Roger Waters to Perform in Shanghai
Eric Clapton one month, Roger Waters the next. Not too shabby. If only the marketing for these shows matched the talent of the performers. This show, for some reason, is like a big secret. It’s Pink Floyd’s singer for god’s sake, publicize the concert a little bit. Roger Waters is scheduled to take the Shanghai Grand Stage on February 12th as part of his “Dark Side of the Moon” world tour. Waters will perform most of the tracks from Pink Floyd’s famous “Dark Side” album and other of the band’s greatest hits. As the Shanghai Daily reported Friday, Waters has done absolutely no publicity leading up to his China show and the promotion in Shanghai for the Pink Floyd singer, until now, has been totally non-existent. Though promoters announced 2 weeks ago that Waters’ song list had been approved by the Ministry of Culture, the local Shanghai media has been especially slow in broadcasting the details of the event. You’d think that in a city that has only hosted 5 major shows– Elton John, Deep Purple, Black Eyed Peas, Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton (not including Robin Gibb)– a Pink Floyd greatest hits show would garner some attention. Waters’ Shanghai-based concert promoter told AFP, “Everything is ready to go.” He added that not one of Waters’ songs had posed a problem for the censorship police. When the Rolling Stones played the same venue in April, five of their classic songs were banned by the government. Waters, who left Pink Floyd in 1983, reunited with his bandmates for the first time at the Live 8 concert in July of 2005. If the Ministry of Culture decides to make any last minute bans on Pink Floyd songs, here are some selections that could potentially offend Chinese censors: “A Great Day for Freedom” (incendiary), “Any Colour You Like ” (red is the only color here), “Breathe in the Air” (not sound advice in China), and of course, “Another Brick in the Wall” (could be interpreted as trivializing China’s greatest wonder). Tickets are on sale from 280 yuan to 1680 yuan.
•Shanghai Daily: Roger Waters to Play Shanghai Concert