During his initial heyday with Pink Floyd, guitarist David Gilmour shared the spotlight, and lead vocal duties, with bassist Roger Waters, and sometimes with keyboardist Rick Wright. After Waters left the group in 1985, though, Gilmour became Pink Floyd’s sole frontman, and he’s remained the center of attention throughout his subsequent solo career.
In a new interview with U.K. tabloid The Sun, the 78-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer admitted that he’s more comfortable being a member of a musical collective than fronting a group.
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“I was thrust into being band leader of Pink Floyd and, later, into being a solo artist,” he noted. “But I feel a more collaborative approach is better for me.”
Gilmour is preparing to release his fifth solo studio album this Friday, September 6, Luck and Strange.
David has shared in multiple recent interviews that he feels Luck and Strange is the best work he’s done since Pink Floyd’s classic 1973 concept album The Dark Side of the Moon.
[RELATED: David Gilmour Discusses His Family’s Contributions to Upcoming Solo Album in New Making-Of Documentary Feature]
“There’s a wholeness to it that I can’t pin down,” he told The Sun. “It goes all the way through without any concept album bulls—.”
He added that he and his wife and longtime lyricist, Polly Samson, “listen to it all the time, mostly on car journeys, and we haven’t tired of it. That, I can tell you, is unusual!”
Gilmour Appreciated the Collaborative Nature of Luck and Strange
Perhaps Gilmour’s amplified affinity for Luck and Strange has to do with just how wide-ranging a collaborative project it was. Besides continuing his close songwriting partnership with Samson, Gilmour tapped the vocal and harp skills of his daughter Romany and lyrical talents of his son Charlie.
Luck and Strange also saw David working with a new co-producer, Charlie Andrew, whom he credits with bringing a fresh approach to making the record.
“He had total lack of knowledge of Pink Floyd and the side of the music industry that I come from,” Gilmour explained about Andrew, who’s best known for his work with British indie-rock act Alt-J. “Charlie was refreshingly blunt with some of his opinions. He was brilliant.”
Gilmour also enlisted a variety of musicians, many of whom he’d never worked with before, including lauded session drummer Steve Gadd.
Another important aspect to the sound of Luck and Strange was inventive and unique orchestral and choir arrangements by Will Gardner.
“He’s a genius—with a very unusual mind!” Gilmour about Gardner enthused to The Sun.
Gilmour’s 2024 Tour Plans
As previously reported, Gilmour will launch a 2024 tour in support of Luck and Strange later in September. The trek kicks off with a six-date engagement in Rome that runs from September 27 through October 3. David then will play six shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London, scheduled from October 9 through October 15.
After that, Gilmour will head to the U.S. He’ll play an October 25 show at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, followed by October 29, 30, and 31 concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. David’s confirmed 2024 itinerary wraps up with five shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City scheduled from November 4 to November 10.
Tickets for Gilmour’s concerts can be purchased now via a variety of outlets, including StubHub.
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