the Star of David and various company logos."

When Waters' concert was first canceled in February, Frankfurt City Council issued a statement saying, in part, "The background to the cancellation is the persistently anti-Israel attitude of the former Pink Floyd frontman, who is considered one of the most far-reaching Anti-Semites of the world. He repeatedly called for a cultural boycott [of] Israel and drew comparisons to the apartheid regime of South Africa."

The show was scheduled to take place at the Festhalle Concert Hall. Prog noted, "The city council share a 60% ownership of the venue along with Hesse's state government, and sought legal permission to shut down the show ... The statement also noted the historical significance of the venue, Festhalle, being the site where 3,000 Jewish men were held under arrest in 1938 ahead of their deportation to concentration camps following Kristallnacht, the violent anti-Jewish demonstrations which saw Nazis destroy Jewish-owned stores, buildings and synagogues."

In March, Waters received support from many of his peers and other entertainment figures who signed a Change.org petition that took issue with referring to Waters as an Anti-Semite. The petition noted, in part, "Waters’ criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is part of his long-term advocacy on behalf of human rights across the globe ... The officials vilifying Waters are engaging in a dangerous campaign that purposely conflates criticism of Israel’s illegal and unjust policies with antisemitism."

The petition further noted, "This conflation perpetuates the antisemitic trope which presents Jews as a monolith who blindly support Israel. Some of Israel’s loudest critics are Jews. But those who weaponize antisemitism are fine contributing to it."

This petition was signed by a number of big names in music. Among them were Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Nick Mason, Tom Morello and Brian Eno. Notable actors and comedians have also signed this petition. Among them were Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, David Cross, Alia Shawkat and Lady Bunny.

Nearly 40 years after their main songwriter Roger Waters left the band and nearly 30 after their final real album (1994’s ‘The Division Bell’) Pink Floyd remain one of the most popular rock bands of all time. As their masterpiece - or one of their masterpieces - ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ turns 50, we’re counting down their greatest songs, from their early Syd Barrett era to their post-Waters days.

We are combining titles here: “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse,” for example, are hard to separate. “Pigs On The Wing (Part One)” and “Pigs On The Wing (Part Two)” kind of go together, as does the whole “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” suite, and we wish they’d put out a track that includes all of the segments of the song together. Anyway, check out our list of our favorite Floyd jams.