At the time Gilmour did not have any new material, so he asked Waters to delay the recording until he could write some songs, but Waters refused. His lyrics were critical of the Conservative Party government of the day and mention Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher by name.
Waters wrote all the album's lyrics as well as the music. The album was subtitled: "A requiem for the post-war dream by Roger Waters, performed by Pink Floyd". In March 1983, the last Waters–Gilmour–Mason collaboration, The Final Cut, was released. The last band performance of The Wall was on 16 June 1981, at Earls Court London, and this was Pink Floyd's last appearance with Waters until the band's brief reunion at 2 July 2005 Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park, 24 years later. The band embarked on The Wall Tour of Los Angeles, New York, London, and Dortmund. Pink Floyd hired Bob Ezrin to co-produce the album and cartoonist Gerald Scarfe to illustrate the sleeve art. Having sold over 23 million RIAA certified units in the US as of 2013, is one of the top three best-selling albums of all time in America, according to RIAA. The double album The Wall was written almost entirely by Waters and is largely based on his life story.