The only member of Pink Floyd that David Gilmour thought was irreplaceable
‘Revolutionary’ is one of the many words that come to mind upon the mention of Pink Floyd. The band changed rock history forever, pioneering a plethora of innovative, forward-thinking sounds which had a major impact on the musical landscape. At the heart of the band was the inventive genius of its individual members, but, as it turns out, having so many musical revolutionaries in one band tended to lead to some disagreements and vicious arguments. This conflict eventually tore the band apart. According to David Gilmour, though, there was only one member of Pink Floyd who was truly indispensable.
Gilmour joined the ranks of Pink Floyd in 1967, when the band was already witnessing a pretty tumultuous time in its line-up. During those early years, which culminated in the release of The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, the band was under the psychedelic leadership of Syd Barrett, who acted as the band’s primary songwriter and driving force. Gilmour was brought onboard to alleviate the strain on Barrett, whose dependency on drugs, coupled with deteriorating mental health, made him an unpredictable and ultimately unreliable bandmate.
Before too long, though, Gilmour had replaced Barrett almost entirely, and the band’s original songwriter was quickly pushed out of Pink Floyd. Following Barrett’s departure, an inevitable power struggle emerged within the band, with Roger Waters winning the reins of the revolutionary group. Although Waters’ leadership led to groundbreaking albums like The Dark Side of the Moon, which also provided the band with their greatest level of commercial success, the relationship between him and Gilmour was rarely harmonious.
Throughout their most successful and artistically gratifying period, the intense conflict between Gilmour and Waters only intensified, creating a vast schism within the band which never really subsided. By the mid-1980s, Floyd were almost as notable for their arguments as they were for their music, and Roger Waters eventually left the group in 1985 – the second of the band’s leaders to depart from the line-up.
For any other band, the loss of their primary songwriter, to be followed years later by the departure of his replacement, would be an insurmountable hurdle to overcome. For Pink Floyd, on the other hand, Waters’ decision to leave only meant that Gilmour was free to take on a leadership role. Still, the fact that the band was so noted for its arguments, coupled with the loss of both Barrett and Waters, did create a certain sense of disposability within the group, as though any member could be replaced if need be.
According to David Gilmour, however, keyboardist Richard Wright was the only member of the band who was utterly indispensable. A founding member of the group, his songwriting and keyboard stylings were essential to the success of Floyd, but he was pushed out of the group during the early 1980s as a result of pressure from Waters. Ultimately, though, he rejoined the band some years later, appearing on every Pink Floyd album apart from The Final Cut.
Last year, in celebration of what would have been Wright’s 81st birthday, Gilmour waxed lyrical about his influence within the band. “No one can replace Richard Wright – he was my musical partner and my friend,” the guitarist wrote. “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.”
Wright’s influence is particularly profound on tracks like ‘Echoes’, which Gilmour has since removed from his solo setlists, declaring that there is no point playing it without the keyboardist. Elsewhere, he was essential in the composition of legendary Floyd tracks like ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’ and ‘Us and Them’, forming key moments of The Dark Side of the Moon. It is no surprise that The Final Cut is among Floyd’s most maligned albums, given that it was the only one not to feature the late keyboardist.
