Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters gave his time for the Australia Palestine Advocate Network in Melbourne on Friday and while explaining the issues between Palestine and Israel also took aim at a number of his fellow artists Elton John, Thom Yorke, Steven Tyler, Steve Van Zandt and Nick Cave.
Roger Waters has been working tirelessly since 2006 to try and bridge peace between Palestine and Israel after being confronted by Israeli fans at one of his concerts in Tel Aviv after calling on them to make peace with their neighbours 12 years ago.
Ever since he has campaigned for musicians to boycott performances in Israel and recently praised Lorde for doing so. However, he hasn’t had the same reaction from others.
In Melbourne, Roger Waters sat down for a Q&A for the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN).
During his talk for APAN Waters called Thom Yorke “a self-obsessed, narcissistic, drippy little prick” and Elton John ‘Queen Mum’. He also called out Nick Cave for saying he was bullying him, said “fuck you” to Steve Van Zandt and referred to Steven Tyler as “an old lady”.
Waters has been spreading the message to help mend the Middle East situation after that personal confrontation at his gig.
About Thom Yorke he said:
“Thom Yorke said that Ken Loach and I were throwing mud at him. No we weren’t. We were trying to engage him. I had a long email exchange with Thom Yorke and in the end he said ‘that’s it I’m giving up the music business, you have finally convinced me’. He was just being sarcastic. He is a prick. At least have a conversation. He is just a self-obsessed, narcissistic, drippy little prick”.
#Noise11 @thomyorke is a self-obsessed, nasassistic little prick” says @rogerwaters #APAN #RogerWaters https://t.co/uGLjjVpEmc
— Noise11.com (@Noise11Tweets) February 10, 2018
About Elton John:
Elton John went and played in Sun City about 500 times when everyone else in the world was anti-apartheid and said you can’t go and play in Sun City and he said ‘yeah I can, I’m the Queen Mum’. You kind of go, well he is just dopey and also he obviously doesn’t give a fuck about anybody else except the lesbian gay whatever whatever community which he does seem to care about. He will make videos protecting his one little area of people who are having violence done to them but he seems blind to (others). We are all human but some people are human in different ways.
#Noise11 @rogerwaters says @EltonJohn acts like he is ‘Queen Mum’ https://t.co/S2UA2QTpEH #APAC #RogerWaters
— Noise11.com (@Noise11Tweets) February 10, 2018
About Little Steven
Little Steven, Steven Van Zandt from the E Street Band. He produced ‘Sun City’. I wrote to him and said ‘hey Steve, don’t you think it’s time we did one of these about Palestine because the situation is appalling. It is exactly the same situation it was in South Africa, it’s worse. He wrote me a letter back and said “I think the situation in Palestine is much more complicated and that turned into a threat. He said ‘I think you should be very careful about what you do and what you say because your career could be over in a heartbeat. I thought “fuck you”. This guy in his charlady hat is threatening me. He did say however he admired my courage and would love to have lunch so I wrote back and said “what about next Friday?” That was four years ago.
#Noise11 @rogerwaters says “f*ck you” to @littlesteven_ug https://t.co/4m3bOF1ngQ #APAC #RogerWaters
— Noise11.com (@Noise11Tweets) February 10, 2018
About Nick Cave
Your bloke, Cave. Gimme a break, was he really saying that his freedom of speech was being infringed? It doesn’t deserve an answer. I was co-signatory of all the letters sent to him. I didn’t speak to him personally. I don’t want to speak to him. I think it is pitiful to bring that up and say “I don’t want Roger Waters bullying me. I’m a musician, I just want to play my music”. What? They are shooting the fucking feet of 18-year-olds who want to play soccer. Don’t talk to me about your freedom of speech. Pay Attention”.
#Noise11 @rogerwaters says @nickcave thinks he is bullying him https://t.co/uUApNpK1Pr #Apan #RogerWaters
— Noise11.com (@Noise11Tweets) February 10, 2018
About Aerosmith and Steven Tyler
Aerosmith went to one of these training camps. What are they doing? What were they thinking? I ran into Steve Tyler in a sushi restaurant in LA and he leapt up to me. I thought, who is this, a little old lady? He had his hair up and I thought ‘oh God there’s a little old lady who wants to talk to me’ and it was Steven Tyler.
#Noise11 @rogerwaters mistook @IamStevenT for an old lady in LA restaurant recently https://t.co/rfqnsiTuPs #APAN #RogerWaters
— Noise11.com (@Noise11Tweets) February 10, 2018
Also: Roger Waters tears down the wall(nut). Read the Noise11 review of his Melbourne show here.
Roger Waters Australian dates
10, 11 and 13 Feb, Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
16 Feb, Adelaide, Entertainment Centre
20 Feb, Perth, Perth Arena
For more information of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) visit www.apan.org.au
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