"You can give him a ukulele and he can make it sound like a Stradivarius." - Bob Ezrin (co-producer of "The Wall")
David Jon Gilmour was born on March
6, 1946, in Cambridge, England. He grew up in Grantchester Meadows, an affluent housing estate along the banks of the River Cam. After graduating from high school, David went to study at
Cambridge's College of Arts and Technology along with his friend Roger 'Syd' Barrett. According to the book, "Saucerful of Secrets," Whenever
lunchtime came at school, Dave, Syd, and any other people who felt like joining them, would play music together. In
1963, David and some friends formed the group Joker's Wild. Nearly a year after forming, the band recorded
an album of five songs. There were only about 100 copies of the album made and all of these copies were sold to the band members' friends. Since that time the
album has become quite a valuable collector's item. Joker's Wildchanged their name to the Flowers in 1967. Then later
that same year the Flowers disbanded and Dave went on to form a band called Bullitt. However, by early 1968 Dave was finished with Bullitt and was looking for other work. It was then that Dave was given the opportunity to join Pink Floyd, a band which was headed up by his old friend Syd Barrett, who at the time was sadly beginning to show the signs of a serious mental illness. Soon after Gilmour joined the band, Barrett left, leaving Dave to fill the empty space.
Gilmour was made an official member of the group in January of 1968. Pink Floyd's first album with
David as their guitarist was "A Saucerful of Secrets," which was released on June 29, 1968.
Gilmour's first writing credit for his new band was for the instrumental title track to that album.
"I still think it is great, I really love it; it was brilliant. That was the first clue to our direction
forwards, from there. If you take 'Saucerful of Secrets,' the track 'Atom Heart Mother,' then the track
'Echoes'-all lead quite logically towards 'Dark Side of the Moon' and what comes after it," Gilmour has said. Despite all of that
"Saucerful" didn't do well when it was reviewed by the English press. In 1969, Pink Floyd were asked to write a soundtrack for the French film "More." "It's not the same process as making your own music for yourself-much more hurried, and less care tends to be taken," Gilmour later said about making the soundtrack. David's next album with Pink Floyd was 1969's eclectic double album, "Ummagumma." It was with this album that the group began to gain some attention in the U.S., especially on FM rock stations. The follow up album to "Ummagumma" was 1970's "Atom Heart Mother." The title of the album, according to the book, "Saucerful of Secrets,"
came from a story, in a British tabloid, about a pregnant woman with an atomic-powered pacemaker. In the winter of 1971
Pink Floyd began work on their next album, "Meddle."
"Meddle is really the album where all four of us were finding our feet-the way we wanted Pink Floyd to be," Gilmour said in 1993. The next release for Pink Floyd after "Meddle" was "Obscured By Clouds," a soundtrack for the French film "La Vallee." This album was not a typical Floyd release, for it lacked the studio polish of the band's previous releases. The album was a collection of songs on which the band just played some rough-edged rock 'n' roll.
In 1973,Pink Floyd established themselves as one of the most important bands in rock history. For that was the year
the band released their phenomenal "Dark Side of the Moon," an album which stayed on the charts for a over 14 years and has since sold over 25 million copies worldwide. "It hit a chord, obviously. It still doesn't
sound dated; it still sounds good when I listen to it. But I can't really say why it should achieve longevity over some of the other
great records which have been out. We always knew it would sell more than we had sold of anything before, because it was better than
anything we had done before-more complete and more focused," said Gilmour about the album. Two years after the release of "Darkside," Pink Floyd arrived at Abbey Road Studios to
begin recording their next album, "Wish You Were Here." The album opens with the Syd Barrett inspired, "Shine on You Crazy Diamond,"
then moves its way into "Welcome to the Machine," a track which was a criticism of the music business and how impersonal it had become.
From there the album progresses into, "Have a Cigar," another attack on the hypocrisy of record-company executives as well as others in the business. "Have a Cigar" is followed by "Wish You Were Here, a sincere tribute to Syd. January 23, 1977 was the release date of the band's next album, "Animals," an album which was loosely based on "Animal Farm," the novel by George Orwell.
