10 Bands That Fell Out Over One Song
4. Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
Towards the end of the ‘70s, Pink Floyd was quickly turning into Roger Water’s baby. After Syd Barrett had to step down in the ‘60s, Waters’ vision for the band seemed to be informed by Barrett’s absence, writing songs about what makes people mad and the frustrations that drive people crazy on albums like The Dark Side of the Moon and Animals. The Wall was a much different beast though, and Roger was determined to make his grand vision by any means necessary.
During the recording of the song Comfortably Numb, Waters and David Gilmour both got into disagreements about how the drums should sound, down to discussing whether or not a kick drum should be used in one section of the chorus or not. While Gilmour had his own say on the matters, the rest of the band weren’t as lucky, with keyboardist Richard Wright being fired in the middle of the sessions after not being able to gel with the rest of the band.
Even though Wright returned to the band to finish off the album, he would be paid only as a session player. That wasn’t even the last sacking that happened this album cycle, with drummer Nick Mason putting down his sticks after not being able to get the timing right for Mother. Any band is going to have to compromise sooner or later, but nothing was going to get in the way of Roger’s vision.