# In 1982, Roger Waters called The Rolling Stones boring live. Now, they are the highest-grossing touring rock band of all time

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1982-roger-waters-called-the-rolling-stones-boring-live-now-they-are-the-highest-grossing-touring-rock-band-of-all-time/
- Published: 2026-10-31T17:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T18:24:34+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1982-roger-waters-the-rolling-stones-boring-live-highest-grossing-touring-rock-band/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Waters admired the Stones’ music but disliked their stadium shows.
- He favoured ambitious staging and theatrical spectacle.
- The Stones’ familiar live formula continued to draw large audiences.

## Summary

In 1982, Roger Waters criticised the Rolling Stones’ stadium concerts, calling them a joke despite his long-standing admiration for the band. The comments reflected his belief that major rock shows should offer ambitious staging and spectacle, an approach he had pursued with Pink Floyd and The Wall.

Waters said he had been a huge Stones fan and still valued some of their music, but thought their large-scale performances fell short. The article suggests the band had little incentive to change a reliable formula: they remained a major concert draw, while albums such as Undercover and Dirty Work were not widely regarded as career highlights. The headline identifies them as the highest-grossing touring rock band of all time.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.