The Final Cut was about how, with the introduction of the Welfare State, we felt we were moving forward into something resembling a liberal country where we would all look after one another . A second lieutenant of the 8th Royal Fusiliers, Eric Waters died during the Second World War at Aprilia in Italy, on 18 February 1944, when his son Roger was five months old. He saw British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's response to Argentina's invasion of the islands as jingoistic and unnecessary, and dedicated the new album-provisionally titled Requiem for a Post-War Dream-to his father, Eric Fletcher Waters. Īs a result of the Falklands War, Waters changed direction and wrote new material. Bassist, vocalist, and primary songwriter Roger Waters also planned to record a small amount of new material, expanding The Wall's narrative. Under its working title Spare Bricks, it would have featured new music rerecorded for the film, such as " When the Tigers Broke Free". The Final Cut was conceived as a soundtrack album for Pink Floyd – The Wall, the 1982 film based on Pink Floyd's 1979 album The Wall. Though it reached number one in the UK and number six in the US, it was the lowest-selling Pink Floyd studio album worldwide since Meddle (1971). The Final Cut received mixed reviews, though retrospective reception has been more favourable. The album was accompanied by a short film released in the same year. Waters provided lead vocals for all but one track, and he is credited for all songwriting. With the onset of the Falklands War, he rewrote it as a concept album exploring what he considered the betrayal of his father, who died serving in the Second World War. Waters planned the album as a soundtrack for the 1982 film adaptation of The Wall. Drummer Nick Mason's contributions were mostly limited to sound effects. The recording was plagued by conflict guitarist David Gilmour felt many of the tracks were not worthy of inclusion, but Waters accused him of failing to contribute material himself. It is also the only Pink Floyd album not to feature founding member and keyboardist Richard Wright, who left the band after the Wall sessions. The Final Cut was the last Pink Floyd album to feature founding member Roger Waters, who departed from the band in 1985. It comprises unused material from the previous Pink Floyd album, The Wall (1979), alongside new material recorded throughout 1982. The Final Cut is the 12th studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 21 March 1983 in the United Kingdom and on 2 April in the United States through Harvest and Columbia Records.