Let’s Hear It For David Gilmour
The Pink Floyd front man has been ranked above the top musicians/ artists of all time. Apart from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions both in the US and the UK, David Gilmour is also Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Story goes, that in the late 1950s Gilmour borrowed his neighbor’s guitar and never returned it. That’s all it took to become a rock god- just a chance. Here are some David Gilmour images to appreciate.
David Gilmour had taken over lead-guitarist role in Pink Floyd, shortly after Syd Barrett’s departure. Drummer, Nick Mason, was the one who invited him into the band. Eventually, Gilmour also took over lead vocals. This was just the beginning of David Gilmour’s career with Pink Floyd.
This is the iconic Pink Floyd portrait session with Michael Ochs in the UK. The front man, Gilmour, is in the foreground. He has an effortless cool that comes with being a leader of one of the most famed bands of all time.
Side note: David Gilmour rocked bangs most of his career and made it seem like the manliest rock god hairstyle!
This is a common over-sight. If you ever pay attention to Gilmour’s t-shirts, you’ll realize the man is slightly self-aware of his style. His first wife Ginger, and mother to his first child, Alice, even recalls the t-shirt he wore upon their first meeting. She recalls, “David came up to me and said, ‘Hi, I’m David.’ He had big blue eyes and that English look, with the long hair, tight black Sterling Cooper jeans and a black t-shirt that read ‘That’s all folks.'”
Once David Gilmour started leading Pink Floyd, he ironically felt that his talents weren’t being acknowledged or utilized. So, he made a solo album. David Gilmour, was released in 1978. He focused on technical guitar playing and his songwriting techniques. Though the album still didn’t receive the recognition Gilmour was seeking, Roger Waters used parts of Gilmour’s album to create “Comfortably Numb,” one of the most famous songs of all time.
Pink Floyd had their own set of problems. Though Roger Waters has been quoted saying that Pink Floyd had become a “spent force creatively,” David Gilmour never believed this. The guitarist wasn’t an original band member, but had been a force in the band since nearly the beginning. Roger Waters, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright were all original members of Pink Floyd and had initially welcomed Gilmour to help during Syd Barrett’s erratic beginnings.
David Gilmour is fluent in French- as well as German, Italian, and English. He learned to speak French in 1962 while attending an A-Level modern languages course at Cambridge Technical College. The rock star didn’t actually finish the course despite becoming completely fluent in the language. The skills have come quite in handy as Pink Floyd has performed in France over THIRTY times.
Pink Floyd was picking up momentum in 1971 as Davild Gilmour continued to exert full energy into the band. As Jean-Charles Costa of Rolling Stone wrote that year, “Meddle not only confirms lead guitarist David Gilmour’s emergence as a real shaping force with the group, it states forcefully and accurately that the group is well into the growth track again.” Pink Floyd had just released Meddle as a transitional album after Syd Barrett’s departure.
Back tracking a bit to Gilmour’s beginnings. He had supportive parents who encouraged him to pursue his natural talents. The first single he ever bought was Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock.” Gilmour is a self taught guitarist and learned to play initially out of a book and record set by Pete Seeger. He met Syd Barrett and Roger Waters as an adolescent. All the kids went to school in the same area, on Hills Road.
Though Roger Waters, Syd Barrett, and David Gilmour knew each other since adolescence, there was a time of separation before the formation of the band. Before Nick Mason offered Gilmour the gig as lead guitarists and vocals, Gilmour had busked with Barrett. The two sang as street performers throughout Europe but mostly in Spain and France. The soon to be bandmates camped outside of Paris and had a bit of sight seeing- including visits to the Louvre.
In 1987, after Water’s departure, Gilmour worked with Pink Floyd and released A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Pink Floyd also went on a world tour in 1994 for their album, The Division Bell. In 2005, Floyd performed at Live 8. Gilmour went on record stating that that all profits connected to Live 8 would be donated to various charities and he urged others to do the same. He also turned down a $150 million dollar offer to tour the U.S. that same year.
Gilmour stated publicly in 2006, “I think enough is enough. I am 60 years old. I don’t have the will to work as much any more. 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 went on to perform for charities and various events. Now Gilmour spends his time living as rock’s greatest living legends!