George Roger Waters (born September 6, 1943) is an English rock musician; singer, guitarist, bassist, songwriter, and composer. He is best known for his 1965-1985 career with the band Pink Floyd as their main songwriter, bass player and one of their lead vocalists. He was also the mastermind behind many of the band's concept albums, especially Animals, The Wall, Dark Side of the Moon and The Final Cut, and their well known symbols including the Pink Floyd Pigs and the marching hammers.
Distrust of authority, particularly government, educational, and military institutions, is a recurring theme in Waters' writing.
After his departure from Pink Floyd, Waters embarked on a solo career producing three concept albums and a movie soundtrack which did not garner impressive sales. His solo work has managed critical acclaim and even some comparison to previous work with Pink Floyd.
On July 2, 2005 Waters and Pink Floyd reunited for a performance at the Live 8 concert. They played a six-song, 23-minute set, including "Speak to Me/Breathe"/"Breathe (Reprise)", "Money", "Wish You Were Here", and "Comfortably Numb". Before going into "Wish You Were Here", Waters said:
“ It's actually quite emotional standing up here with these three guys after all these years. Standing to be counted with the rest of you. Anyway, we're doing this for everyone who's not here, but particularly, of course, for Syd."
