Comfortably Numb with Van Morrison, The Band and the B.R.S.O. - Berlin, July 1990 - 4K

Nine months after the fall of the Berlin Wall the largest crowd in rock history (320k) packed into the area formerly known as “no man’s land” (Potsdamer Platz) -- in fact directly above Hitler’s former bunker. As the LA Times put it, “instead of watchtowers with armed guards watching over a 200-yard wide “death strip,” there were new towers, with stage spotlights.” Ten years earlier Waters had stated he would never again perform The Wall, "unless the Berlin Wall is finally destroyed." The show benefitted the Memorial Fund for Disaster Relief. No David Gilmour but truly perfect fresh twin dueling guitar solos by Snowy White and Rick DiFonzo perched precariously on opposing sides of the 550' x 82' wall with each standing in what would have been, depending on the platform, either East or West Berlin. Reported to be the largest concert in rock history. About as big as it gets. Van Morrison (lead vocals) Roger Waters (lead vocals, bass) Snowy White (guitar) Rick DiFonzo (guitar) Levon Helm (backing vocals) Rick Danko (backing vocals) Garth Hudson (backing vocals) East Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra & Choir, directed by Michael Kamen. As a bonus following the song is included the destruction of the wall and the concert’s closing song, “The Tide is Turning” (Roger Waters), with all performers beneath stunning pyrotechnics and lead vocals by Roger Waters, Joni Mitchell, Cyndi Lauper, Bryan Adams, Van Morrison and Paul Carrack among others, and although backstage more phenomenal guitar from Snowy and Rick. This version of Comfortably Numb is featured in the Martin Scorsese film “The Departed” and was later used in HBO's “The Sopranos.” Morrison also included the song in his 2008 tour. This video is from the 2003 DVD with the stereo audio track. It has been AI upscaled (TensorPix).