David Gilmour reflects on his career: “It’s always amazing to me that Pink Floyd didn’t fizzle out”
After joining Pink Floyd in 1967 to help solve the issues with original frontman Syd Barrett’s decline, David Gilmour would quickly become a vital part of their operation. He has since experienced a greatly oscillating time with the band, including the explosive departure of ensuing creative director Roger Waters. Reflecting on his history with the band in a new interview, Gilmour expressed: “It’s always amazing to me that Pink Floyd didn’t fizzle out”.
When discussing his time with Pink Floyd in 1987 – two years after his acrimonious exit – Waters explained why he had become the band’s “leader” after Barrett left. He said: “I simply took responsibility, largely because no one else seemed to want to do it, and that is graphically illustrated by the fact that I started to write most of the material from then on, I’m perfectly happy being a leader.”
Yet, the same thing would happen to Gilmour after Waters had left, with him needing to fill his boots as an existential necessity for the group. Waters’s last album with the band was 1983’s The Final Cut, which was a “miserable” time for all involved. It saw a total breakdown in the relations between Gilmour and Waters, with them working separately with different engineers and barely communicating over creative matters.
During this period, Waters realised he would never make another album with Gilmour or drummer Nick Mason. After the record was finished, he would leave and has never rejoined them in the studio; the acrimony between him and Gilmour exists to this day.
Gilmour has now reflected on becoming the leader of Pink Floyd following Waters’ departure, revealing that given everything the band have been through, it still astonishes him that the band never fizzled out.
The group’s first album after the schism was 1987’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason, which also saw keyboardist and founding member Richard Wright return in a session capacity after he had been fired by Waters in 1979 during the making of The Wall. Despite the odds, the album was a success, and the follow-up, 1994’s The Division Bell, is considered one of their best.
Gilmour told The Sun: “I was thrust into being band leader of Pink Floyd and, later, into being a solo artist, but I feel a more collaborative approach is better for me.”
Gilmour also maintained his wonder at having had such a fruitful career with the influential prog group, and his surprise that they never fell apart like others of their era, with their legacy still glittering today. “Joining the band and having that whole life with it was wonderful,” the guitarist added. “It’s always amazing to me that Pink Floyd didn’t fizzle out the way others do. In some way, it has kept going to the present day.”
David Gilmour releases his fifth solo album, Luck and Strange, on September 6th. He will be heading out on tour to support it on the 27th of this month, playing a series of shows at Rome’s Circo Massimo and London’s Royal Albert Hall before heading to the US in October.
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