Why Roy Harper Sang 'Have a Cigar' Instead of a Pink Floyd Member

The short answer: Roger Waters originally sang the demo but the band decided his vocal didn’t sell the sneering, oily record-executive vibe they wanted. David Gilmour could have done it, but they wanted a completely outside voice — someone who sounded like he was that character.

Enter Roy Harper, a folk-rock singer the Floyd had known for years. He happened to be at Abbey Road recording his own album. Nick Mason asked if he’d give it a shot. Harper didn’t even know what the song was about; he just walked in, heard the track, did it in one or two takes, and nailed the cynical drawl. The irony of a genuine outsider singing “the band is just fantastic, that is really what I think” — a line Waters wrote as a dig at music-business phoniness — made the performance even more perfect. Harper later said he thought the lyrics were just a normal rock-star complaint. Only afterward did he realize he’d sung satire from the inside.