Monday, July 8, 2024

Roger Waters, Political Pariah, Sold Around Just 13,000 Copies of His Re-recorded “Dark Side of the Moon”

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Here was an idea: Roger Waters, once part of Pink Floyd, decided to re-record Dark Side of the Moon.

The album by Pink Floyd was number 1 for most of 1973 and has remained a top 10 catalog item for 50 years.

Waters, long gone from Floyd, and a political pariah by choice, was part of the writing and recording of the original. He’s never had a solo hit. So why not just make a new version of the old hit?

Turns out, no one wanted it. Roger Waters’ “Dark Side of the Moon” has sold around 10,000 copies, with the equivalent in streaming of maybe 3,000 more. The original album has sold more than 13 million copies.

It’s a matter of Us vs. Him, to paraphrase a hit song from the record. Waters over the last decade has become a virulent and outspoken antisemite. He’s dressed up as Hitler on stage. He’s railed against Israel and caused his former bandmates to turn against him. They’re also angry because it’s Waters’ fault they can’t sell their song catalog, which was valued six months ago at $500 million.

Now, Waters is literally on the dark side of everything. He was banned from speaking at UPenn recently. He’s been denounced in Germany, where they tried stop one of his concerts. Once a popular rock star emeritus, Waters is now social poison.

So much for the remade “Dark Side.” Go back to the original.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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