Roger Waters, during the Long Island rehearsals for the Wall tour (specifically, August 24th) is the cover star of the September 30th, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone magazine (US edition). It's available from North American newsstands from tomorrow (September 15th, coincidentally the first show of the 105-date tour), and online from October 1st via Rolling Stone's premium subscription plan.

The article, only a small fragment of which has been posted online, reveals preparations for this mammoth tour, which kicks off in Toronto. This ranges from Roger's fitness routine, through to decisions on what the band will be wearing (Roger apparently met with a stylist to select stage clothes in various shades of black, rejecting one pair of leather boots as "very Bruce" and another as "too Pete Townshend"!)

Lighting director Marc Brickman, who also worked on the original shows, talks about the scale of even those performances. "It was just mind-blowing — I was speechless," says Brickman. "It was mounting opera at a rock & roll show. In 1980, you couldn't even dream of that show." For Waters, the idea behind arena theatrics was simple: "You can't ask people to go to the circus and just have fleas in the middle — you've got to have elephants and tigers."

The magazine has also posted a set of exclusive pictures taken at rehearsals but DON'T click here if you don't want to see any of the new staging or effects...