David Gilmour
Musician and Singer-songwriter
| Date of Birth | : | 06 Mar, 1946 |
| Place of Birth | : | Cambridge, United Kingdom |
| Profession | : | Guitarist, Record Producer, Aviator, Singer-songwriter, Film Score Composer, Music Programmer, Multi-instrumentalist |
| Nationality | : | British |
David Jon Gilmour CBE is an English musician, singer and songwriter, a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. Pink Floyd achieved international success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979) and The Final Cut (1983). By the early 1980s, they had become one of the best-selling and most acclaimed acts in music history; By 2012, they had sold more than 250 million records worldwide, including 75 million in the United States. Following the departure of Roger Waters in 1985, Pink Floyd continued under Gilmour's leadership and released three more studio albums.
Gilmour has produced a variety of artists, such as Dream Academy, and has released four solo studio albums: David Gilmour (1978), About Face (1984), On an Island (2006) and Rattle That Lock (2015). He is also credited with bringing singer-songwriter Kate Bush to the public's attention. As a member of Pink Floyd, he was inducted into the United States Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and the United Kingdom Music Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2003, Gilmour was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). . He was awarded the title of Outstanding Contribution at the 2008 Q Awards. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked him 28th on their list of the greatest guitarists of all time. He was also voted 36th best rock voice by Planet Rock listeners in 2009.
Early life and education
David Jon Gilmour was born on 6 March 1946 in Cambridge, England. His father, Douglas Gilmour, was a senior lecturer in zoology at the University of Cambridge, and his mother, Sylvia (née Wilson), trained as a teacher and later worked as a film editor for the BBC. At the time of Gilmour's birth, they lived in Trumpington, Cambridgeshire. In 1956, after several relocations, they moved to nearby Grantchester Meadows.
Gilmour's parents encouraged him to pursue his interest in music, and in 1954 he bought his first single, Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock". His enthusiasm was stirred the following year by Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", and later "Bye Bye Love" by the Everly Brothers piqued his interest in the guitar. He borrowed a guitar from a neighbour, but never gave it back. Soon afterward, Gilmour started teaching himself to play using a book and record set by Pete Seeger. At age 11, Gilmour began attending Perse School on Hills Road, Cambridge, which he did not enjoy. There he met the future Pink Floyd members Syd Barrett and Roger Waters, who attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys, also situated on Hills Road.
Career
Success with Pink Floyd
In 1967, Pink Floyd, composed of Gilmour's Cambridge schoolmates Barrett and Waters with Nick Mason and Richard Wright, released their debut studio album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. That May, Gilmour briefly returned to London in search of new equipment. During his stay, he watched Pink Floyd record "See Emily Play" and was shocked to find that Barrett, who was beginning to suffer mental health problems, did not seem to recognise him.
In December 1967, after Gilmour had returned to England, Mason invited him to join Pink Floyd to cover for the increasingly erratic Barrett. Gilmour accepted; they initially intended to continue with Barrett as a non-performing songwriter. One of the band's business partners, Peter Jenner, said the plan was to have Gilmour "cover for Barrett's eccentricities". By March 1968, working with Barrett had become too difficult and he agreed to leave the band. Mason said later: "After Syd, Dave was the difference between light and dark. He was absolutely into form and shape and he introduced that into the wilder numbers we'd created. We became far less difficult to enjoy, I think." In 1970, Gilmour attended the Isle of Wight Festival and assisted in the live mix of Jimi Hendrix's performance.
First solo works
By the late 1970s, Gilmour had begun to think that his musical talents were being underused by Pink Floyd. In 1978 he channelled his ideas into his first solo studio album, David Gilmour, which showcased his guitar playing and songwriting. Music written during the finishing stages of the album, but too late to be used, was incorporated into a song by Waters, which became "Comfortably Numb" on the Pink Floyd album The Wall (1979).
Gilmour becomes Pink Floyd leader
In 1985, Waters declared that Pink Floyd were "a spent force creatively" and attempted to dissolve the band. However, Gilmour and Mason announced that they intended to continue without him. Waters resigned in 1987, leaving Gilmour as the band leader. In 1986, Gilmour purchased the houseboat Astoria, moored it on the River Thames near Hampton Court and transformed it into a recording studio. He produced the Pink Floyd studio album A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987, with contributions from Mason and Wright. He felt Pink Floyd had become too driven by lyrics under Waters' leadership, and attempted to "restore the balance" of music and lyrics.
Musical style
Gilmour credits guitarists such as Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, John Fahey, Roy Buchanan, and Hank Marvin of the Shadows as influences. Gilmour said, "I copied – don't be afraid to copy – and eventually something that I suppose that I would call my own appeared."
In 2006, Gilmour said, " fingers make a distinctive sound... aren't very fast, but I think I am instantly recognisable." Pink Floyd technician Phil Taylor said, "It really is just his fingers, his vibrato, his choice of notes and how he sets his effects ... In reality, no matter how well you duplicate the equipment, you will never be able to duplicate the personality."
Influence
According to MusicRadar, Gilmour is "a household name among the classic rock crowd, and for a lot of younger guitar fans he's the only 1970s guitarist that matters. For many he's the missing link between Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen." The MusicRader writer Billy Saefong wrote that Gilmour "isn't as flashy as Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page on the stage, but his guitar work outshines most for emotion."
In 1996, Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He has been ranked one of the greatest guitarists of all time by publications including Rolling Stone and The Daily Telegraph. In January 2007, Guitar World readers voted Gilmour's solos for "Comfortably Numb", "Time" and "Money" among the top 100 greatest guitar solos. In 2011, Rolling Stone named Gilmour the 14th-greatest guitarists of all time.
