Pink Floyd's 1996 Rock Hall Induction — The Night Roger Waters Stayed Home

Pink Floyd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, their first year of eligibility. But the ceremony was far from a full reunion. David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright were there to accept the honor, while the band’s primary lyricist and bassist, Roger Waters, famously declined to attend.

Waters cited “musical differences” and a lingering bitterness from the band’s split in the mid-1980s. He later claimed he wasn’t invited until three days before the event and that the Hall ignored his request to have Syd Barrett attend separately. The remaining trio gave a gracious speech and performed two songs — “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb” — with guest singers and longtime collaborator Jon Carin filling Waters’ vocal parts. Gilmour joked from the stage: “None of this would have happened without Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. And we thank them for it.”