The indie band David Gilmour “would have loved” in his 20s
Despite the remarkable heights some musicians attain during their peak, many eventually fade into obscurity or risk tarnishing their legacy by failing to keep pace with changing times. Time is relentless, catching up with everyone eventually. However, in the arts, a select few manage to stay relevant and, in some cases, continue to be influential. One such example is Pink Floyd leader, David Gilmour.
There can be no doubt that Gilmour’s work with Pink Floyd ranks among some of the most consequential in rock music. Although the band’s experimentation after he joined in 1967 took them down several different artistic paths of varying quality, their highlights are infallible. The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here are practically greatest hits albums that display their full scope and musical prowess.
During the 1970s, when Pink Floyd was at its zenith, the tensions between Roger Waters, who was then the leader, and the rest of the band grew increasingly intense. After Waters’ departure and the period when Gilmour assumed leadership, the band managed to adapt their music to align with contemporary trends. Over the years, many legendary groups have faltered in the face of changing cultural climates, either clinging stubbornly to their established sound or unsuccessfully attempting to evolve. Even The Rolling Stones faced challenges navigating the 1980s.
However, Pink Floyd always managed to retain their success despite these factors. After Gilmour took the reins, they blended their progressive sensibilities with the stadium rock vibe of the era with his first album in charge in 1986’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and then after that, went new age on 1994’s The Division Bell. The latter exhibited that Pink Floyd and Gilmour were fully aware of their place in the world; they were no longer the height of cool but ageing musical masters who were actually unbridled by this status rather than being a self-imposed prisoner to it like so many are. They saw the writing on the wall, accepted it, and moved accordingly.
The acclaimed 2014 follow-up to The Division Bell, their 15th and final album, The Endless River, exemplified this self-aware approach. Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason, supported by a host of notable collaborators and archival recordings from the late keyboardist Richard Wright, created a sophisticated ambient soundscape. While it was worlds apart from tracks like ‘Money’ and ‘Echoes’, it provided a fitting conclusion to their extensive journey, gracefully completing their musical legacy.
Of course, Pink Floyd have mostly been inactive since 2014, apart from their charity 2022 single for Ukraine, ‘Hey, Hey, Rise Up!’, but David Gilmour’s solo career has also reflected his self-awareness and evolution per the times. His 2024 album, Luck and Strange, is excellent. It might be his first in nearly a decade, but he hasn’t lost any songwriting excellence during this time; he understands his strengths.
Although Gilmour has always been in his own lane, and this underpins all his successes, no matter what era, when speaking to The Guardian in 2006, he demonstrated how he was growing old gracefully. The biggest British band of the year were Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys, who had burst onto the scene the previous year with ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’. Then they released the fastest-selling debut album in British music history, in January 2006, with Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. It was a historic moment.
Unsurprisingly, Gilmour hadn’t bought the album. He was in a different chapter of his life by then but noted that he “would have loved” Arctic Monkeys and other indie outfits, such as Franz Ferdinand, if he had been in his 20s. He said: “But it is a young person’s thing and I can’t pretend to be there. I don’t want to listen to the Arctic Monkeys or the Kaiser Chiefs or Franz Ferdinand particularly.”
Gilmour added: “I’ve been there, and my poor old ears and brain just don’t … I have changed, over the years. I probably would have loved that when I was in my 20s. But, you know, I like slower tempos and melody and stuff.”
Gilmour asserted that he had no desire to become like Neil Diamond or Barry Manilow. However, despite his usual modest and self-aware demeanour, he must have known deep down that this was never a risk. One need only revisit his discography to see how distinct it is from theirs. He further reinforced this with Luck and Strange and its predecessor, Rattle That Lock. One might wonder what he thinks of the Arctic Monkeys’ latest work, another band that has managed to evolve successfully over time.