Guitars
For Gilmour's 21st birthday, in March 1967, his parents gave him his first Fender guitar, a white Telecaster with a white pickguard and a rosewood fretboard. He used this guitar when he joined Pink Floyd in 1968, with one of Barrett's Telecasters as a spare.
The Black Strat
Gilmour used the Black Strat, a Fender Stratocaster, in most Pink Floyd concerts and for every Pink Floyd studio album recorded between 1970 and 1983. Gilmour bought it at Manny's Music in New York City in 1970, after the band's US tour was cancelled due to the theft of their equipment in New Orleans. The guitar, which originally had a rosewood fretboard and a white pickguard, underwent a number of modifications, settling on a black pickguard and maple neck. It was auctioned for charity in 2019 for $3.9 million, making it one of the most expensive guitars ever sold at auction.
Acoustics
Gilmour has used many acoustic guitars, including a Gibson Chet Atkins classical model, and a Gibson J-200 Celebrity, acquired from John Illsley of Dire Straits. Gilmour used several Ovation models including a Custom Legend 1619-4, and a Custom Legend 1613-4 nylon string guitar, both during the Wall recording sessions. Martin models used include a D-35, purchased in New York in 1971, and a D12-28 12-string.
Steel guitar
Gilmour used a pair of Jedson steel guitars and a Fender 1000 pedal steel frequently in the early 1970s. Originally purchased from a pawn shop while Gilmour was in Seattle in 1970, the Jedson was used during recording of "One of These Days" from Meddle and "Breathe" and "The Great Gig in the Sky" from Dark Side of the Moon. Gilmour also owns a Fender Deluxe lap steel, which he used during The Division Bell tour in 1994. Gilmour also owns a Champ lap steel model. Along with the Fender steel models Gilmour has also used: a Gibson EH150, and two Jedson models: one red (1977-tuned D-G-D-G-B-E for "Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 6–9", 1987–2006: Tuned E-B-E-G-B-E for "High Hopes") and one blonde. He also uses a ZB steel model. Gilmour played pedal steel guitar on the album Blue Pine Trees by Unicorn.
Awards and honours
Gilmour was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2003 Birthday Honours, "for services to music". The award was presented to him at Buckingham Palace, on 7 November that year.
On 22 May 2008, he won the 2008 Ivor Novello Lifetime Contribution Award, recognising his excellence in music writing. Later that year, he was recognised for his outstanding contribution to music by the Q Awards. He dedicated his award to Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, who died in September 2008. On 11 November 2009, Gilmour received an honorary doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University.
Charity work
Gilmour has supported charities including Oxfam, the European Union Mental Health and Illness Association, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, the Lung Foundation, Nordoff-Robbins music therapy, Teenage Cancer Trust, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). In May 2003, Gilmour sold his house in Little Venice to the ninth Earl Spencer and donated the proceeds worth £3.6 million to Crisis to help fund a housing project for the homeless. He has been named a vice-president of the organisation. He donated £25,000 to the Save the Rhino foundation in exchange for Douglas Adams's name suggestion for the album that became The Division Bell.
On 20 June 2019, Gilmour auctioned 120 of his guitars for charity, at Christie's in New York, including his Black Strat, his #0001 and early 1954 Stratocasters, and his 1955 Les Paul. The Black Strat sold for $3,975,000, making it the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction. The auction raised $21,490,750, with the proceeds going to the environmentalist charity ClientEarth.
Personal life
Gilmour's first marriage was to the American-born model and artist Virginia "Ginger" Hasenbein, on 7 July 1975. The couple had four children: Alice (born 1976), Clare (born 1979), Sara (born 1983) and Matthew (born 1986). They originally attended a Waldorf school, but Gilmour called their education there "horrific".
In 1994, Gilmour married the writer Polly Samson. His best man was his teenage friend and the Pink Floyd album artwork designer Storm Thorgerson. Gilmour and Samson have four children: Gilmour's adopted son Charlie (born 1989 to Samson and Heathcote Williams), Joe (born 1995), Gabriel (born 1997) and Romany (born 2002). Charlie's voice can be heard on the telephone to Steve O'Rourke at the end of "High Hopes" from The Division Bell. Gabriel performed piano on the song "In Any Tongue" on Gilmour's fourth solo studio album Rattle That Lock (2015), making his recording debut. In 2011, Charlie was jailed for 16 months for violent disorder during a London protest against tuition fees.
Gilmour is an atheist. He described himself as left-wing. He said that his parents were "Proper Manchester Guardian readers… Some of their friends went on the Aldermaston Marches. Mine never did to my knowledge, but they were both committed to voting for the Labour Party." He described himself as a socialist, "even if I can't quite stick with party politics". In August 2014, Gilmour was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in the Scottish independence referendum. In May 2017, Gilmour endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election. He tweeted: "I'm voting Labour because I believe in social equality."
Gilmour is an experienced pilot and aviation enthusiast. Under the aegis of his company, Intrepid Aviation, he amassed a collection of historical aircraft. He later sold the company, which he had started as a hobby, feeling that it was becoming too commercial for him to enjoy; he said he retained an old biplane which he flew sometimes. Gilmour's net worth is £115 million, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2018.
In 1980, Gilmour purchased Hook End Manor in Oxfordshire, where parts of The Final Cut were recorded. He sold it in 1987. He has a home near the village of Wisborough Green, Sussex. In 2015, Gilmour and Samson purchased Medina House, a derelict Turkish bathhouse in Brighton and Hove, and had it redeveloped. Gilmour also spends time at his recording studio houseboat Astoria near Hampton Court.
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