DavidGilmour

David Gilmour

Master of tone and space whose every bend tells a story

David Gilmour was born in Cambridge in 1946, the son of a university zoology lecturer and a film editor. He grew up absorbing folk and blues, from Pete Seeger to Lead Belly, alongside the twang of Hank Marvin. As a teenager he knew Syd Barrett, and the two played guitar together around Cambridge. Gilmour went on to play in Jokers Wild and later in bands that toured France and Spain, sharpening his singing and his instinct for a strong melodic hook.

In late 1967 Gilmour was brought into Pink Floyd to support, and soon replace, Barrett, whose erratic behaviour had made him impossible to rely on. At first he imitated the older material, but he quickly found his own voice through long instrumental pieces such as Echoes. In 1970 he bought the black Fender Stratocaster that would become his signature. The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973 made Pink Floyd global superstars, and his guitar and vocals were at the heart of its sound.

Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall followed, with his solos on Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Comfortably Numb widely ranked among rock's finest. Around this time he helped a teenage Kate Bush record demos that led to her first contract. Tensions with Roger Waters grew, and after Waters left in 1985, Gilmour led the band through A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell. He also released solo albums beginning with a self-titled debut in 1978 and About Face in 1984.

Pink Floyd reunited with Waters for a single performance at Live 8 in 2005, and The Endless River in 2014 served as the band's farewell. Gilmour's solo career flourished with On an Island, Rattle That Lock and Luck and Strange, each followed by major tours. He was appointed CBE in 2003 and has devoted considerable wealth to charity, including auctioning his guitar collection in 2019 to benefit the environmental group ClientEarth. He remains one of rock's most admired melodic voices.

The 10 greatest David Gilmour solos

1. 1
   Comfortably Numb

   Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1979
2. 2
   Time

   Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1973
3. 3
   Shine On You Crazy Diamond

   Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1975
4. 4
   Money

   Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1973
5. 5
   Echoes

   Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1971
6. 6
   Dogs

   Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1977
7. 7
   Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2

   Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1979
8. 8
   Hey You

   Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1979
9. 9
   Sorrow

   Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1987
10. 10
    Marooned

    Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1994

The sound

Gilmour is the great proof that feeling beats speed. His solos are built from carefully chosen notes, bent slowly and precisely to pitch, and sustained with a singing, almost cello-like tone. He leaves space between phrases so each line can breathe, then builds toward soaring climaxes. His sound depends on a careful chain of fuzz, boost, compression, modulation and long delays, and he often plays lap steel for eerie, gliding textures. The combination of blues phrasing, melodic discipline and immaculate tone makes him recognisable within a single note.

• Fender Stratocaster ('Black Strat') (guitar) Bought in New York in 1970 and used on most of Pink Floyd's classic albums; it set auction records in 2019.
• Fender Stratocaster '0001' (guitar) A white, gold-hardware Strat with a very early serial number, used on several recordings.
• Fender lap steel (guitar) Supplies the gliding slide textures on Dark Side of the Moon tracks and One of These Days.
• Hiwatt DR103 (amp) The clean, powerful backbone of his 1970s stage sound.
• Binson Echorec (effect) A drum-based echo unit behind the atmospheric delays of the early 1970s.
• Electro-Harmonix Big Muff (effect) Fuzz associated with his thick, sustaining lead tone in the Animals and The Wall era.
• Uni-Vibe (effect) The swirling modulation heard on Dark Side of the Moon.
• Colorsound Power Boost (effect) Used to push his amps for extra drive and sustain.

Covers

• Arnold Layne, originally by Pink Floyd (written by Syd Barrett) Performed in London with David Bowie singing, honouring Barrett in the year of his death.
• Terrapin, originally by Syd Barrett A fragile acoustic tribute to his old friend's solo work.
• Dimming of the Day, originally by Richard and Linda Thompson A tender, harmony-rich acoustic reading of the folk-rock classic.
• Je crois entendre encore, originally by Georges Bizet He sang the operatic aria in French with a sparse acoustic backing.
• Between Two Points, originally by The Montgolfier Brothers Sung by his daughter Romany, it features a slow, aching guitar solo.

Timeline

• 1946 Born in Cambridge on 6 March
• 1967 Joins Pink Floyd, soon replacing Syd Barrett
• 1970 Buys the Black Strat at Manny's in New York
• 1973 The Dark Side of the Moon is released
• 1978 Releases his first solo album
• 1979 The Wall features Comfortably Numb
• 1987 Leads Pink Floyd on A Momentary Lapse of Reason after Waters' exit
• 2005 Reunites with Waters for Live 8
• 2006 On an Island reaches number one in the UK
• 2024 Releases Luck and Strange and returns to touring

Facts

1. He knew Syd Barrett as a teenager in Cambridge, long before replacing him in Pink Floyd.
2. His father was a zoology lecturer at the University of Cambridge.
3. He paid for early demo recordings that helped Kate Bush get her record deal.
4. His Black Strat sold for nearly four million US dollars at auction in 2019.
5. His 2019 guitar auction raised over 21 million US dollars for the environmental charity ClientEarth.
6. He is a qualified pilot and founded an aviation company.
7. He donated the proceeds of a London house sale to the homelessness charity Crisis.
8. The Pink Floyd instrumental Marooned won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
9. He was appointed CBE in 2003.
10. He produced records for the Dream Academy, including their hit Life in a Northern Town.

Sources

• Wikipedia: David Gilmour