Have a Cigar - wikipedia Have a Cigar `` Have a Cigar '' Artwork for Belgian vinyl release Single by Pink Floyd featuring Roy Harper from the album Wish You Were Here B - side `` Welcome to the Machine '' ( US single ) `` Shine On You Crazy Diamond ( Part I ) '' ( Italian & French singles ) Released 15 November 1975 ( 1975 - 11 - 15 ) Format 7 - inch single Recorded January -- July 1975 Studio Abbey Road, London Genre Progressive rock blues rock Length 5 : 08 4 : 24 Label Harvest Columbia Songwriter ( s ) Roger Waters Producer ( s ) Pink Floyd Pink Floyd singles chronology `` Us and Them '' ( 1973 ) `` Have a Cigar '' ( 1975 ) `` Another Brick in the Wall ( Part 2 ) '' ( 1979 ) `` Have a Cigar '' is the third track on Pink Floyd 's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. It follows `` Welcome to the Machine '' and on the original LP opened side two. In some markets, the song was issued as a single. English folk singer Roy Harper provided lead vocals on the song. It was one of only two Pink Floyd recordings to feature guest lead vocals, the other being `` The Great Gig in the Sky '' with Clare Torry, though the latter piece featured no lyrics. The song was written as the band 's own personal critique of the music industry at the time, and the hypocrisy of their own record label to continue releasing more material. Contents 1 Composition and recording 2 Live 3 Personnel 4 Quotes 5 Charts 6 Cover versions 7 References 8 External links Composition and recording The song 's music and lyrics were written by Roger Waters in critique of hypocrisy and greed within the music business. The song is more straightforwardly rock - oriented than the rest of the album, and is the only one on the album that starts abruptly ( the other four either fade in or segue from the previous song ). It begins with a churning riff played on electric guitar and bass and is filled out with additional guitar, electric piano and synthesizer parts to create a rock texture. `` Have a Cigar '' concludes with a guitar solo, which is briefly interrupted by a synthesizer filter - sweep sound effect as the music reduces in volume to tinny, AM radio - like levels. Finally, the song ends with the sound of a radio being dialled off - station ; this effect is used as a transition to the title track, `` Wish You Were Here ''. The song 's lead vocals are performed by Roy Harper. Both Waters and David Gilmour had each attempted to sing the song on separate takes, as well as on a duet version ( available on the 2011 Experience and Immersion editions of Wish You Were Here ), but they were unhappy with the results. Harper was recording his album HQ in Studio 2 of Abbey Road at the same time as Pink Floyd were working in Studio 3, and Roy Harper offered to sing the part as Gilmour has already provided some guitar licks for Roy ( ``... for a price '' ). The song is one of only two songs by the band which is not sung by one of their permanent members, the other being `` The Great Gig in the Sky ''. In his book Pigs Might Fly : The Inside Story of Pink Floyd, author Mark Blake recounts that Gilmour had been unwilling to sing the lead vocal as he did n't share Waters ' opinions, as expressed in the lyrics, on the nature of the music industry. Waters has since said he dislikes Harper 's version, saying he would have liked it to emerge `` more vulnerable and less cynical '', adding that Harper 's version was too parodic while Gilmour loved Harper 's vocal delivery and called it the `` perfect version ''. Live Harper performed the song with the band on one occasion, the group 's 1975 Knebworth Festival appearance, during the period Wish You Were Here was being recorded. The song was performed on the band 's 1975 North American tours sandwiched in between the multi-part `` Shine On You Crazy Diamond '' with Gilmour and Waters singing lead. It was last performed by the band on the 1977 In the Flesh tour, as part of the Wish You Were Here set with Waters on lead vocals, Gilmour on backing vocals and rhythm guitar and Snowy White playing the guitar solos. Waters has played the song on many of his solo tours ( one exception being the 1999 -- 2002 In the Flesh tour and his 2017 Us + Them Tour ). Personnel `` Have a Cigar '' `` Have a Cigar '' was sung by Roy Harper, something that Waters later regretted. The song contains lyrics that are critical of the music industry. Problems playing this file ? See media help. David Gilmour -- electric guitars Richard Wright -- Wurlitzer electric piano, ARP String Synthesizer, Minimoog, Hohner clavinet D6 Roger Waters -- bass guitar Nick Mason -- drums with : Roy Harper -- lead