were no strangers to the live spectacle. They’d pioneered the rock light show in the late 1960s, played in the ruins of in 1971, and famously built – and then knocked down – a giant wall on stage in 1980. But their free performance on a barge floating on Venice’s Grand Canal on July 15,1989 took things to another level.
What the 200,000 fans gathered in the Italian city, and the 100 million people watching on satellite TV didn’t know was that this Floydian extravaganza risked damaging the sinking city’s foundations – and provoking the ire of an army of gondoliers. Initially Steven [O’Rourke, Floyd manager] was very against the idea of playing Venice, saying it would be too difficult. Throughout the second leg of that tour he’d come up to me and say: “It’s never going to happen”.
I said: “Steve, if Venice doesn’t happen, you’re fired”. Or something like that. I was the mayor when the prefecture [the non-elected city council] agreed with the organisers to authorise the concert to go on.
I was categorically opposed, while my vice-mayor was in favour of the show to go on. There was a big row on the Venice council. Some people there wanted to get others off, and they used this issue to discredit them.
We were political pawns. During the city council meeting, I was absent and the council agreed to give the permission for the concert. This also came about due to threats of financial lawsuits against the city.
The show was free to the audience, with th.