A small deal turned into a big deal, resulting in a mini-Pink Floyd reunion in London Thursday night.
David Gilmour joined Roger Waters at London’s 02 Arena for “Comfortably Numb,” an event that began with a mini-Floyd reunion of the pair last summer.
The two played the Hoping Foundation benefit in Oxfordshire, England last July to a crowd of about 200 people; the event helped raise £350,000 for the charity, which collects funds to assist young Palestinian refugees.
‘Hoping’ stands for ‘Hope and Optimism for Palestinians in the Next Generation’…the benefit marked the first time the duo had played publicly since the Pink Floyd reunion set at Live 8 in London back in 2005.
The two Pink Floyd members made a deal surrounding the benefit show: if Waters would agree to perform "To Know Him Is To Love Him" at the gala, Gilmour would guest on "Comfortably Numb" at a to-be-determined show on Waters' upcoming tour.
"You could have knocked me down with a feather," Waters said at the time. "How f*cking cool! I was blown away. How could I refuse such an offer. I couldn't, there was no way. Generosity trumped fear. And so explaining that I would probably be sh*te, but if he didn't mind I didn't, I agreed and the rest is history. We did it, and it was f*cking great. End of story. Or possibly beginning."
Fast forward 10 months later and Gilmour joins Waters for the Floyd classic.
But that wasn’t all: drummer Nick Mason appeared with Gilmour and Waters during the show’s closing number, “Outside The Wall.” With Mason on tambourine, it was only the second time that the three surviving members had played together in the last 30 years.
See also:
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Pink Floyd: David Gilmour’s son pleads guilty to violent disorder
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Pink Floyd drummer hopes for reunion
Pink Floyd: David Gilmour’s son faces more charges for UK protest
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Roger Waters: 2011 London shows of The Wall to be filmed
