Roger Waters has never shied away from big ideas on stage, but there is one rock band whose live shows left him entirely unimpressed. Despite having once called himself “an incredible Stones fan,” Waters has slammed The Rolling Stones’ stadium performances, saying, “their shows are a joke … all those fing people crammed into those big stadiums.”*
Waters, the conceptual mastermind behind Pink Floyd’s most ambitious spectacles, argued that rock concerts needed more than just musicians playing in front of an audience. He believed that shows should be theatrical, magnetic, and built around a deeper narrative — exactly what he created with The Wall. Far from being shock rock, he drew inspiration from artists like Alice Cooper, who dared to make their stagecraft part of the story.
He admitted that producing Floyd’s iconic Wall shows wasn’t cheap — but the payoff was worth it. From David Gilmour standing on top of a massive wall to haunting, dramatic visuals, Waters designed his performances to be unforgettable.
Still, he saw a different value in The Stones’ approach: raw energy. He praised Mick Jagger’s commitment and stage presence but criticized the lack of conceptual depth. Waters felt their gigs lacked the emotional and theatrical weight that drove his own performances.
Ultimately, for Waters, a concert isn’t just about playing hits — it’s about making people think. His disdain for stadium shows wasn’t born from jealousy, he said, but from a deeply rooted belief that rock has the power for so much more than spectacle.
