Roger Waters says he and his former Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour are “not mates” and “never were”.

The two musicians have had an acrimonious relationship since Roger quit the group he co-founded in 1965 back in 1985 describing them as a “spent force creatively”.

In the wake of his departure, bassist-and-vocalist Waters sued his former bandmates, guitarist Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason and late keyboard player Rick Wright, to stop them from using the Pink Floyd name which was a battle he ultimately lost and now accepts was “wrong” to start.

Since his departure, Waters has only performed with Mason and Gilmour back in 2005 at the Live 8 charity concert in London, and during his own performance of ‘The Wall’ at The O2 arena in 2011 on a rendition of ‘Comfortably Numb’.

Although the legal row damaged their relationship, the 73-year-old musician insists he and 71-year-old Gilmour – who joined Pink Floyd in 1967 before taking on songwriting and vocal duties in the wake of original frontman Syd Barrett’s departure in 1968 – were never close friends during the 18 years they spent in the band together making iconic albums and touring the world.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph newspaper, he said: “Dave and I are not mates, we never were and I doubt we ever will be. Which is fine, there’s no reason why we should be.”

Further discussing the Pink Floyd dynamic, he added: “I love Nick. And he loves me. We were always close. But you can be creative without being friends. David and I did a lot of great work together, which wouldn’t exist without both of us being there.”