The Montreal connection has endured throughout the years. Various Pink Floyd tribute albums include this song, including Luther Wright and the Wrongs on Rebuild the Wall (2001), Graham Parker on A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd (2003), Billy Sherwood with Yes members Chris Squire and Alan White on Back Against The Wall (2005) Mostly Autumn with Heather Findlay singing verse, Sarah Slean on Pink Floyd. During a concert at the Olympic Stadium on Jhe spit in the face of a fan who was close to the stage, leading the songwriter to begin pondering the disconnect that had developed between the musicians and their fans. In a 2011 interview with a British radio station Waters recalled the incident that inspired the album.
Produced by Toronto’s Bob Ezrin, the album spawned several classic rock radio staples, including ‘Comfortably Numb’ and ‘Another Brick in the Wall Pt. Roger Waters wrote the lyrics, which contain every cliché he could think of that record company executives use on new bands: 'Youre gonna go far,' 'Ill tell you the name of the game,' 'Youre going to make it,' etc. Upon its release the double-album spent 15 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts, selling over 11.5 million copies in North America alone. Pink Floyd hated to record industry and was especially peeved when their label kept bugging them for a huge follow-up to their Dark Side of the Moon album. Saturday marks the anniversary of the release of The Wall, a concept album about alienation, mental illness and an incident at a Montreal concert that saw bassist and singer Roger Waters spitting at a fan. It’s been 40 years since Pink Floyd declared they didn’t need no education.