And yet, after all that, their relationship still ran aground. The catalyst was Waters’s decision in 1983 to leave Pink Floyd. It wasn’t the first time the band had lost their lead singer – the same had, after all, happened with Syd Barrett. Yet such was Waters’s ego he found it unthinkable Pink Floyd could continue without him – and took it for granted his bandmates would feel likewise.

Gilmour, Mason and Wright, however, saw no reason not to soldier on. And when they signalled their intention to record and tour as Pink Floyd, Waters took them to court. “I was wrong,” he told the BBC in 2013. “Who cares?”

The answer is that Gilmour cared. And, two decades on, at Live 8, it was clear his feelings about Waters hadn’t softened appreciably. “It’s been a long time since we all played together,” he told a camera crew that popped around for the Live 8 rehearsals. “How is it going to work? Which way is it going to go?” added Mason, always on Team Dave when it came to their differences with Waters.

“It’s a bit strange,” said keyboard player Richard Wright (who passed away in 2008). “It’s going to be strange playing with Roger for this one show.”

Gilmour’s logic for the gig was that, with time moving on, he might come to rue passing up the opportunity to share the stage with Waters. “I thought I would probably regret it if I didn’t do this one off date,” he said. “[And] give the chance for some of my children to see what I used to do.”