7 that his musical talents were being underused, and channeled his ideas into his selftitled solo album (1978), which showcases his signature guitar style, as well as underscoring his songwriting skills. A song written during the finishing stages of this album, but too late to be used, was incorporated into another song by Roger Waters, which became “Comfortably Numb” “on “The Wall”. The negative atmosphere surrounding the creation of “The
the band and they intended to continue without him. Gilmour assumed full control of the group and produced “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” in 1987 with some contributions from Mason and Richard Wright. Wright officially rejoined the band after the release of the album for a lengthy world tour and helped create 1994’s “The Division Bell”. Gilmour explained: “I had a number of problems with the direction of the band in our recent past, before Roger left. I thought the songs were
cluding Roger Waters— at Live 8. The performance resulted in a temporary 1343% sales increase of Pink Floyd’s album “Echoes-The Best of Pink Floyd” Gilmour donated all of his resulting profits to charities that reflect the goals of Live 8 saying: “Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert. This is money that should be used to save lives”. Shortly after, he called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 per-
much less complicated to work alone.” As for his agreement to play at Live 8, he said: “There was more than one reason, firstly to support the cause. The second one is the energy consuming an uncomfortable relationship between Roger and me that I was carrying along in my heart. That is why we wanted to perform and to leave the trash behind. Thirdly, I might have regretted it if I declined.” On 20 February 2006, Gilmour commented again on Pink Floyd’s future when he
Photo by Polly Samson Wall” album and subsequent film, compounded by “The Final Cut’s” virtually being a Roger Waters solo album, led Gilmour to produce his second solo album About Face in 1984, which was a manner of personal expression of his feelings about various issues, from the murder of John Lennon to his relationship with Waters. He has since admitted that he also used the album to distance himself from Pink Floyd. Waters declared that Pink Floyd were “a spent force creatively in 1985”. In 1986, Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason issued a press release stating that Waters had quit
very wordy and that, because the specific meanings of those words were so important, the music became a mere vehicle for lyrics, and not a very inspiring one. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were so successful not just because of Roger’s contributions, but also because there was a better balance between the music and the lyrics than there has been in more recent albums. That’s what I’m trying to do with A Momentary Lapse of Reason; more focus on the music, restore the balance.” On 2 July 2005, Gilmour played with Pink Floyd—in-
formances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fund-raising. After the Live 8 concert, Pink Floyd were offered £150 million to tour the United States, but the band turned down the offer. On 3 February 2006, in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, David announced that Pink Floyd would most likely never tour or write material together again. He said: “I think enough is enough. I am 60 years old. I don’t have the will to work as much anymore. Pink Floyd was an important part in my life, I have had a wonderful time, but it’s over. For me it’s
was interviewed by Billboard. com, stating, “Who knows? I have no plans at all to do that. My plans are to do my concerts and put my solo record out.” In December 2006, Gilmour released a tribute to Syd Barrett, who had died on 7 July of that year, in the form of his own version of Pink Floyd’s first single “Arnold Layne”. Recorded live at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the single featured versions of the song performed by Pink Floyd’s keyboard player (and Gilmour’s band member) Richard Wright and special guest artist David Bowie. The single entered the UK Top 75 charts at number nineteen Burst www.burstzine.com