David Gilmour - Biography - IMDb
David Gilmour
Biography
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Jump to: Overview  (3) | Mini Bio  (1) | Spouse  (2) | Trade Mark  (2) | Trivia  (19) | Personal Quotes  (12)
Overview (3)
6' (1.83 m)
Mini Bio (1)
David Jon Gilmour was born on 6th March, 1946, in Grantchester Meadows, Cambridge. As the lead guitarist of Pink Floyd, he is by many considered one of the most influential guitarists on the rock stage. Right up to "The Dark Side of The Moon", Dave wrote his own songs, but from then up to "The Final Cut", Roger Waters wrote almost all the lyrics. Dave made up for it by producing some excellent guitar work, and production work on all those albums, most notably on the songs Shine On You Crazy Diamond (from "Wish You Were Here") and Comfortably Numb (from "The Wall"). He also did a large amount of the vocals. In the early 90s Gilmour divorced his wife Ginger. He now lives with his girl friend Polly Samson, a journalist who also contributed to some of The Division Bell's lyrics. He is a neighbour to his friend and band mate Nick Mason in Maida Vale, London and has a fully equipped recording studio, The Astoria, on his houseboat on Thames. He also enjoys flying his planes and owns the Intrepid Aviation Company collection of classic aircraft. Among great friends he counted comedy sci-fi author Douglas Adams, who died on May 11, 2001 from a heart attack while working out in a gym in Santa Barbara, California.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jenz Kjellberg (dukedunstable@yahoo.se)
Spouse (2)
( 29 July  1994            -  present) (3 children)
Ginger Gilmour
( 5 June  1975            -  1990) (divorced) (4 children)
Trade Mark (2)
Almost exclusively plays Fender Stratocasters (and occasionally Telecasters.)
His echoed guitar sound and touch
Trivia (19)
Worked as a model before joining Pink Floyd .
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of Pink Floyd ) in 1996.
Voted the best East Anglian guitarist in Total Guitar Magazine's poll of the greatest 12 British guitarists. [July 2001]
The song "Comfortably Numb" from 'The Wall', was a reworking of a song written for his first solo album. The song was cut from the final song list.
He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Music.
Pink Floyd 's 1973 album, "Dark Side of the Moon", topped Classic Rock Magazine's list of the 30 greatest concept albums of all time. Their 1979 album, "The Wall", came tenth and their 1983 album, "The Final Cut", came 21st on the list. [March 2003]
Contrary to popular belief, he did not replace Syd Barrett as a member of Pink Floyd . He was asked by the members of Pink Floyd to join the band to supplement the guitar work of the increasingly erratic Syd Barrett. For a brief time, he and Syd were both members of Pink Floyd at the same time. When Barrett's mental breakdown made it impossible for him to continue with the group, Gilmour became a permanent, contributing member in time for their second album, 1968's "A Saucerful of Secrets". Syd Barrett also contributed one track to "A Saucerful of Secrets", his last with Pink Floyd . He departed soon after that.
Hobbies include car racing, flying airplanes, collecting guitars, and vintage aircrafts.
He is considered to be one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century. Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery cites him as a major influence and claims listening to the "Wish You Were Here" album made him want to become a professional musician.
Discovered singer-songwriter Kate Bush
He regards "Wish You Were Here" as his favourite Pink Floyd album and "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" as his favourite Pink Floyd song.
Lists Jimi Hendrix as a major influence. When he saw Hendrix perform at a London nightclub in 1966, Gilmour said that nobody who saw the performance that night left the club not thinking that Hendrix would go all the way to the top.
Pink Floyd were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame for their outstanding contribution to British music and integral part of British music culture. (16 November 2005).
Winner of the 2008 Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award.
Owns numerous airplanes and is a licensed pilot. Also started a flying museum called Intrepid Aviation.
In 1966, he was so low on funds that he was eventually hospitalized for malnutrition.
At the moment he is a member of the Paul McCartney group but there is a rumour of a Pink Floyd 2003 album and tour. [March 2002]
West Sussex, England [May 2009]
Going to perform as main attraction of the Live8 concert in Hyde Park with Pink Floyd. [June 2005]
Personal Quotes (12)
[about the Pink Floyd reunion for Live 8 (2005)] Any squabbles Roger ( Roger Waters ) and I have had in the past are so petty in this context.
[about the feud with Roger Waters ] I'm not very good at holding grudges for very long, but he's done some terrible things.
[on Live 8 (2005)] Like most people I want to do everything I can to persuade the G8 leaders to make huge commitments to the relief of poverty and increased aid to the third world. It's crazy that America gives such a paltry percentage of its GNP to the starving nations. Any squabbles Roger and the band have had in the past are so petty in this context, and if re-forming for this concert will help focus attention then it's got to be worthwhile.
After Dark Side we were really floundering around. I wanted to make the next album more musical, because I felt some of these tracks had been just vehicles for the words. We were working in 1974 in this horrible little rehearsal room in Kings Cross without windows, putting together what became the next two albums, 'Wish You Were Here', and 'Animals'.
For me, 'Wish You Were Here' was very satisfying. I'd rather listen to it than Dark Side Of The Moon. I think we achieved a better balance of music and lyrics. 'Dark Side' went a bit too far the other way -- too much importance was placed on the lyrics. And sometimes the tunes were neglected.
[speaking in 2005] It's nice to be loved and for one's contribution to be recognized in some way. I suppose I agree that we have had an influence on modern popular music.
No-one can replace Richard Wright - he was my musical partner and my friend. In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd , Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound.
Everything in moderation, that's what I live by. I'm just not a tortured, frustrated person who has to pour all these things out of his soul. None of that is a prerequisite to being good at rock 'n' roll.
[on choosing not to live as a tax exile] I'm not keener on paying tax than anyone else, but my freedom's not for sale.
I've never had any religion. I'd prefer it if I did really. Even as a boy I just couldn't make myself believe. Mortality has been on my mind since I was thirteen.
I had some criticisms of Dark Side of the Moon. It's kind of ludicrous in a way to have criticisms of an album that was so successful but I did voice them at the time. I thought that one or two of the vehicles carrying the ideas were not as strong as the ideas that they carried. I thought we should try and work harder on marrying the idea and the vehicle that carried it, so that they both had an equal magic, or whatever, to them. So it's something I was personally pushing when we made Wish You Were Here. It's underrated by some, but not by me. I think it's our most complete album.
The period after Dark Side of the Moon when we made Wish You Were Here was a strange time. We had achieved everything really that one could hope to achieve. There was a bit of a distance between us all at that point, and Roger wasn't the only one who noticed this sense of absence. But that sense of absence is part of the album's magic. It helped create it. I don't know quite how it did. I can't regret that period at all.
See also