The Jimi Hendrix album David Gilmour calls his favourite
Elevating his status within Pink Floyd, initially filling in for Syd Barrett and later becoming a permanent member as his condition worsened, David Gilmour has well and truly solidified his position as an iconic figure. Despite his unassuming demeanour, Gilmour’s exceptional guitar skills have established him as a guitar virtuoso, while his luminous songwriting style has added depth to his overall appeal. This delicate duality is evident not only in his music but also in his sources of inspiration.
As an accomplished guitarist in his own right, it’s no wonder that Gilmour, like many others, holds the works of Jimi Hendrix in high regard. He specifically points to Hendrix’s magnificent second album, Electric Ladyland, as a significant source of inspiration. Notably, Gilmour also drew fame for mixing Hendrix’s legendary performance at the Isle of Wight, and he would later unequivocally label Hendrix as the preeminent guitarist of all time.
Speaking to the BBC in 2006, Gilmour explained: “Jimi Hendrix, fantastic. I went to a club in South Kensington in 1966. This kid got on stage with Brian Auger and the Trinity. [He started to play] the guitar with the other way around [upside down]. Myself, and the whole place, were with their jaws hanging open.”
However, when he endeavoured to locate his works, he confronted the challenge of anticipation, as these records had yet to be released. “I went the next day to record shops and I said, ‘You’ve got anything by this guy Jimi Hendrix?'” Gilmour recalled. “So they said, ‘Well, we’ve got a James Hendrix’. He hadn’t yet done anything. So I became rather an avid fan waiting for his first release.”
Another figure revered by Gilmour was Eric Clapton, who had stints with several influential British blues bands. Notably, he collaborated with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, a group that once counted Mick Taylor and Peter Green among its members, contributing to one of the standout albums of 1966. Gilmour shared his thoughts on the band during an interview with Relix in 2015: “All of those guys were incredible. I spent time trying to learn how to play their licks perfectly. I would suggest any young player should try to sit down and do that. You will wind up knowing how to play their stuff quite well. But eventually, you will find your own style from that. It forces its way out of the copying.”
When it comes to the Pink Floyd frontman’s all-time favourite guitarist, however, Jeff Beck tops the list, with Gilmour describing him as the “most consistent”. Gilmour said: “I have lots of favourite guitar players. Probably the person I have admired the longest and the most consistent is Jeff Beck, in the guitar playing stakes. A lovely guy.”
Gilmour shared the stage with Beck as a guest during one of Beck’s 2009 London’s Royal Albert Hall shows. In the 2018 documentary Jeff Beck: Still On The Run, Gilmour praised Beck once again, characterising him as a maverick: “A maverick guitar player who doesn’t like to repeat himself. Who takes big risks all the time and has done all the way throughout his career,” he said.
