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David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6, 1946 in Cambridge)[1]
is an English musician best known as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter in
the band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has
also worked as a record producer for a variety of famous artists. Gilmour
has been actively involved with many charity organisations over the course
of his career. In 2003, he was appointed CBE for his charity work.
Early lifeGilmour was born in the affluent Grantchester Meadows area of Cambridge, England. His father, Douglas Gilmour, was a senior lecturer in zoology at the University of Cambridge and his mother, Sylvia, was a teacher. Gilmour attended The Perse School on Hills Road, Cambridge, and met future Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist Syd Barrett who attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys, also situated on Hills Road. He took modern languages A-Levels, and along with Syd, spent his lunchtime learning to play the guitar. They were not yet bandmates however, and Gilmour started playing in the band Joker's Wild in 1963. Gilmour left Joker's Wild in 1966 and busked around Spain and France with some friends. However, they were not very successful, living virtually a hand-to-mouth existence. In July 1992, Gilmour stated in an interview with Nicky Horne on BBC radio that he ended up being treated for malnutrition in hospital. In 1967, they returned to England, driving a van with fuel stolen from a building site in France.
Pink FloydGilmour was asked to join Pink Floyd in January 1968 making Pink Floyd briefly a five-piece again. He was used to fill in for Barrett's guitar parts when the front man was unable to take a consistent part in Floyd's live performances. When Syd Barrett "left" the group (the band chose not to pick him up one night for a gig due to his erratic behaviour), Gilmour by default assumed the role of the band's lead guitarist and shared lead vocal duties with Roger Waters and Richard Wright in Barrett's stead. However, after the back-to-back successes of Dark Side of the Moon and then Wish You Were Here, Waters took more control over the band, writing most of Animals and The Wall by himself. Wright was fired during The Wall sessions and the relationship between Gilmour and Waters would further deteriorate during the making of The Wall film and the 1983 Pink Floyd album The Final Cut. In 1985, Waters declared that Pink Floyd was "A spent force creatively ". However, in 1986, Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason issued a press release stating that Waters had quit the band and they intended to continue on without Waters. Gilmour assumed full control of the group and created A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987 with some contributions from Mason. Wright rejoined the band for a lengthy world tour and helped create 1994's The Division Bell as well. Gilmour explained: “I had a number of problems with the direction of the band in our recent past, before Roger left. I thought the songs were very wordy and that, because the specific meanings of those words were so important, the music became a mere vehicle for lyrics, and not a very inspiring one. .. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were so successful not just because of Roger's contributions, but also because there was a better balance between the music and the lyrics than there has been in more recent albums. That's what I'm trying to do with A Momentary Lapse of Reason; more focus on the music, restore the balance.”In 1986, Gilmour purchased the houseboat Astoria which is moored on the River Thames near Hampton Court, and transformed it into a recording studio. The majority of the two most recent Pink Floyd albums, as well as Gilmour's 2006 solo release On An Island were recorded there. On July 2, 2005, Gilmour played with Pink Floyd — including Roger Waters — at Live 8. The performance caused a temporary 1,343% sales increase of Pink Floyd's album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.[2] As a result, Gilmour vowed to donate all of his resulting profits to charities that reflect the goals of Live 8 saying: “Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert. This is money that should be used to save lives.[2]”Shortly after, he called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 performances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fund-raising. After the Live 8 concert, Pink Floyd were offered GBP150 million to tour the states, but the band turned down the lucrative offer.[3] On February 3, 2006, he announced in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica[4][5] that Pink Floyd would most likely never tour or write material together again. He said: “I think enough is enough. I am 60 years old. I don't have the will to work as much anymore. Pink Floyd was an important part in my life, I have had a wonderful time, but it's over. For me it's much less complicated to work alone.”He said that by agreeing to Live 8, he had ensured the story of Floyd would not end on a sour note. “There was more than one reason, firstly to support the cause. The second one is the energy consuming an uncomfortable relationship between Roger and me that I was carrying along in my heart. That is why we wanted to perform and to leave the trash behind. Thirdly, I might have regretted it if I declined.”On February 20, 2006, Gilmour commented again on Pink Floyd's future when he was interviewed by Billboard.com, stating, "Who knows? I have no plans at all to do that. My plans are to do my concerts and put my solo record out." In December 2006, Gilmour released a tribute to Syd Barrett, who had died in July that year, in the form of his own version of Pink Floyd's first single "Arnold Layne". Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall, the CD single featured versions of the song performed by Pink Floyd's keyboard player (and Gilmour's band member) Richard Wright and special guest artist David Bowie. The single entered the UK Top 75 charts at number nineteen and remained steady for three weeks.[6] Other projectsTaking time off from Pink Floyd's schedule, Gilmour also took up various roles as a producer, sideman and even concert sound engineer for a wide variety of acts which included former bandmate Syd Barrett, Kate Bush, Grace Jones, Tom Jones, Elton John, B.B. King, Paul McCartney, Sam Brown, Jools Holland, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, The Who, Supertramp, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Alan Parsons, and various charity groups among others. He has also recorded two solo albums, David Gilmour (1978) and About Face (1984), both of which hit the U.S. Top 40 and went Gold. Gilmour has stated in interviews that some of the songs on About Face were ones he had hoped to contribute to Pink Floyd's 1983 album The Final Cut, but Roger Waters staunchly refused. This signalled the beginning of the rift between Waters and Gilmour. In 2006, Gilmour released his third solo album, On an Island, which debuted at #1 in the UK charts.[7] The album reached Top five in Germany and Sweden, and Top six in Billboard 200.[8][9] With Nick Mason and Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke, he took to the road in October 1991 to take part in La Carrera Panamericana - a scenic film which recreated the legendary car race held in Mexico throughout the early 1950s. The original film, which was shown on BBC in December 1991, included a soundtrack of new and previously released tracks from Pink Floyd. The edited video was released the following year on VHS and LD. In 2001 and 2002, he held a small number of acoustic solo concerts in London and Paris, along with a small band and choir, which was documented on the In Concert release. In 2003, Rolling Stone included Gilmour in the list of hundred greatest guitarists of all time.[10] On his 60th birthday, he released his third solo album, On An Island, on March 6, 2006 and a day later it was released in the US. Produced by Gilmour alongwith Phil Manzanera and Chris Thomas, the album features orchestrations by renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner. The album features David Crosby and Graham Nash on harmonies on the title track, Robert Wyatt on cornet and percussion and Richard Wright on Hammond organ and vocals. Other contributors include Jools Holland, Phil Manzanera, Georgie Fame, Andy Newmark, B. J. Cole, Chris Stainton, Willie Wilson, Rado ‘Bob’ Klose on guitar and Leszek Możdżer on piano. The album also features Gilmour's debut with the saxophone. Gilmour toured Europe,US and Canada from March 10 to May 31 to promote On An Island. There were 10 shows in the US and Canadian leg of the tour. Pink Floyd alumnus Richard Wright, and frequent Floyd collaborators Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin also accompanied him on the tour. More shows were held in Europe during from July through August in 2006. In a press release to promote the tour, David Gilmour stated: “"I'm rather hoping that with this tour announcement, people will believe me when I say, honestly, this is the only band I plan to tour with!".”On An Island peaked the UK charts by reaching number one. On April 10, 2006, the album was certified platinum in Canada, with sales of over 100,000 copies. The album also gave Gilmour his first US Top 10 album as a solo artist. A video recording of a show from Gilmour's solo tour, entitled Remember That Night - Live At The Royal Albert Hall[11] was released on September 17, 2007. The double DVD, directed by David Mallet, contains over five hours of footage, including an on-the-road documentary and guest appearances by David Bowie and Robert Wyatt. The two and a half hour concert features band members Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Steve DiStanislao on drums, and various Pink Floyd regulars such as Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin. The 20-page booklet accompanying the DVD, features over 80 photos selected from studio recording and touring. The final show of David Gilmour's On an Island tour was held at the Gdansk Shipyard on August 26, 2006. The concert was held before a huge crowd of 100,000, and marked the twenty-sixth anniversary of Poland's 1980 revolution. Whilst, the concert was notable for the inclusion of "A Great Day For Freedom" as part of the encores, Gilmour's official blog also mentions, tantalizingly, that "there will be one or two assorted extras thrown in for good measure...". Musical styleGilmour has a very precise solo style, rooted in blues and notable for expressive note bends and sustain, indeed his use of 'multiple bends,' where he bends a note to pitch, sustains it, then bends the note to a