Pink Floyd’s Silent Reunion: The Tense, Wordless Moment Before Live 8 That Inspired a Song They Never Expected to Write… click the link to read more

Their reunion looked solid for audiences, but the moments before their Live 8 show, Pink Floyd were sitting in “awkward silence”.

The group, comprised of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright, had little to say before their performance at the charity concert. Lyricist Polly Samson, who writes material for husband Gilmour, confirmed the four were sat together but not saying anything before they took to the stage for their Live 8 performance. Samson shared the awkwardness between the four was in full swing during the build-up to their charity performance. Not only was small talk off the table, but “big talk” too, as the band found themselves with nothing to say to one another.

Samson did say, though, that the group could still communicate well on stage. Live 8 marks the final time Pink Floyd performed together as a four-piece. It is also the final time the group performed together, with Wright’s death in 2009 ruling out any chance of future reunions of the band.

The group very nearly did not get back together, either. Gilmour was unconvinced by the reunion and infighting in the rehearsals for their performance was frequent.

Samson, speaking to Louder, said: “David wanted something as a full stop to the whole Pink Floyd thing. So, without a piece of music, I wrote Louder Than Words. It was an easy lyric to write because for years I’d noticed this thing. If you’re in a room with David, Nick [Mason] and Rick, or as I was in at Live 8 with David, Nick, Rick and Roger [Waters], nobody speaks.

“There is nothing but awkward silences. They have no small talk with each other, they have no big talk with each other, they just do not speak. If you happen to be the unlucky person in the room, it’s the most awkward feeling you can imagine.

“And then they get onstage with their instruments and suddenly they’re so eloquent, and the way they communicate is beautiful. And so I wrote Louder Than Words just to express that feeling.”

Earlier this year fans believed they had caught signs of peace between Waters and Gilmour for “the first time since Live 8.” A post to the official Pink Floyd Instagram account saw the group promote Waters’ “redux” boxset edition of The Dark Side of the Moon.

His revised version of the 1974 classic, called Roger Waters: The Dark Side of the Moon Redux, released in 2023. It has since received a boxset release, which is on sale now. A post about this album to the official Pink Floyd social media account appears to have caught the interest of fans, who discussed the post on the r/PinkFloyd subreddit.

One fan asked: “Is this the first sign of peace between both camps since Live8?” Some are unconvinced that this is a sign of friendliness between Waters and Gilmour, with the latter musician coincidentally releasing his Luck and Strange on Waters’ birthday.

One user wrote: “No, it’s the sign that Sony has control of Floyd’s social media accounts in addition to owning their catalogue’s distribution rights.” Another replied: “Imagine David, laying in his bed, phone in hand, Pink Floyd Instagram up, posting pictures and stories.”