vocals Quotes A lot of people think I ca n't sing, including me a bit. I 'm very unclear about what singing is. I know I find it hard to pitch, and I know the sound of my voice is n't very good in purely aesthetic terms, and Roy Harper was recording his own album in another EMI studio at the time, he 's a mate, and we thought he could probably do a job on it. -- Roger Waters, October 1975, Interviewed by Nick Sedgewick in the Wish You Were Here songbook `` Have a Cigar '' was a whole track on which I used the guitar and keyboards at once. There are some extra guitars which I dubbed on later, but I did the basic guitar tracks at one time. -- David Gilmour, October 1975, Interviewed by Gary Cooper in the Wish You Were Here songbook We did have people who would say to us `` Which one 's Pink '' and stuff like that. There were an awful lot of people who thought Pink Floyd was the name of the lead singer and that was Pink himself and the band. That 's how it all came about, it was quite genuine. -- David Gilmour, December 1992, In the Studio with Redbeard for `` Making of Shine On '' and `` Making of Wish You Were Here '' Charts Chart ( 1975 ) Peak position US Cash Box Looking Ahead 119 US Record World Singles Chart 101 -- 150 126 Cover versions In 1979, Warner Bros. Records released a 12 '' single containing a special disco version of `` Have a Cigar '' by Rosebud, a studio group led by composer Gabriel Yared, from their album Discoballs : A Tribute to Pink Floyd. The song peaked at number 4 on Billboard 's Disco Top 80 chart in June 1979. The B - side was a disco version of `` Money ''. In 1992, the band Primus recorded a cover of the song and included it as the closing track to their Miscellaneous Debris EP. Their version features a slight lyrical change : `` The band is just fantastic, of the town you are the talk / Man, but who the hell 's this guy they call Bob Cock ? '' Foo Fighters recorded two different cover versions of the song. The first was used as b - side for the `` Learn to Fly '' CD single, while the second one, featuring Brian May on lead guitar, first appeared on the Mission : Impossible 2 soundtrack, and later as an Amazon.com bonus track on their 2009 Greatest Hits album and in the 2011 limited - edition vinyl only release Medium Rare, released for Record Store Day. Both versions were sung by drummer Taylor Hawkins. The album Instead, released in 2007 by Onetwo, contains a cover version of `` Have a Cigar ''. The main riff of `` Have a Cigar '' is incorporated into the song `` Peruvian Skies '' by progressive metal band Dream Theater on their 1998 live album Once in a LIVEtime and on the Live DVD 5 Years in a Livetime. Also, from their album Images and Words ( 1992 ), using the main riff from `` Have a Cigar '' at the beginning of `` Metropolis : Part I ''. A free CD given with the October 2011 issue of UK music magazine Mojo features a cover version of `` Have a Cigar '' by John Foxx and The Maths. This version was later announced by Mojo as ' not the finished version ' and the correct version was offered as a free download from the website. Gov 't Mule performed the song as part of their Dark Side of the Mule live album from 2008, which consisted of half original material, half Pink Floyd covers. References Jump up ^ Have a Cigar / Shine on You Crazy Diamond ( Part I ) ( Media notes ). Pink Floyd. EMI / Harvest. 4 C 006 - 97357. Side labels say SABAM. Jump up ^ `` Have A Cigar '' ( B - side single record label ). Pink Floyd. US : Columbia Records. 1975. 3 - 10248 -- via Discogs. Jump up ^ `` Have A Cigar '' ( B - side single record label ). Pink Floyd. Italy : Harvest Records. 1976. 3C 006 - 97357 -- via Discogs. Jump up ^ `` Have A Cigar '' ( B - side single record label ). Pink Floyd. France : Harvest Records. 1976. 2C 010 - 97.357 -- via Discogs. Jump up ^ Strong, Martin C. ( 2004 ). The Great Rock Discography ( 7th ed. ). Edinburgh : Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1 - 84195 - 551 - 5. Jump up ^ Mabbett, Andy ( 1995 ). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London : Omnibus Press. ISBN 0 - 7119 - 4301 - X. Jump up ^ The Story of Wish You Were Here. 2012. Jump up ^ Mark Blake ( 2007 ). Pigs Might Fly : The Inside Story of Pink Floyd. Jump up ^ The Story of Wish You Were Here. Jump up ^ `` Roger Waters Setlist at Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford ''. setlist.fm. Retrieved 24 May 2017. ^ Jump up to : Pink Floyd : Wish You Were Here Songbook. 1975 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd., London, England. ISBN 0 - 7119 - 1029 - 4 ( USA ISBN 0 - 8256 - 1079 - 6 ). Jump up ^ `` Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason - In The Studio with Redbeard ''. