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The 1975 Pink Floyd song Roger Waters “would have done better” than David Gilmour
Pink Floyd’s 1975 song ‘Have a Cigar’ was intended as Roger Waters’s critique of the music industry, but neither Waters nor David Gilmour ultimately supplied the lead vocal. The article highlights the unusual decision to use singer-songwriter Roy Harper instead, illustrating both the practical difficulties of the recording session and the band’s dissatisfaction with their own attempts.
The track appeared on *Wish You Were Here* and was written by Waters, whose voice had reportedly been strained during work on ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’. Gilmour declined to sing it, and Harper, who was recording nearby at Abbey Road, took the lead; Waters later suggested he might have delivered the vocal better. Harper’s performance made ‘Have a Cigar’ one of the relatively few Pink Floyd recordings led by a guest vocalist.
In short
- Roy Harper sang Pink Floyd’s ‘Have a Cigar’.
- Waters had intended to provide the vocal.
- Gilmour declined to sing the track.
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The case for
Waters composed 'Have a Cigar' as a personal critique of the music industry, and the songwriter's authentic voice is typically the truest vehicle for such artistic intent. Waters's later reflection that he might have performed it better reflects his understanding of his own work – he envisioned a specific vocal delivery when creating the song, and his direct interpretation would likely have conveyed that more authentically than another artist could. The song's power depends on the writer delivering their own message.
The case against
Whilst Waters wrote the song, vocal quality and artistic merit exist independently of authorship, and Gilmour's distinctive voice might have served it equally well or better with a different but valid interpretation. The practical realities of the recording session – Waters's strained voice from other work – were legitimate constraints on that choice. Moreover, second-guessing recorded music against speculative 'what-ifs' overlooks the actual artistic achievement that exists; the band's collaborative approach to creative decisions should be respected, and Harper's performance has endured as part of the song's legacy.
Explained simply
Pink Floyd were a British rock band whose best-known 1970s line-up included singer and guitarist David Gilmour and bassist Roger Waters. Their 1975 album Wish You Were Here explored the music business and the band’s former member Syd Barrett, who had left after struggling with his mental health.
Waters wrote “Have a Cigar” as a satire of music executives, while Gilmour was one of the band’s main singers. Roy Harper, a singer-songwriter recording nearby at Abbey Road, took the lead vocal, making the track unusual in Pink Floyd’s catalogue.