Pink Floyd frontman backs Wall adaptation

Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters has no qualms about giving a Canadian band permission to tinker with his band's classic Another Brick in the Wall for use as an anthem for young Iranians.

Toronto-based band Blurred Vision, fronted by two exiled Iranian brothers, reworked the lyrics to express the resentment felt by young people toward the government of Iran, where it is illegal to play rock music.

One well-known verse was changed to "Hey, Ayatollah, leave those kids alone!"

Waters said he encourages artists to use the song to resist all forms of oppression. He said in a statement that he sees the band as playing a vital part in "the resistance to a regime that is both repressive and brutal".

Waters took time from rehearsing for his upcoming world tour to address the issue.

"I applauded and supported the resistance of schoolchildren in South Africa to that repressive and brutal regime," he said, "and also applaud and support the resistance of Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank to the repressive and brutal occupation they endure".