David Gilmour joins Ice-T’s Body Count for cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’
Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour has joined forces with Ice-T’s Body Count for a brand new version of ‘Comfortably Numb’.
The track, which was originally released by Pink Floyd on 1979’s The Wall, has now been reimagined by the heavy rock group. Initially, contact was made between the two acts when Ice-T sought permission from Gilmour to use the track, which led to the former Pink Floyd guitarist offering his services to the rapper.
Although Gilmour seems intent to leave Pink Floyd in the past, Ice-T has breathed new life into the band’s classic creation with new lyrics that appealed to the English musician. In a statement, Gilmour described the new track as “quite radical” and revealed that it was the words that “really struck me”.
Furthermore, the singer-songwriter shared his pride at the longevity of ‘Comfortably Numb‘ and thanked Body Count for playing their part in enhancing its legacy, saying, “It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They’ve made it relevant again. The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like the new lyrics, they’re talking about the world we’re living in now, which is quite scary.”
Gilmour also revealed that he was unable to attend Body Count’s concert at the O2 Kentish Town Forum in London earlier this year, but stated he’d like to make amends for this in the future, adding, “If another opportunity came up to play with them, I’d jump at it.”
Meanwhile, Ice-T described ‘Comfortably Numb” as “an introspective song” which finds him “acknowledging that I’m older now”. He also used his lyrics to make a statement about the state of the world, explaining, “We’ve got flat-screen TVs and popcorn, and we can just sit back and watch the chaos of the world like it’s a TV show. It doesn’t feel real until it shows up at your door. I’m a little numb, too – we all are.”
‘Comfortably Numb’ is set to appear on the forthcoming Body Count album, Merciless, which is scheduled for release on November 22nd.
Will David Gilmour play ‘Comfortably Numb’ on tour?
In a recent interview with Mojo, Gilmour spoke about his love of ‘Comfortably Numb’. He said it is one of the Pink Floyd tracks that “I feel some ownership of” alongside ‘Wish You Were Here’, and ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’.
While those three tracks are set to appear in the setlist for his forthcoming tour, Gilmour ruled out the possibility of playing other beloved songs in their canon on the upcoming dates. “There are songs from the past that I no longer feel comfortable singing. “I love ‘Run Like Hell’ (The Wall). I loved the music I created for it, but all that (sings) ‘You’d better run, run, run…’ I now find that all rather, I don’t know… a bit terrifying and violent,” he revealed.
Furthermore, Gilmour stated that he has no plans to play ‘Money’ or ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ during the run of shows.
The tour begins on September 27th at Circo Massimo in Rome, a venue Gilmour is set to play six times. He’ll then return to home soil for six performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London throughout October before visiting Los Angeles and New York.
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