Gerald Scarfe: "With Pink Floyd there was no personality cult"
Written by Matt   
Wednesday, 07 September 2016

The Big IssueTying in with the announcement of Gerald Scarfe's upcoming exhibition at London's Barbican, he has been interviewed for the UK's The Big Issue magazine, available now in most cities and towns across the country. The Big Issue is a weekly publication, sold by homeless and long-term unemployed people. Vendors buy copies for £1.25 and sell for £2.50, and as Big Issue puts it, "They are working, not begging".

The interview covers a range of topics, including education (where his views have some alignment with Roger Waters), but starts with his impressions of Pink Floyd. "When I first worked with Pink Floyd I was puzzled by their music. It was Dark Side of the Moon at that time. They invited me to The Rainbow in Finsbury Park where they were performing and I found it theatrically very thrilling. Finally, I found my way into inventing my own world that would run alongside their world.

"Roger Waters, who was the main instigator on the visual side, and I talked about it but he never suggested anything visually. He really wanted me to do the social and political comment I do anyway because a lot of their work is a reflection of where we all are. The hammer is obviously a force of oppression, a fascist force, controlling, and very, very hard. Naturally I thought, what's the implement and the object that is the most unforgiving and brutal, and a hammer came to mind."

Later, he compares The Rolling Stones with the Floyd. "With Pink Floyd there was no personality cult like there was with Mick and Keith. When you went to their concerts the lights would go down and they'd melt onto stage – they'd suddenly be there. The first night they played The Wall at Earl's Court in 1980, when my animation of the flowers making love (the 'f***ing flowers' as they're now called) came on there was a huge roar from the audience and I felt this amazing rush. I remember Roger came over and said: "That’s you they're cheering. You're a rock'n'roll star now!"

Read the interview in full through this link at