“I get a call, ‘Hello, Andy, it’s Roger Waters.’ Who? I hadn’t paid attention to their names”: Andy Fairweather Low was personally recruited by the Pink Floyd legend – but didn’t know who he was when he came calling

Andy Fairweather Low is one of the music world’s most prolific and revered rhythm electric guitar heroes, having recorded and toured with the likes of Eric Clapton, George Harrison, B.B. King, Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix and many more.

In the new issue of Classic Rock, Low looks back some of his biggest session credits, and recalls how he originally came to work with Roger Waters… whose name he didn’t recognize when he was personally called by the Pink Floyd legend.

As Low relays, Amen Corner – the band he founded in 1966 – were on tour bill in the late 1960s with Pink Floyd, and it was during this time that the six-string sideman first dropped onto Waters’ radar.

“In November 1967, Amen Corner played our first tour ever on a bill with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move, The Nice, Heir Apparent and Outer Limits,” Low says. “We were all in one bus apart from Floyd, who travelled on their own.

“Our manager, Ron King, overheard one of them say something about our keyboardist Blue Weaver, and he threatened to break their legs. They’d open with Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, and it would completely baffle me, like: ‘What are they doing?’”

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A few decades later, Low received a phone call from the Pink Floyd bassist himself, who was piecing together a new band for an upcoming tour. Unfortunately, the name ‘Roger Waters’ fell on deaf ears.

Low continues, “One day in around 1984 I get a call: ‘Hello, Andy, it’s Roger Waters.’ Who? I hadn’t paid attention to their names. He asked me to come up and see how we got along, with a tour for The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking in mind. I went to see him, and we didn’t just get along, we talked all about the tour.”

Despite the clumsy first impression, the pair would go on to share a prolific partnership, and played together for 24 years.

“He treated me with unbelievable respect, was superb company and very funny,” Low concludes. “And you know what? Set The Controls became my favourite thing to play live!”

Low’s career has been littered with similar stories. Speaking in a new interview with Guitar World, the rhythm hero recently recalled the time he was recruited by George Harrison to play slide even though he’d never played slide guitar before.

Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the new issue of Classic Rock, which also features an interview with Joe Satriani discussing the unique challenges of inviting Yngwie Malmsteen on the G3 tour.