Outspoken Pink Floyd star Roger Waters has been getting used to batting off his critics in recent months. But he probably didn't expect his AO Arena show in Manchester to be halted by a large BEE on Saturday night.
The music icon paused his show half way through - after a Manchester bee decided to position itself on his hand while he was sat at the piano. He had been performing song The Bar when he noticed it.
Looking visibly astonished, the 79-year-old music man lifted his hand with the bee still attached as he told his thousands of fans what had happened.
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He said: "That is unbelievable. That has been on my hand for the whole last chorus."
Inspecting the insect calmly sitting on his hand, Waters decided to give it a cheeky chat up line. He said: "Hey darling, sweet thing.
"Do you come to these concerts often?" He then said he would blow on it to see if it would go and sit on someone else as the big screens showed the bee.
Dutifully, the bee responded. And Waters let out a rock 'n' roll "Yeahhhh" before continuing his show.
A video of the moment was captured by Jenna Barnes who was in the audience. She said: "I found it quite symbolic that the bee landed on him at the Arena of all places."
The worker bee has long been the symbol of Manchester, due to the city's heritage built on industry. But the Manchester bee went on to represent the city's indomitable spirit following the Arena bombing on May 22, 2017.
Waters, the creative force behind Pink Floyd, played at the AO Arena on Saturday night amid calls for the gig to be cancelled by political figures. While he is known for writing prog-rock masterpieces including seminal album The Dark Side of the Moon, he is also known for bringing political statements to his public performance.
It has drawn international criticism in recent months, with claims he has espoused anti-semitic views on stage.
Criticism has come from Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has ‘fully condemned’ him for having allegedly ‘clearly espoused antisemitic views’. Sir Keir has also suggested shows by the former Pink Floyd bassist should be called off - a view echoed by Bury South MP Christian Wakeford last week.
During business questions in the House of Commons, Mr Wakeford said: “The city of Manchester has a rich and vibrant history in which those of different faiths and backgrounds have lived together as well as stood together through difficult times and times of division.
“So I am concerned to note Roger Waters is due to play at the AO Arena in Manchester.”
In a video posted on YouTube by Double Down News, Roger Waters responded by saying: "Some f***ing Labour MP in Manchester, Christian Wakeford...you are trying to get me banned from performing in Manchester. Me, the [bloke who] wrote Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here and Animals and the Wall and the Final Cut.
"And I'm really proud of it and it's a huge body of work. And he wants to cancel my rock and roll show for my bothers and sisters in Manchester, it's insane.
"If we shout the lie loud enough 'Roger Waters is an antisemite', we'll be all right, we'll get people to believe it, we can vilify him, we can probably destroy him and we will get him in the end.
"Well, no you won't because it is a lie. You can gather as many f***ing morons as you want to repeat you lie, but it remains a vicious lie."
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