David Gilmour, the esteemed guitarist and singer for Pink Floyd, turns 80 next March and isn't slowing down. He released a solo album last year, Luck and Strange, followed by a tour he captured for a just-released concert film, and an upcoming live album, The Luck and Strange Concerts, due out Oct. 17.
Gilmour's latest work comes as Pink Floyd's 1975 album, Wish You Were Here, celebrates its 50th anniversary, with a deluxe version on the way that includes tons of demos, outtakes and live recordings from that time.
So, on this week's All Songs Considered, David Gilmour joins us from his home studio outside of London to talk about both the anniversary and his ongoing solo work. He reflects on the pressures of following up The Dark Side of the Moon, shares some surprising stories on the origins of the album title, and talks about what keeps him inspired as an artist, especially the joy of making new music with his family.
You can read edited highlights from the conversation below or listen to the full version with the listen link at the top of the page. (Better yet, subscribe to All Songs Considered wherever you get your podcasts.)
On opening The Luck And Strange Concerts with the slowly blooming "5 a.m."
"It is a recording of the sound outside my bedroom window at 5 a.m. one morning. ... These things are hard to explain quite how they come to pass, how that inspiration strikes you. But I was leaning out of the window with the recorder just recording the atmosphere of the early morning, the birdsong and the other noises and atmosphere.
"I want to create an atmosphere that is not your classic rock-and-roll atmosphere. Nothing against that. And we get down to some of the more rock-and-roll areas as the concert goes on. But I want to see people sitting back in the seats and thinking and relaxing and letting themselves move into the music. It's not all about rhythm or hard rock."
On the album's title cut:
"It's the luck of being a post-war baby boomer generation. ... We were a lucky generation. And it is very strange to look back at time from the perspective of right now, with the world's problems, your problems over in America. And all the problems in Russia and Israel. The world is a mess at the moment. It's a scary mess. And we thought all those things were in the past in the '60s and '70s. We thought we were moving towards a world of peace and prosperity and equality for all races and nations and sexes. And it hasn't really borne quite the sort of fruit that we hoped."
On performing the song "Between Two Points" with David Gilmour's daughter Romany:
"Polly [Samson, David Gilmour's wife and collaborator] suggested we get our daughter Romany to try it. And five minutes in this room, where she sang it, did the trick. There was no reason to look further, and it was just obvious she was going to be a cracking addition to the song. She's been singing things with me since she was 3. It's just amazing. In 2020, COVID hit us and we were locked down and we decided to start doing some lockdown sessions [and] we called ourselves 'The Von Trapped' because we were. ... And I would sing a song and Romany would join in with me. She plays the harp. Gosh, it was quite an experience. So, the idea that her voice might be something we would use at some point came to us."
On writing and recording Wish You Were Here at Abbey Road Studios:
"I can remember sort of sitting in that control room [Studio 3], then starting to play the beginning of 'Wish You Were Here' on my 12-string guitar that I'd recently bought, and watching the little clues or signals that people put off when they think, 'hey, we might be on to something here.' And those are always good signs. We went out into my car in the car park outside the front door of Abbey Road with a microphone [to record the opening sound effects of a radio dial]. And I just sat there with the thing on and with a microphone recording the radio. And, you know, in the old days, you didn't press a button to get a new channel. You actually tuned from one to the other. So you'd turn clockwise or anti-clockwise and come across these strange mad sort of sounds. That is all a live moment that just happened while I sat in my car. All of that background radio noise."
On the origins of the Wish You Were Here album and song name:
"We were in a very strange place. You know, the 'difficult second album' thing springs to mind. It wasn't a second album or anything, but it was the second album after having the knock-your-socks-off, fulfill-all-your-dreams sort of album, right? The Dark Side of the Moon. And there was a lot of lethargy in the studio, a lot of sitting around trying to get ourselves up into getting back to work properly. And it took quite a long time. That is part of what the title of the album and that song is about -- Roger [Waters'] view that some of us weren't really there a lot of the time."
On the pressure of repeating the success of The Dark Side of the Moon:
"There were a number of thoughts about those sorts of issues, about what we were trying to do and how and why. You know, you think you've done everything at that point, you're not sure what you're doing it for, you know? Are you doing this for more fame? Do you want more money when you've done rather well at that moment? All of those things that you dream of when you were a teenager in your first full band were realized by that album. And you have to then think, 'Do I really love music or is it the fame that I really love, or is it the money that I'm after, or is it the other benefits that come with it?' I think I got to the conclusion that I really was there for the music more than anything else."
On his often understated and restrained guitar soloing style:
"I just don't really think about it. There's a music going on, you know, where you inspire yourself, where the thing that you've composed inspires you a little bit. Then you just have a go. I don't pre-think things very often. I'm not trying to work out what would be new and exciting or different. I'm just hunting for an emotion, in the moment. You know, I'm not that fast on the guitar, but I don't want to be [doing that] even if I could. It is what I love, which is what I've spent my whole life doing. I started out playing music in bands when I was 16 or 17, and I've never stopped. And the writing thing gradually came on, me creating my own pieces of music, until I realized, you know, 'I've got a knack for a nice tune once in a while. What else can I do?' I just follow follow where I'm led."