In the spring of 1978, Dave released his first solo album titled simply, "David Gilmour." It was during the sessions for this album that David came up with the tune which would later become the Floyd classic, "Comfortably Numb," which
was to appear on the band's next project. In the latter part of 1978, Pink Floyd entered the studios to begin work on "The Wall," an album conceptualized by
Roger Waters', the band's brilliant lyricist and bass player, who felt at the time that theFloydwere losing their connection with their audience. "I [didn't] feel the pressure of a wall between me and my audience; I [didn't] ever think there [was] something there that [didn't] get through to
the audience," David later said about Roger's concept. In 1984, David released his second solo album, "About Face." Among the tracks on the album was a track called "Murder," which, according to "A Saucerful of Secrets," was in part
"addressed" to John Lennon's murderer. In the song Gilmour expressed his sorrow and rage over Lennon's killing. In 1985, Roger Waters
officially left Pink Floyd, expecting the name of the band to go with him, but that was not be. For in 1987, with David fully in charge of things,
Pink Floydreleased "A Momentary Lapse of Reason." "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," Gilmour commented a short time after the album came out. In the spring of 1994, the three-man Pink Floyd returned to the world scene with
"The Divison Bell," an album which seemed to be more true to the Pink Floyd sound than its predecessor. "This album feels like a good start. It feels like there's better things to come," said Gilmour in September of 1994. The "Division Bell's" heartening lyrics were a cooperative effort between David and his girlfriend, writer, Polly Samson. The two were married in July 1994, during a break from the band's last record-breaking world tour which had ended with a fourteen night run at London's Earls Court. "PULSE," a live album and concert video released in June 1995 to commemorate the tour was, like all Pink Floyd material, a huge success. Since "PULSE," Pink Floyd have been quiet and fans have been frequently disappointed by consistent rumours of a new album and tour. In 1999, David worked with Paul McCartney on his Run Devil Run album. He also performed with him at 'The PETA Concert for Party Animals' in New York, as well as Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club. "Is There Anybody Out There (The Wall Live)" and a best of compilation, "Echoes," were released in 2000 and 2001 respectively. David performed a semi-acoustic solo set as part of Robert Wyatt's Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall in June 2001. He also played with The Pretty Things (at the same venue) in October. The following January, he was back on the South Bank to do three sell-out shows, followed by another two in Paris at the Palais de Congres. He performed Floyd classics such as 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' and 'Comfortably Numb', as well as surprise numbers from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Bizet's The Pearl Fisher. David has been on television talking about Syd Barrett and Paul McCartney, as well as performing on Jools Holland and Parkinson (again with Paul McCartney) and also Mica Paris. Even more recently, (June 2002) he took part in a charity gig at Cowdray Park with the likes of Bob Geldof, Ringo Starr, Mike Rutherford and Donovan.
David Jon Gilmour was born on March
6, 1946, in Cambridge, England. He grew up in Grantchester Meadows, an affluent housing estate along the banks of the River Cam. After graduating from high school, David went to study at
Cambridge's College of Arts and Technology along with his friend Roger 'Syd' Barrett. According to the book, "Saucerful of Secrets," Whenever
lunchtime came at school, Dave, Syd, and any other people who felt like joining them, would play music together. In
1963, David and some friends formed the group Joker's Wild. Nearly a year after forming, the band recorded
an album of five songs. There were only about 100 copies of the album made and all of these copies were sold to the band members' friends. Since that time the
album has become quite a valuable collector's item. Joker's Wildchanged their name to the Flowers in 1967. Then later
that same year the Flowers disbanded and Dave went on to form a band called Bullitt. However, by early 1968 Dave was finished with Bullitt and was looking for other work. It was then that Dave was given the opportunity to join Pink Floyd, a band which was headed up by his old friend Syd Barrett, who at the time was sadly beginning to show the signs of a serious mental illness. Soon after Gilmour joined the band, Barrett left, leaving Dave to fill the empty space.
Gilmour was made an official member of the group in January of 1968. Pink Floyd's first album with
David as their guitarist was "A Saucerful of Secrets," which was released on June 29, 1968.
Gilmour's first writing credit for his new band was for the instrumental title track to that album.
"I still think it is great, I really love it; it was brilliant. That was the first clue to our direction
forwards, from there. If you take 'Saucerful of Secrets,' the track 'Atom Heart Mother,' then the track
'Echoes'-all lead quite logically towards 'Dark Side of the Moon' and what comes after it," Gilmour has said. Despite all of that
"Saucerful" didn't do well when it was reviewed by the English press. In 1969, Pink Floyd were asked to write a soundtrack for the French film "More." "It's not the same process as making your own music for yourself-much more hurried, and less care tends to be taken," Gilmour later said about making the soundtrack. David's next album with Pink Floyd was 1969's eclectic double album, "Ummagumma." It was with this album that the group began to gain some attention in the U.S., especially on FM rock stations. The follow up album to "Ummagumma" was 1970's "Atom Heart Mother." The title of the album, according to the book, "Saucerful of Secrets,"
came from a story, in a British tabloid, about a pregnant woman with an atomic-powered pacemaker. In the winter of 1971
Pink Floyd began work on their next album, "Meddle."