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2018. ^ Jump up to : Whitburn, Joel ( 2015 ). The Comparison Book. Menonomee Falls, Wisconsin : Record Research Inc. p. 393. ISBN 978 - 0 - 89820 - 213 - 7. Jump up ^ `` Discoballs : A Tribute to Pink Floyd - Rosebud Songs, Reviews, Credits AllMusic ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Rosebud - Discoballs ( A Tribute To Pink Floyd ) ''. Discogs. Retrieved 22 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Miscellaneous Debris - Primus Songs, Reviews, Credits AllMusic ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Foo Fighters - Learn To Fly ''. Discogs. Retrieved 22 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Mission : Impossible 2 ( Original Soundtrack ) - Original Soundtrack Songs, Reviews, Credits AllMusic ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Foo Fighters - Medium Rare ''. Discogs. Archived from the original on 2011 - 04 - 23. Retrieved 22 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Foo Fighters To Release Covers Album ''. ultimateguitar.com. 2011 - 03 - 14. Retrieved 22 July 2017. Jump up ^ Lemieux, Patrick ; Unger, Adam ( 2013 ). The Queen Chronology : The Recording & Release History of the Band. Lulu. p. 132. ISBN 978 - 0 - 9919840 - 4 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Onetwo - Instead ''. Discogs. Archived from the original on 2012 - 07 - 31. Retrieved 22 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Connections : Have A Cigar : Interview - August 2011 ''. Metamatic.com. Retrieved 3 March 2012. Jump up ^ `` John Foxx & The Maths - Have A Cigar - News ''. Mojo4music.com. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012. Jump up ^ Leggett, Steve. `` Gov 't Mule -- Dark Side of the Mule ''. allmusic.com. Retrieved 22 July 2017. Jump up ^ Kaye, Ben ( 16 November 2014 ). `` Gov 't Mule to release Pink Floyd covers album Dark Side of the Mule ''. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 22 July 2017. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Wish You Were Here ( Pink Floyd album ) Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Wish You Were Here Songs Side one `` Shine On You Crazy Diamond ( Parts I -- V ) '' `` Welcome to the Machine '' Side two `` Have a Cigar '' `` Wish You Were Here '' `` Shine On You Crazy Diamond ( Parts VI -- IX ) '' Related articles Wish You Were Here Tour The Story of Wish You Were Here The Piper at the Gates of Dawn A Saucerful of Secrets More Ummagumma Atom Heart Mother Meddle Obscured by Clouds The Dark Side of the Moon Wish You Were Here Animals The Wall The Final Cut A Momentary Lapse of Reason The Division Bell The Endless River Pink Floyd Nick Mason Roger Waters Richard Wright Syd Barrett David Gilmour Studio albums The Piper at the Gates of Dawn A Saucerful of Secrets More Ummagumma Atom Heart Mother Meddle Obscured by Clouds The Dark Side of the Moon Wish You Were Here Animals The Wall The Final Cut A Momentary Lapse of Reason The Division Bell The Endless River Live albums Ummagumma Delicate Sound of Thunder Pulse Is There Anybody Out There ? 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Hats off East of the Sun Today Is Yesterday Counter Culture From Occident to Orient Songs of Love and Loss Collaborations `` Have a Cigar '' `` Breathing '' The Edges of Twilight `` Time '' Singles / 12 '' Singles / EPs `` When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease '' `` The Death of God '' Songs & poems `` Another Day '' `` Three Hundred Words '' Related articles Nick Harper `` Hats Off to ( Roy ) Harper '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Have_a_Cigar&oldid=849081243 '' Categories : 1975 singles Metasongs Pink Floyd songs Primus ( band ) songs Protest songs Satirical songs Songs about music Songs written by Roger Waters Song recordings produced by David Gilmour Song recordings produced by Roger Waters Song recordings produced by Richard Wright ( musician ) Song recordings produced by Nick Mason Roy Harper ( singer ) songs 1975 songs CBS Records singles Columbia Records singles Harvest Records singles Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Talk More Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français Italiano ქართული Magyar Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Slovenčina Svenska Türkçe 11 more Edit links This page was last edited on 6 July 2018, at 11 : 33 ( UTC ). 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Question: who sings have a cigar by pink floyd
Answer: English folk singer Roy Harper