Pink Floyd's "The Wall" remains the bestselling double album of all time. A new documentary, "Roger Waters The Wall," charts the story of the landmark recording and that of its key creator.
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Breaking down walls: Pink Floyd's story comes to cinemas
Pink Floyd's "The Wall" was the bestselling double album of all time. Now Roger Waters, the founding member of the band, brings the moving story to cinemas.
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The story of Pink Floyd
British musician George Rogers Waters was one of the founders of Pink Floyd. He formed the group in 1965 and kept up the momentum, even as frontman and key songwriter Syd Barrett left the group in 1968 due to mental health and drug issues.
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Solid foundations
Studying architecture in London, Waters got to know Nick Mason and Rick Wright in 1964. They founded the cover band Sigma 6, later changing the name to The Tea Set. In 1965, Syd Barrett changed it yet again to the Pink Floyd Sound - named after blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. This photo captures Waters (22), Mason (22), Barrett (21) and Wright (21) in March 1967 in London.
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New decade, new sound
While Barrett had defined the band's early psychedelic sound, his successor Dave Gilmour - with Rogers Waters - rapidly shifted the style in a more progressive direction, influenced by blues, jazz, classical, and avant-garde music. By 1973, Waters (pictured) had become the band's central figure, contributing all lyrics until his eventual departure in 1985.
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Rise to global fame
The band's catapult to stardom came with the concept album "The Dark Side of the Moon" in 1973. While Rogers conceived the idea, all four members contributed compositions and it remains the most successful album from the group. From 2006-2008 Waters went on to tour the album as a solo artist. The album's laser prism artwork has become truly iconic.
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A personal story
The concept for the stage show of "The Wall" from 1979 draws on Waters' own life. It tells of the loneliness of a rock singer, struggling to deal with the death of his father. The work is largely biographical as Waters' own father died in World War II. The bestselling double album of all time, it's also widely considered the band's last great work.
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Division bells
While working on "The Wall," the first major cracks began to appear between band members. Richard Wright would leave the band after making of album, leaving Roger Waters with the rights to the music. From 2010-2013 Waters toured the record around the world once again. This picture was captured at Berlin's Olympia Stadium in September 2013.
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Tumbling walls
But the most famed concert would take place on July 21, 1990, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the "no-man's-land" between Potsdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate. Historically, it is the only concert to ever have taken place in two states simultaneously. Waters was joined by Van Morrison, Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper, Sinéad O’Connor, and Scorpions. All artists waived their fees.
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Troubled Waters
The success of "The Wall" couldn't reverse internal conflicts within the group - and the situation quickly deteriorated. The dispute between Waters and Gilmour escalated and in 1985 Waters declared the band finished. However, Gilmour, Mason and Wright would continue to tour and write music as Pink Floyd.
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Swan song
Meanwhile, tensions between the existing members have died down. In 2010, Waters and Gilmour appeared together to show their support for the Palestinians in the West Bank - with Waters shown here writing the words "no thought control" on the border with Bethlehem. In 2011, Gilmour and Mason both made appearances in Waters' world tour - although there are few signs of a genuine Pink Floyd reunion.
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When Roger Waters toured "The Wall" between 2010-2013 it played to over four million fans - the largest solo tour of all time. The historic event was captured by a camera crew, who trailed Waters for several years. Directed by Roger Waters himself, "Roger Waters The Wall" explores the autobiographical connection between the iconic recording and Waters' own life story - including the tragic death of his father.
On Tuesday (29.09.2015), the film will be shown in cinemas worldwide for one night only.
The concept album was released on November 30, 1979, and explores the loneliness of a rock singer named Pink - struggling to deal with tragedy in his life.
"The Wall" would signal the beginning of the end for Pink Floyd, with Richard Wright first quitting, then Waters himself leaving the band he first formed in 1965. Guitarist David Gilmour then took over the reigns as the band's leader. However, rights to "The Wall" remained with its chief conceptual architect, Waters.