Original Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason has explained the reasons behind his avoidance of a recent charity event which saw his fellow bandmates Roger Waters and David Gilmour performing a small selection of Pink Floyd classics.
Mason confirmed to the Daily Telegraph he was was ready to complete the trio of surviving Pink Floyd members, but pulled out due to the location of the show, which was being held in support of the HOPING Foundation which raises money for young Palestinian refugees.
“That particular event wasn’t right for a reformation of Pink Floyd,” he said. “I said I would do it, but it was a charity event for suits, and it felt wrong to turn a small thing into a big deal just because Jemima Khan was in attendance. Why play for a lot of posh totty instead of some of the other things we should save that up for, a Live 8 type of thing?”
The venue in question was Kiddington Hall in Oxfordshire, a site owned by the daughter of the late financier Sir James Goldsmith. After Mason’s late cancellation, seasoned drummer Andy Newmark filled in with Gilmour and Waters.
Had Mason gone ahead with the booking, it would have been the first time all three surviving Pink Floyd members had played together since 2005’s Live 8 event.