higher pitch before releasing it, is very characteristic of his style and a useful way of identifying him in recordings. His solos are noted for being well-composed, economical, lyrical and emotional often favouring the minor pentatonic (1 b3 4 5 b7), blues(1 b3 4 b5 5 b7) and natural minor (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7) scales . In interviews, Gilmour has explained that what he sees as his lack of technique led him to concentrate on melody and mood over speed and 'virtuosity', and this is borne out by the enduring appeal of his solos. During many of his solos he would switch the guitar to the rhythm (or neck) pick-up. This, switching pick-up, produced a fatter, stronger "liquid" sound to a "cut through" sound all in the same solo and is featured in "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Echoes". This is part of what gives Gilmour's playing such a distinctive sound and tone. In his early career with Pink Floyd Gilmour played a multitude of Fender Stratocasters. He employs a Fender pedal steel guitar for the re-formed Pink Floyd's rendition of the classic "One of These Days". During both the Momentary Lapse and Division tours he almost exclusively played a Red '57 reissue with a set of EMG active pick-ups. In his solo career he employs a wide assortment of guitars, favouring none. Indeed, one of his most famous solos ("Another Brick in the Wall Part 2") was played on a Gibson Les Paul [12] [13]. Although mainly known for his guitar work, Gilmour is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist. He also plays bass guitar (which he did on some Pink Floyd tracks), keyboards, harmonica, drums (as heard on the Syd Barrett solo track "Dominoes", and other songs where he opted to play all the instruments) and lately, the saxophone.[14] In 1996, Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. In August 2006, Gilmour's solo on "Comfortably Numb" was voted the greatest guitar solo of all time in a poll by listeners of the digital radio station Planet Rock.[15] Family lifeGilmour has four children from his first marriage, to Ginger; Alice (b.1976), Clare (b.1980), Sara; (b.1982) and Matthew (b.1985). They originally attended a Waldorf School, but Gilmour called their education there "horrific".[16] He has four children from his second marriage (to Polly Samson) - one adopted (Samson's son with Heathcote Williams, Charlie) and three biological, Joe, Gabriel and Romany. Charlie can be heard speaking, on the telephone to Steve O'Rourke, at the end of The Division Bell. PhilanthropyIn May 2003, Gilmour sold his London house in Little Venice to the 9th Earl Spencer (brother of Diana, Princess of Wales) and contributed the £3.6 million (US $5.9 million) he made to a housing project for the homeless and mentally ill. Charities to whom Gilmour has lent support include the European Union Mental Health and Illness Association, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, The Lung Foundation, Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, Crisis and — at the behest of his friend Paul McCartney — PETA. In November 2003, he was made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for philanthropy and for services to music. Other interestsGilmour is also an experienced pilot. Under the guise of his company, Intrepid Aviation, he had amassed an impressive collection of historical aircraft. He decided to sell Intrepid, for the following reason (taken from a BBC radio interview in 2002): “Intrepid Aviation was a way for me to make my hobby pay for itself a little bit, but gradually over a few years Intrepid Aviation became a business because you have to be businesslike about it. Suddenly I found instead of it being a hobby and me enjoying myself, it was a business and so I sold it. I don't have Intrepid Aviation any more. I just have a nice old biplane that I pop up, wander around the skies in sometimes. ..”Name preferenceThough generally polite, friendly and easygoing, David Gilmour is annoyed when reporters address him as "Dave". He claims to have never used the contraction, preferring his given name, David. However, the three other members of Pink Floyd have often referred to him as "Dave" when giving their own interviews. Gilmour's cause is not helped by the fact that Harvest/EMI in the UK referred to him on his eponymous 1978 solo album and the cover of Floyd's 1971 album Meddle as "Dave" although the U.S. pressings correctly referred to him as David. Also, when his long time friend, author Douglas Adams, died in 2001, Gilmour posted a tribute on the message board of Adams' official site; "Too soon, it is indeed. You'll be missed by the world. I'm just grateful you were able to enjoy your genius being appreciated. Your Friend and Fan, Dave". FutureAlthough Gilmour has repeatedly said that there will be no Pink Floyd reunion since their Live8 appearance in 2005, in a 2007 interview with Phil Manzanera he stated that he's "not done with yet" and that he plans on doing "something" in the future, suggesting another solo album. In November of 2006, Fender announced that they will be issuing a replica of Gilmour's modified black Stratocaster. David's official blog confirmed in October 2007 that it will be released in November, to coincide with the release of the 'Remember That Night' Blu-Ray disc.[17] Solo work
Singles
Filmography
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