Waters’ defence comes after an investigation by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) uploaded a video accusing him of repeated derogatory references to Jews. The Dark Side Of Roger Waters, which is available on YouTube, includes a number of serious claims by those who have worked with the outspoken ex-Floyd bassist over the years, including Bob Ezrin, the co-producer behind the band’s acclaimed 1979 album The Wall.

Watch the video below:

Waters, who was initially reluctant to acknowledge CAA’s allegations, has now published a lengthy statement dismissing the documentary as “a flimsy, unapologetic piece of propaganda” and “without any foundation in fact”.

“All my life I have used the platform my career has given me to support causes I believe in,” he wrote. “I passionately believe in universal human rights. I have always worked to make the world a better, more just and more equitable place for all my brothers and sisters, all over the world, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, from indigenous peoples threatened by the U.S. oil industry to Iranian women protesting for their rights.”

“That is why I am active in the non-violent protest movement against the Israeli government’s illegal occupation of Palestine and its egregious treatment of Palestinians,” he continued. “Those who wish to conflate that position with antisemitism do a great disservice to us all.”

Waters goes on to explain that the CAA’s core purpose is “waging partisan political campaigns against critics of the state of Israel” and that the organisation “manipulates footage and quotations to serve its agenda”.

“The film totally distorts and misrepresents my views about the Israeli state and its political ideology, Zionism,” he continues. “It relies on a definition of antisemitism that sees criticising Israel as inherently antisemitic and assumes that Zionism is an essential element in Jewish identity. These opinions, clearly shared by the presenter and the two interviewees, are widely contested by many, including many Jewish people.”

Read Waters’ full statement, which also addresses more concrete accusations, here.

The record-breaking songwriter is, of course, no stranger to controversy – allegations of antisemitism have plagued him throughout 2023. He drew criticism earlier this year for performing in a Nazi-like get-up during a concert in Berlin, prompting an investigation from the German police.

Waters, however, has always maintained he is not an antisemite and claims critics are missing the point of his shows.

Photo credit: Sharon Alagna

“Speak To Me” and “Breathe” follow previously shared reinterpretations of “Time” and “Money” and set the tone for Waters’ daring new twist on an album that has captivated generations of music lovers. In a spoken word introduction, Waters recites the opening verse of “Free Four”, a track from Pink Floyd’s 1972 LP Obscured By Clouds, before launching into a brooding, organ-driven soundscape.

Watch the official lyric video for “Speak To Me/Breathe” below:

While some fans may maintain that such an undisputed masterpiece of a record is better left untouched, Waters feels that half a century on, the Floyd’s magnum opus deserves a reimagining. In a recent press release, he explained:

“The original ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ feels in some ways like the lament of an elder being on the human condition. But Dave, Rick, Nick and I were so young when we made it, and when you look at the world around us, clearly the message hasn’t stuck. That’s why I started to consider what the wisdom of an 80-year-old could bring to a reimagined version.”

On Instagram, he added: 

“The new recording is more reflective, I think, and it is more indicative of what the concept of the record was. People will have to listen to it before they can form a view really of what it is. I’m very proud of it.”

Waters, who co-produced the album alongside Gus Seyffert, recruited members of his touring band to help record The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux. The two other living Pink Floyd members, guitarist David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason, did not take part in the project – although the latter did reveal he’d heard some snippets:

“He [Waters] actually sent me a copy of what he was working on and I write to him and said, ‘Annoyingly, it’s absolutely brilliant!’ It was and is. It’s not anything that would be a spoiler for the original at all, it’s an interesting add-on to the thing.”

Waters plans to perform songs from the new album at special live concerts at the London Palladium on October 8 and 9.

Get tickets here.

Pre-order The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux here.

Waters spoke to The Telegraph about embarking on this project, saying, “not enough people recognised what it’s about, what it was I was saying then.” He believes this to be the perfect opportunity to point fans in the right direction, stating in the accompanying caption to the snippet of ‘Us and Them’ that reworking the album would provide a good opportunity to “re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album.”

Waters acknowledged that “it’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable.”

He continues, “But it is a way for the seventy nine year old man to look back across the intervening fifty years into the eyes of the twenty nine year old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my Father, “We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us”. And also it is a way for me to honor a recording that Nick and Rick and Dave and I have every right to be very proud of.”

Relationships between the ex-band members haven’t always been the best since Waters’ exit in 1985, with Waters anticipating backlash to this rerecording project. He told The Telegraph, “I wrote ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’. Let’s get rid of all this ‘we’ crap! Of course we were a band, there were four of us, we all contributed, but it’s my project and I wrote it. So… blah!”

Waters also revealed to The Telegraph that this project had been “secretly” in the works for months, reworking the entire track list “from scratch” unbeknownst to ex-band members David Gilmour and Nick Mason.

He is reportedly “planning a lavish vinyl release” of the rerecording, with the release date pushed back from March to May as Waters keeps “tinkering with recordings.”

To celebrate the 50^th anniversary of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon,’ Pink Floyd have also announced a reissued version, due to be released on 24^th March. The reissue will also include a live recording of Pink Floyd’s 1974 Wembley Stadium show.

A book will also become available on 24^th March, titled ‘Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon: 50^th Anniversary.‘ The book will include rare and unseen photos taken during tours between 1972 and 1975.

Additionally, harking back to Pink Floyd’s successful stargazing events at the London Planetarium in 1973, fans will also be able to experience ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ stargazing events at planetariums around the world.

Full details of the 50^th anniversary reissues and events can be found here.

Purchase tickets for Roger Waters’ tour here.

31/05/2023 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham

02/06/2023 – 03/06/2023 – SSE Hydro – Glasgow

06/06/2023 – 07/06/2023 –  The O2 – London

10/06/2023 – Manchester AO Arena – Manchester

Stream ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ here.

Most people must be questioning whether it may stand against the original piece from 50 years ago, which contained the whole bands instrumental work. There is no doubt that Waters was the back bone of the famous band, however, the essence of the ensemble wouldn’t have been completed without Gilmour’s and Mason’s contributed engrace. Water’s writing was the substancial building of the 1973 album. But this will be a version, having taken away the musicality and delicacy from the rest of the bands input, of Water’s interpretation toward the piece.

The band first formed in 1964 and remained active until the split up in 1985 due to Waters departure. They became one of the biggest progressive rock bands of all time, and still are, were they to get back together. Known for their philosophical – and occasionally political – lyrics, their experimental procedures, innovative album covers and elaborate live shows. Gilmour and Roger were simply a pair of musical geniuses with colliding creative ambitions to do so.

Having said that, the ex-Pink Floyd singer songwriter has come forward with his very own execution of the album; “Because not enough people recognised what it’s about, what it was I was saying then” he explains. We’re expecting to see a couple of collaborations with the American producer and multi-instrumentalist Gus Seyffert, a “baptist minister” set to play a Hammond organ and the singer Bedouine, Seyffert’s partner. Having received hints from reports, some tracks will be seasoned together with a bass solo from Roger and fresh lyrics re-imagined on previously instrumental songs.

Long story short, the reconfiguring of such a classic album comes down to such simplicity. It is solely Waters proving that the work is his, as he states in an interview with the Telegraph “Let’s get rid of all of this ‘we’ crap! It’s my project”. He has taken the opportunity to insert his ageing talent and knowledge into a much younger piece of his work.

The album is set to come out in May alongside a live performance of the rework.