David Gilmour announces death of Pink Floyd contributor Dick Parry
Dick Parry, the saxophonist who played on some of Pink Floyd’s biggest hits, has died aged 83.
Parry joined Pink Floyd in the studio as well as on some of their biggest tours after Gilmour brought him into the fold due to their friendship, which was born at the University of Cambridge.
Together, both Parry and Gilmour were part of the city’s mid-1960s music scene, with Parry mainly in a band called The Soul Committee, while Gilmour was in Jokers Wild.
During the recording of Pink Floyd’s seminal record Dark Side Of The Moon, Gilmour recruited Parry to join the band in the studio, where he laid down some of the most important saxophone parts on the record, most notably the line on ‘Money’.
Gilmour took to social media to announce the death of his former bandmate, writing, “Since I was seventeen, I have played in bands with Dick on saxophone, including Pink Floyd.”
He added, “His feel and tone make his saxophone playing unmistakable, a signature of enormous beauty that is known to millions and is such a big part of songs such as ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, ‘Wish You Were Here’, ‘Us’ and Them’ and ‘Money’.”
The emotional post concluded, “He played in the last band I had that included Rick Wright for the On An Island Tour and at Live 8 with Pink Floyd.”
As Gilmour noted, Parry’s credits on Pink Floyd’s extends beyond Dark Side Of The Moon, and includes 1975’s Wish You Were Here, as well 1994’s The Division Bell. Parry also toured with Pink Floyd between 1973 to 1977, again in 1994, and at the Live 8 charity show in 2005.
The cause of Parry’s death has not been revealed.
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