Roger Waters @ Wimbledon 1989?

[thespitwasduringmoney]

friends, i’ve scoured this entire forum and the rest of the internet looking for answers to this question and i’ve come no closer to the truth.

on the webpage below (Pink Floyd Archives, which i only now just realized was ran by Vernon Fitch), it states that Roger played a gig in support of the Wimbledon tennis event at London’s Hard Rock Cafe in 1989.

thing is, outside of this brief mention, i can’t find evidence of this performance at all. no other mention on any other PF sites, forums, books, etc. I can’t even prove that Wimbledon has had any musical performances at all, much less in 1989. (EDIT: i am american so my knowledge of the event is admittedly very low)

the only mention of Wimbledon in association with PF traces back to a gig the band did at the Wimbledon Palais in 1965, nearly 24 years off from the dates i was looking for.

so, i guess my question is: is there proof of this gig taking place? a newspaper article, a photo, a brief mention in an article, anything??? the likelihood of the show being taped is astronomically low so i won’t even bother with that but surely somebody would have written something about it in the interim between 1989 and now.

[neonknight]

The other associations with Wimbledon, the town, I can think of are that Syd Barrett producer Malcolm Jones lived there, 70's leading Pink Floyd fan and Formula 1 racing driver, the late James Hunt also had his home in Wimbledon, Pink Floyd did a rather cool photoshoot on Wimbledon Common that has often been used, and last but not least, neonknight was brought up there.

I know a number of people who often went to the Wimbledon Palais but none of them recall seeing Pink Floyd. They all remember the Beatles for some strange reason.

[DiegoFermoli]

Pink Floyd's most famous tune (allegedly) is 'Money'

So I guess I shouldn't be surprised (after 30 minutes of searching all the random variables I can think of) - when all I can come up with is Pat "Cash" playing guitar at the Wimbledon Player's Party at the Hard Rock Cafe in 1989

Link HERE

Wrong event, wrong performer, right venue and right date.

Hell, two out of four isn't that bad?

If it was a low-key gig, I guess it could have happened - but zero references, photos, memories, etc. also suggests it may not have. It could also be that he was there and made a "guest appearance" on the spur of the moment. I certainly wouldn't rule out something similar. Problem is, there's nothing linking Cash to Waters at all, except for pots of money, of course

Okay, unless Pat Cash has only one stage costume, the date above could also be 1991 - according to this photo/info provided

Link HERE ... but I'm going to assume this is wrong (and it was 1989) based on this...

"The Achilles' tendon was sewn back together. His ranking, No. 4 in 1988, plunged to No. 368 by the end of the season. Not playing Wimbledon was particularly painful, as he took a solitary walk around Centre Court the night before it started.

During his enforced idleness he moved between Australia and a second home in London, spending time with his children and following heavy metal music. He took his first vacation in years, to the Caribbean. He promoted a concert at London's Hard Rock Cafe just before Wimbledon, a slew of stars joining him and some other tennis-playing amateur guitarists such as Mats Wilander and Vitas Gerulaitis on the stage. It sparked thoughts of someday becoming a concert promoter. His other ambition is to own a pub."

LINK

According to THIS page - "June 24, 1989: Keith Richards hangs out with Wimbledon tennis players at the Hard Rock Café in London."

To be fair, Gilmour's Pink Floyd also played that legendary gig in Venice around this time - which would have probably overshadowed any gig Waters may have played at the Hard Rock Cafe - in terms of media reporting.

[DiegoFermoli]

There is one rather large problem with the date of this gig - It would have been Roger's first performance in almost two years. If it was a full-blown concert, it's kind of hard to believe there's no info at all about it. I lean towards a guest appearance at this Wimbledon players' bash with Pat Cash, if anything happened at all.

[thespitwasduringmoney]

whoa thanks for the information guys!! i’m still surprised we managed to narrow it down to an actual gig!

one thing i noticed from the photos of pat cash: in one of them you can see a Fender bass headstock poking into frame

now this is baseless speculation and it could just be some other random fellow on stage (i think it’s a j-bass headstock so it’s not even Rog’s famous black p-bass) but given his affinity for playing Fenders it’s possible that could be him

[daemonspudguy]

He is known to have bought at least one Jazz Bass at some point in time. It's also seen in the video for his version of We Shall Overcome, and he lent it to Ian Ritchie so Ian could play bass on Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 during the 2007 Dark Side tour. It's possible that it dates back to the late 80s, but I'm not sure.