The 2001 'Syd Barrett Story' Screening: Waters and Gilmour’s Tense Encounter

In 2001, the surviving Pink Floyd members gathered at a London hotel for a private screening of The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story — the first time all four had been in a room together since the 1980s. The documentary included interviews with each of them, but the real show happened during the screening itself.

Waters and Gilmour sat at opposite ends of the room and barely exchanged a word. Witnesses said Waters was visibly uncomfortable with how Gilmour and the other members talked about Syd, and at one point walked out mid-film. Gilmour later described the atmosphere as “icy” — neither could agree on whose version of Floyd’s history was more valid, and old resentments over the band’s breakup resurfaced without resolution.