Not only giant inflatable pigs can fly, it seems

Pink Floyd, one of the biggest rock bands of all time, are to re-unite for the Live 8 concert in London’s Hyde Park on July 2, it was announced today.

David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright will perform together in public for the first time since 1981, event organisers said.

Fans have long yearned for a reunion of the classic line-up but it seemed unlikely because of a fall-out between founder member Waters and the rest of the group in the 1980s.

[Full Story]

The split between Roger Waters and Pink Floyd occurred in the early 1980s. It was fueled primarily by Waters' increased dominance of the band's songwriting, particularly the self-indulgent albums The Wall and The Final Cut, inspired by the death of his father at Anzio in WW2. It hit its bitter peak in about 1987 when Waters unsuccesfully sued David Gilmour and Nick Mason, claiming they were not entitled to use the Pink Floyd name without him. Although he failed to retain rights to the name, he did win some significant concessions, most notably rights to The Wall and the infamous inflatable pig (the rest of the Floyd continued to use a flying pig of a modified design).

Waters hasn't done much of anything of late, whiny or otherwise. Perhaps a more permanent reunion is not far behind, although even a once-off might be worth watching.