The Muddle That Was Meddle: The Roger Waters Interview

It’s not well-known that Roger Waters devotes most of his time these days to his clown act (as “Ribtickler Rog”), performing at kids’ parties. FMF caught him post-gig in the kitchen of a friend’s house, where he took off his comedy nose and wig and relaxed with a glass of Vimto.
RW: You know that Vimto is an anagram of vomit?
FMF: Can we talk about the Meddle album?
RW: They could have called it Peku. Why do you want to talk about Meddle?
FMF: Because you promised to tell False Memory Foam the true story. It’s why I’ve come out to Pinner to interview you.
RW: Oh yeah. You think people will be interested after all these years? Haven’t we all moved on? I’ve moved on. I like making people laugh, me. [laughs, honks comedy horn]
FMF: I understand that Meddle was something of a joke.
RW: [nods] It was. It wasn’t meant to be. But when you get four wacky, crazy guys together in the studio, anything can happen!
FMF: Can we go back to the beginning?
RW: The album was originally going to be called Echoes. It was going to part of a double album concept based on the elements. We only ever finished the water and air songs. One album, a fifty-minute suite, tracks flowing into each other. We were really pleased with it. Storm came up with a beautiful cover, a surfer. The whole thing hung together really well.
FMF: So what happened?
RW: [laughs] Well! You could say, what didn’t happen? First off, Dave [Gilmour, Pink Floyd guitarist - Ed.] decided to play one of his legendary pranks on muggins here. I had this track, Embryo, that I’d always intended as an introduction to a longer piece. It was never meant to be a standalone production, but Harvest pulled it for some sampler nobody bought [Picnic - Ed.] so I reclaimed it for Echoes. It’s the perfect introduction to the title song, musically and thematically. Being born into the ocean. And Dave, [Gilmour, Pink Floyd guitarist - Ed.] bless his heart - we were going to have this big meeting at EMI, and preview the album for the suits - he cut it out and replaced it with a blues number sung by his dog! We were absolutely pissing ourselves! Rick, [Wright, Pink Floyd keyboard player - Ed.] bless him, rolling on the floor literally holding his sides! So one had to get back at him, didn’t one? The next day, I snuck into Abbey Road and edited his guitar solo from Fearless. It was something he was really proud of, quite deep in the mix, not blues-based, a bit avant-garde. Made the song. So - snip snip! Out it came! To be replaced by the worst, most absurd thing I could think of. John Peel had given us this tape of Liverpool fans singing, so I stripped that in. Tears were rolling down my cheeks, I kid you not! [interview interrupted at this point by small child asking Roger to make a balloon annimal, which he does with enthusiasm and skill, telling me he made the pig for the Animals cover] Anyway, when I solemnly played it to the band, hilarity ensued. We decided to take the joke a bit further, cutting a long lead-in to One Of These Days so it could be the single. Which was the biggest joke of all. And Storm came up with this hilariously awful album cover - an ear under water. I mean - I ask you! So the big day came, and maybe the joke was on us, because the suits lapped it up! They barked during Seamus, and swayed along to the Liverpool fans. So although we made some kind of attempt to tell them we were having a joke at their expense, they didn’t understand and signed off on it. Nick, [Mason, Pink Floyd drummer - Ed.] I think it was, said, don’t meddle with it, guys, we sold the album! And that’s how the album got a new title. It’s always been a joke to us. We never thought it would be taken seriously, but it sold, and people liked it. They’d buy anything with Pink Floyd on it. Dogs barking, football crowds ...
FMF: Would it surprise you to know that I have your old reel-to-reel mix of Echoes, as originally conceived and recorded?
RW: You’re kidding, right?
FMF: I bought it from you at that garage sale you had. It was in a box of old stuff you let me have for a quid. I was wondering if you’d agree to letting me distribute it free on the internet as an mp3 file?
RW: I’d be delighted! What’s an mp3 file?