BY his own admission, David Gilmour is a reluctant solo artist. The man who brought such a distinctive, fluid and elegant guitar sound to Pink Floyd — not to mention clear, soulful vocals — is all about the group dynamic. David loves nothing more than to write songs with his partner in life and music, novelist Polly Samson.
Or to get his children involved in his creative processes. Or to gather accomplished musicians around him to help him realise his creative ambitions. Yet he’s discovered that being rock royalty, revered across the globe for his part in records such as The Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here, is a lofty and sometimes lonely place.
READ MORE ON PINK FLOYD “After you achieve these dizzying heights, people tend to show you way too much deference,” he admits. “It becomes hard to retrieve the setup you had when you were young. “In the earlier stages of Pink Floyd , we could be as rude and insulting to each other about our personalities and our music as we wanted — and yet everything would be all right in the end.
I was thrust into being band leader of Pink Floyd and, later, into being a solo artist, but I feel a more collaborative approach is better for me. “No one ever stomped off permanently — until that bloke did.” By “that bloke”, Gilmour is referring to Roger Waters who quit Pink Floyd in 1985 , creating a rift more deep than the Gallagher brothers could ever dream of .
Most read in Music At that pivotal moment in his care.