Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' was originally released in 1979 and is basically a concept album about abandonment and isolation, which is symbolised by a metaphorical wall. The songs play out the story of events in the life of a central character based on Roger Water's himself called Pink, who is oppressed by his overprotective mother, tormented at school by tyrannical, abusive teachers, becomes a rock star, experiences personal relationships marred by infidelity, drug use, and outbursts of violence and as his marriage crumbles he becomes completely isolated from human contact, all these traumas are represented by metaphoric bricks in his wall until the wall is completely built and he is cut off from society and any human contact.

Bloody cheerful stuff your thinking but this classic album has sold by the millions and whenever it has been toured by either Pink Floyd or Roger Waters it has proved to be one of the hottest tickets around wherever it may park its big stadium rock show arse, and one ticket this Uber Rock scribe wasn't going to miss out on. It was only fitting that this scribe would be at Manchester's MEN Arena tonight for it was in this fair City that that I attended my one and only Pink Floyd gig (minus Mr Waters) as part of the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour', at the then home of Manchester City (Maine Road) on the 08/08/1988, even coming onstage at 8.00 p.m. - now you can't get much more Floydian than that!!

As a ticket presale it was conditional to collect your tickets on the day so arriving early and tickets duly collected it provided an opportunity to have a look around a City I hadn't visited for nearly two decades but instead we opted to sit outside the Hard Rock Café around the corner and have a Boddies or two to absorb the big gig atmosphere, it was here that it dawned that me that I now have common musical ground with Rush fans by the amount of their shirts spotted in the bar and gig bound I still can't work out at what point in my life that horrendous fact bloody happened!! . Anyway on entering the venue as is the law I'm straight away checking out the official merchandise and all I will say on the matter tonight is a famous scouser called John once proclaimed ''for our last number, I'd like to ask for your help, would the people in the cheap seats clap your hands, and the rest of you, if you would just rattle your jewellery.''  Well if John was still alive and at tonight's show he would have swapped the reference to jewellery for plastic bags marked 'been there, seen it, bought the t shirt'' as provided by the MEN for those holding the merchandise.  I simply concluded that I must be either one of the poor people, a tight sod, or not dull enough to be cough up the readies for extortionately priced merchandising.

There was never going to be any surprises in respect of the set list as this is 'The Wall' live so it was down to what was in store in respect of the new stage production extra's utilising 2011 technology and simply just to hear this classic album performed by Roger Water's live, can't get much better than that can it?  'In the Flesh?' starts to crank out the sound system with a firework display exploding around the stage the man himself with both arms stretched in the air as though he has just scored a goal saluting the masses assembled in front of him before delivering the classic opening lines of ''so ya, thought ya, might like to go to the show'' and the song ending with a large scale model plane dropping from the ceiling and taking out part of the wall already constructed. To set the scene as with the story of the album the first half of the show the wall is built whilst the band perform blocking out the entire front of the stage, the second half the band return playing behind, in and in front of the wall until it is torn down.

'The Thin Ice' sees Waters join his band and a massive inflatable teacher appears for 'Another Brick in the Wall Part 1'. 'The Happiest Days Of Our Lives' provides an example of the superb quadraphonic sound system during the helicopter approaching effect at the start of the song with the crowd shouting out the famous Scottish demand 'you, yes you, stand still laddie', and during 'Another Brick in the Wall Part 2' the assembled school choir provide backing vocals whilst acting out a fight back against the inflatable teacher for full effect.

The stage darkens and Waters is now stage centre and introducing mother, pointing at the large projection of him recorded at Earls Court from the original "Wall Tour" with Pink Floyd in 1980 he informs us that up on the screen ''was a fucked up miserable little Roger all those years ago, but he's OK now'' and so 'Mother' is played with Waters live in 2011 and projected live from 1980.  That may sound uneventful but I guess you had to be there to absorb the impact. With the wall being built it also has a dual use as a massive screen for projecting images and different messages, during 'Mother' we also see 'big mother is watching you' and in time with the lyric "should I trust the government" the words 'No Fucking Way' to a loud crowd cheer from the crowd. By the time we get to 'Young Lust' the stage wall is now nearly built and with the lighting effects is looking quite dramatic as a few missing bricks allows glimpses of the band performing behind. The interval sees the completed Wall suddenly become a memorial wall with fan submitted photos of relatives killed in combat including Roger Waters' own Father who was killed in World War II beamed onto its surface.

The second part starts with the band playing behind the wall for 'Hey You' and 'Is There Anybody Out There?' and the story is that whilst hidden behind his wall, Pink's personal traumas escalate, culminating in an hallucinatory on-stage performance during 'In The Flesh' where he believes that he is a fascist dictator performing at concerts similar to Neo-Nazi rallies, at which he sets men on fans he considers unworthy.  'Nobody Home' sees a platform drop from half way up the wall on the left of the stage with the living room scheme as in the film is played out by Waters before continuing to perform behind the wall during 'Vera'.

Back in front of the Wall for 'Bring The Boys Back Home', the classic 'Comfortably Numb' (inspired by Waters' injection with a muscle relaxant to combat the effects of hepatitis during the 'In the Flesh' Tour) sounds as fresh as ever and remains one of the stand out songsfrom the album, the entire band come up through the stage floor in front of the wall for 'The Show Must Go On' and Waters dressed in striking fascist dictator black military uniform appears to take out the front rows of tonight's show with a machine gun at the end of 'In the Flesh'.

'Run Like Hell' is as powerful as ever with the marching hammers looking spectacular projected across the back of the stage during 'Waiting For The Worms'. Pink is then ordered to "tear down the wall" during 'The Trial', which is played out to a back drop of a large inflatable Judge before the band then the crowd bay for the Wall to be torn down and then the grand finale happens as the Wall built across the stage finally comes a tumbling, 'Outside The Wall' brings the show to an end with the band playing amongst the debris of the collapsed Wall.  And that was pretty much that,

The Pink Floyd show has stuck in my memory bank since 1988, as will this Roger Waters show of 2011, and if you charge high ticket prices then this is the sort of stage show you should be putting on.  Tonight was nothing short of spectacular, and does justice to the original album by using the technology now available to bring it alive, at time it was mesmerising, and I couldn't help thinking I was witnessing something pretty special as I doubt when this tour finishes it will ever be seen again.