Information AboutDavid Gilmour |
David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6 , 1946 in Cambridge , Cambridgeshire ) 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 very active in many charity organisations over the course of his career. In 2003, he was appointed CBE for this work. EARLY LIFE Gilmour was born and grew up 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/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, he spent his lunchtimes learning to play the guitar. They were not 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. They weren't particularly successful, living a hand-to-mouth existence. Indeed, Gilmour ended up being treated for malnutrition in hospital, as he confirmed in an interview with Nicky Horne on BBC radio in July of 1992. In 1967, they returned to England, driving a van with fuel stolen from a building site in France. PINK FLOYD Gilmour 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. Gilmour's guitar playing and song writing became major factors of Pink Floyd's world-wide success during the 1970s. However, after the back-to-back successes of first '' Dark Side Of The Moon '' and then '' Wish You Were Here '', Waters took more and 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 saying 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: 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 ''. As a result, Gilmour vowed to donate all of his resulting profits to charities that reflect the goals of Live 8 saying: Shortly after, he also called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 performances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fundraising. On would most likely never tour or write material together again. He said: He said that by agreeing to Live 8, he had ensured the story of Floyd would not end on a sour note. 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." Also 2007 will mark the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd as a professional recording and touring band and reports are out that some big occasion will go down to celebrate Pink Floyd's 40th anniversary although as things stand there are no plans to reactivate Pink Floyd at the moment. In December 2006, Gilmour released a tribute to Syd Barrett, who had died in July of that year, in the form of his own version of Floyd's first single "Arnold Layne". Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall, the CD single featured versions of the song performed by Floyd keyboardist (and Gilmour band member) Richard Wright and special guest artist David Bowie . OTHER PROJECTS During Pink Floyd's quiet spells, David Gilmour has amused himself as a producer and even concert sound engineer, for a wide variety of acts including 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 , various charity "supergroups" and many more. He has also recorded two solo albums which both hit the U.S. Top 40 and went Gold, his 1978 Self-titled Debut and 1984's About Face . His third released album was On An Island which went to #1 in the UK. 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 next 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 has been documented on the '' In Concert '' release. His third solo album, '' On An Island '', was released on March 6 2006 , his 60th birthday, and one day later in the U.S. Produced by Gilmour with 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, Robert Wyatt on cornet and percussion and Richard Wright on Hammond Organ and vocals. Other contributors include Jools Holland , Phil Manzanera , Georgie Fame , Robert Wyatt , 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 on saxophone. David Gilmour toured Europe, the U.S. and Canada from March 10 to May 31 for ''On An Island''. There were 10 shows total in the U.S. and Canadian leg of the tour. Pink Floyd alumnus Richard Wright , and frequent Floyd collaborators Dick Parry , Guy Pratt and Jon Carin have accompanied him on the tour. There were some further shows in July and August of 2006 in Europe. In a press release to promote the tour, David Gilmour stated: ''On An Island'' confirmed Gilmour's popularity by entering the UK charts at No 1. The album was also certified Platinum in Canada on April 10 2006 , with sales of over 100,000 copies. The album also gave Gilmour his first U.S. Top 10 album as a solo artist. David Gimour appeared on Live From Abbey Road following a recording session at Abbey Road Studios on 29th August 2006. A video recording of a show from Gilmour's solo tour, entitled ''Remember That Night - Live At The Royal Albert Hall'' David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) remembers that night on a 2DVD set is to be released on September 17th, 2007. The double DVD, directed by David Mallet , contains over five hours of viewing, 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, plus Pink Floyd regulars Dick Parry , Guy Pratt and Jon Carin . The 20-page booklet that accompanies the DVD features over 80 photos selected from studio recording, touring, and time off. MUSICAL STYLE Gilmour has a very precise solo style, rooted in blues and notable for expressive note bends and sustain. His solos are noted for being well-composed, economical, lyrical and emotional. In interviews, Gilmour has explained that what he sees as his lack of technique led him to concentrate on melody 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) pickup. This, switching pickup, 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 pickups. 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 . 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 . {Link without Title} 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 viewers of the digital music station Planet Rock. {Link without Title} FAMILY LIFE Gilmour 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 ) - 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 . PHILANTHROPY In 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 INTERESTS Gilmour 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): NAME PREFERENCE Though 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 term 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". MAIN MUSICAL EQUIPMENT The following is a list of equipment Gilmour either has used on his solo or Pink Floyd recordings, as well as on current or previous tours. Guitars
In November of 2006 , Fender announced that they will be issuing a replica of Gilmour's modified black Stratocaster. David's official blog confirmed that it will be released in late 2007, to coincide with the release of the 'Remember That Night' DVD {Link without Title} . Amplifiers
Effect pedals
Miscellaneous
SOLO WORK :''For his work with Pink Floyd, see Pink Floyd Discography between 1968 to 1995 Albums
Filmography
COLLABORATIONS AND WORK FOR OTHER ARTISTS
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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