How the Sex Pistols' 1977 chaos mirrored Pink Floyd's 'Animals' tour and gave Roger Waters 'The Wall'

By late 1977, Roger Waters was tired of the gap between Pink Floyd and its audience. The ‘Animals’ tour had been a slog—big stadiums, distant crowds, and one night in Montreal where Waters spat in the face of a loud fan. The band was playing huge, dark songs about pigs and dogs, but the audience just wanted to party. That disillusionment was already simmering.

Then came the Sex Pistols. Their 1977 tour was a different kind of mess: spit, chaos, and genuine aggression between band and crowd. But what struck Waters wasn’t the violence—it was the directness. Punk had collapsed the barrier between performer and fan into something raw, even dangerous. Floyd’s barrier was different: a cold, luxurious distance. Neither felt good.

Waters later said the Pistols made him realize that “the audience were just there to be entertained,” and that “the wall” between artist and listener had grown too high. He started sketching a concept about a psychological wall built of fear, alienation, and showbiz fakery. That sketch became ‘The Wall.’ Both 1977 tours—one bloated, one punk—showed him the same cracked foundation.