Roger Waters Signing And Paying People To Wait In Line

I’ve heard that Roger Waters has been signing on his current tour. He was making a stop in Columbus two months before his stop in Cleveland. So three of my friends and I made the trek down to C-bus to try and get Pink Floyd’s bassist/singer and songwriter. We arrived early and there were already four people there. Within an hour, the line grew to 50. Another hour went by and there was easily over 150. After talking to some people and overhearing people talk while in line, it seems that some people went to a homeless shelter and offered to pay the homeless to stand in line and get items signed. I overheard two guys saying “These guys came and got us out of our tents.” When Rogers arrived, I somehow was 11th in line when I was 6th when I got there.

There are two sides to this situation. On the one side, you are paying someone for their time - about 2 to 2 ½ hours. I think the offer was 20 bucks. The other side is that you are getting something that has way more value than what you are paying for, a signed Dark Side or The Wall is going for over $300 on ebay. Also, I think this is just morally wrong. These “dealers” are not only exploiting the people that they are paying (I also heard the guy did not end up paying them, he took the albums and left) but they are also exploiting the kindness of Roger who is taking his time out of his day to sign for his fans.

I think Roger is going to shut it down pretty soon. When the tour started, he would sign anything- guitars, drum heads, posters, and albums. As time went on, he started limiting items that he would sign. It was albums only when I saw him. He also refuses to sign for kids, which I think this is a good thing. It makes me sick when parents drag their kids out to get something signed when clearly they do not want to be there or even know who the artist is. Roger sat in the back of the SUV and signed 1 item each. He did switch markers, depending on the item. He didn’t say a word, even after I thanked him for signing for me, it seemed like he just wanted to get through the signing before he went into the venue. For the 150 or so people in line it took about 20 minutes for him to sign for everyone. His security was very clear, “no posters, no musical instruments and no kids.” You also could only bring one item up and all bags had to left on the ground.

What do you think- is it ok for people to pay homeless guys to stand in line and get things signed? Sure, I wish I got a few things signed, but I am more than happy having the gatefold of my “The Wall” album signed. I'm going to frame it up, along with my Nick Mason signed drum head and hang it on my wall.

Tags: InPerson, RogerWaters, TheWall

1 member likes this

Comment by Eric Keith Longo on July 28, 2017 at 6:56pm: Was expecting this.

Comment by Peter C. on July 29, 2017 at 1:42am: And this is why I despise those dealers!!!!!!!

Comment by PFCollector on July 29, 2017 at 2:29am: My experience (copied from my post about this):

I went both days to Chicago, besides meeting Roger and getting some albums signed (that will NEVER end up on eBay), it was kind of a scummy experience. I was in line behind homeless people talking about how the money they were making was so much easier than pan handling, and how high they were going to get that night. Seen all the dealers being surrounded by homeless people they paid off to stand in line, collecting 20 autographs right in front of the gate, with no respect that Roger and his bodyguards can easily see them. Heard one old guy that was working the parking lot across the street call the bodyguard a f***** and sissy because he didn't let him in the line. Seen a guy get hit by a car. People getting back in line after getting signatures, cutting in line, etc...

I'm definitely thankful for getting something signed that I know is real, and grateful Roger knows there are real fans in the line. But I'm glad that's something I won't have to do again. It was very obvious Roger wasn't happy the 2nd day. But he still put on an amazing show. I don't think I'll be buying many autographs on eBay anymore after seeing how scummy people get when it comes to getting them and taking advantage of the signers willingness to sign. I can definitely see why many refuse to sign

Comment by Eric Keith Longo on July 29, 2017 at 6:55am: Happy with 1984 Pros & Cons: Don't want this common modern crap.

Comment by Corey Moylan on July 29, 2017 at 8:38am: Crap is a strong word Eric haha. He still pumps out some very nice signatures when he signs

Comment by Peter C. on July 29, 2017 at 8:47am: It´s nice item, but you know - in person piece is in person obtained piece...

Comment by Eric Keith Longo on July 29, 2017 at 9:49am: He still doing lengthy dedications/inscriptions? Sorry, this has GRAVITAS. Time frame. Context. It is important, to me, that the signature be of the same vintage of the signed item - in this case a gold stamped promo LP.

Comment by Eric Keith Longo on July 29, 2017 at 9:53am: And consider the volume he is/was signing. Was it Corey said that a nice Wall LP will be under $200? This modern stuff - what pressing? Does anyone care? Spo much I see is vandalized with that darn sticker.

Comment by Corey Moylan on July 29, 2017 at 10:22am: That was me. It's a guess seeing as eBay final auction values are currently around 215-240. If he continues signing at his current rate, it's only going down from there, but you'll probably still see highly listed ones regardless. I haven't been closely following Roger values as of recent as I'm not really in the market for single signed items. I agree with you that I would never buy one with a sticker.

Comment by Peter C. on July 29, 2017 at 10:23am: I dont care about money value... and I even more dislike autograph business when I see what´s going on on this RW´s tour. I care about the fact that I got it personally - it´s autograph given by RW to me, it have some personal story related to obtaining the signature etc. So awful / nice, valuable or not.... I dont care. It´s my own stuff without supporting this disgusting dirty business.

Comment