"Meddle is really the album where all four of us were finding our feet-the way we wanted Pink Floyd to be," Gilmour said in 1993. The next release for Pink Floyd after "Meddle" was "Obscured By Clouds," a soundtrack for the French film "La Vallee." This album was not a typical Floyd release, for it lacked the studio polish of the band's previous releases. The album was a collection of songs on which the band just played some rough-edged rock 'n' roll.
In 1973,Pink Floyd established themselves as one of the most important bands in rock history. For that was the year
the band released their phenomenal "Dark Side of the Moon," an album which stayed on the charts for a over 14 years and has since sold over 25 million copies worldwide. "It hit a chord, obviously. It still doesn't
sound dated; it still sounds good when I listen to it. But I can't really say why it should achieve longevity over some of the other
great records which have been out. We always knew it would sell more than we had sold of anything before, because it was better than
anything we had done before-more complete and more focused," said Gilmour about the album. Two years after the release of "Darkside," Pink Floyd arrived at Abbey Road Studios to
begin recording their next album, "Wish You Were Here." The album opens with the Syd Barrett inspired, "Shine on You Crazy Diamond,"
then moves its way into "Welcome to the Machine," a track which was a criticism of the music business and how impersonal it had become.
From there the album progresses into, "Have a Cigar," another attack on the hypocrisy of record-company executives as well as others in the business. "Have a Cigar" is followed by "Wish You Were Here, a sincere tribute to Syd. January 23, 1977 was the release date of the band's next album, "Animals," an album which was loosely based on "Animal Farm," the novel by George Orwell.
In the spring of 1978, Dave released his first solo album titled simply, "David Gilmour." It was during the sessions for this album that David came up with the tune which would later become the Floyd classic, "Comfortably Numb," which
was to appear on the band's next project. In the latter part of 1978, Pink Floyd entered the studios to begin work on "The Wall," an album conceptualized by
Roger Waters', the band's brilliant lyricist and bass player, who felt at the time that theFloydwere losing their connection with their audience. "I [didn't] feel the pressure of a wall between me and my audience; I [didn't] ever think there [was] something there that [didn't] get through to
the audience," David later said about Roger's concept. In 1984, David released his second solo album, "About Face." Among the tracks on the album was a track called "Murder," which, according to "A Saucerful of Secrets," was in part
"addressed" to John Lennon's murderer. In the song Gilmour expressed his sorrow and rage over Lennon's killing. In 1985, Roger Waters
officially left Pink Floyd, expecting the name of the band to go with him, but that was not be. For in 1987, with David fully in charge of things,
Pink Floydreleased "A Momentary Lapse of Reason." "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," Gilmour commented a short time after the album came out. In the spring of 1994, the three-man Pink Floyd returned to the world scene with
"The Divison Bell," an album which seemed to be more true to the Pink Floyd sound than its predecessor. "This album feels like a good start. It feels like there's better things to come," said Gilmour in September of 1994. The "Division Bell's" heartening lyrics were a cooperative effort between David and his girlfriend, writer, Polly Samson. The two were married in July 1994, during a break from the band's last record-breaking world tour which had ended with a fourteen night run at London's Earls Court. "PULSE," a live album and concert video released in June 1995 to commemorate the tour was, like all Pink Floyd material, a huge success. Since "PULSE," Pink Floyd have been quiet and fans have been frequently disappointed by consistent rumours of a new album and tour. In 1999, David worked with Paul McCartney on his Run Devil Run album. He also performed with him at 'The PETA Concert for Party Animals' in New York, as well as Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club. "Is There Anybody Out There (The Wall Live)" and a best of compilation, "Echoes," were released in 2000 and 2001 respectively. David performed a semi-acoustic solo set as part of Robert Wyatt's Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall in June 2001. He also played with The Pretty Things (at the same venue) in October. The following January, he was back on the South Bank to do three sell-out shows, followed by another two in Paris at the Palais de Congres. He performed Floyd classics such as 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' and 'Comfortably Numb', as well as surprise numbers from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Bizet's The Pearl Fisher. David has been on television talking about Syd Barrett and Paul McCartney, as well as performing on Jools Holland and Parkinson (again with Paul McCartney) and also Mica Paris. Even more recently, (June 2002) he took part in a charity gig at Cowdray Park with the likes of Bob Geldof, Ringo Starr, Mike Rutherford and Donovan.
