Surrogate band

Why was a surrogate band used during live performances of 'The Wall'? To me, this seems unnecessary.

Have you ever wondered what The Wall would be like with just four people onstage? There's simply more going on in the songs than one guitarist can reliably cover and more stuff for Roger to do in the show besides play, so they needed two backup guitarists. Add to that the additional keyboard textures and vocal harmonies, and the increased drum precision demanded by a click track, and you may as well exploit the "double Floyd" effect as a theatrical gimmick. Unfortunately, the backup singers were all male so the whole affair was a true sausage fest unlike previous and subsequent Floyd tours.

you're absolutely right. I guess that's why 'Is There Anybody Out There' has such a full sound.

because it was cool

A surrogate band just listen to in the flesh and you will see/hear

Also, apparently Rog just wanted a band to wear face masks and fool the entire audience into thinking it was the Floyd.... he had said that they were always so far away seperated from the audience in those huge stadium shows, that some other band could be on stage playing their songs for them, and no one would really notice.

You'd think he knew better, after the Toronto incident.

Are you in fact referring to the Montreal gig in 1977? They didn't play in Toronto after the (by all reports terrific) March 1973 show at Maple Leaf Gardens, until Roger left the band that is.

Oops. Montreal it is.

Weird. I always thought it was Toronto too!

Some answers to these questions can be found in the liner notes (interview of Roger) of the Is There Anybody Out There? live cd. Also the masks are on the cover.