David Gilmour is thrilled with his career, which includes many iconic albums and a position in guitar legend. Despite the tragedy of former Pink Floyd leader Syd Barrett and the fallout with Roger Waters, the Cambridge native’s career turned out better than even the young, wide-eyed him could have expected while busking the continent to mimic his heroes.
Gilmour helped Pink Floyd become one of the most influential bands ever with songs like Meddle, The Dark Side of the Moon, and Wish You Were Here. He was the band’s soul since he played bluesy guitar and put the music first. His work gave them heart, taking them away from their early comical psychedelia. Gilmour and Pink Floyd experimented after joining them and completed their 1968 second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, despite Barrett’s mental health crisis. The band progressively moved toward the prog-adjacent genre they became world-beaters for, with Gilmour’s ambient musicianship being the ideal complement to Waters’ more cerebral lyrical ideas.
Gilmour’s life goes beyond Pink Floyd. He also has a successful solo career and has collaborated with some of his generation’s best artists. These include performing alongside Paul McCartney and others in Liverpool’s Cavern Club in 1999 and contributing to Pete Townshend’s 1985 solo album White City: A Novel. Gilmour also celebrates collaborating with his generation’s top artists. Given that Paul McCartney reportedly declared The Beatles taught him “everything” from guitar to rhythm, working with him has been life-affirming.
He remains the young guy inspired by The Beatles and the British invasion. Despite his numerous Pink Floyd successes, playing alongside McCartney and other pioneers was a “pinch me” experience. However, he cannot separate performing with such a large number of iconic musicians from his own work, and he considers it his greatest professional triumph. Gilmour told Record Collector, “I’m a kid, really,” about working with The Beatles. You sit with Paul McCartney in Studio Two at Abbey Road with your instrument plugged in.
“You think that’s an ordinary day’s work, but of course, it isn’t—it’s magical,” he said before reminiscing on his career highlight. “Getting him to sing ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ at The Cavern with me doing John Lennon parts was amazing. I was in The Who, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd! Motherfucker, top that!” Few achieve Gilmour’s heights. His skill allowed him to do so easily, becoming as famous as his influences.
