79 Facts About David Gilmour

David Jon Gilmour is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd.

David Gilmour joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett.

David Gilmour has achieved three number-one solo albums on the UK Albums Chart, and six with Pink Floyd.

David Gilmour produced two albums by the Dream Academy, and is credited for bringing the singer-songwriter Kate Bush to public attention, paying for her early recordings and helping her find a record contract.

In 2003, David Gilmour was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

David Gilmour received the award for Outstanding Contribution at the 2008 Q Awards.

David Gilmour has taken part in projects related to issues including animal rights, environmentalism, homelessness, poverty, and human rights.

David Gilmour has married twice and is the father of eight children.

David Jon Gilmour was born on 6 March 1946 in Cambridge, England.

David Gilmour's father, Douglas Gilmour, was a senior lecturer in zoology at the University of Cambridge, and his mother, Sylvia, was a trained teacher who later worked as a film editor for the BBC.

David Gilmour's parents encouraged him to pursue his interest in music, and in 1954 he bought his first single, Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock".

David Gilmour's enthusiasm was stirred the following year by Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", and "Bye Bye Love" by the Everly Brothers piqued his interest in the guitar.

David Gilmour borrowed a guitar from a neighbour, but never gave it back.

At age 11, David Gilmour began attending Perse School on Hills Road, Cambridge, which he did not enjoy.

In 1962, David Gilmour began studying A-Level modern languages at the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, but despite not finishing the course, he eventually learned to speak fluent French.

Later that year, David Gilmour joined the blues rock band Jokers Wild.

David Gilmour travelled to France again in mid-1967 with Rick Wills and Willie Wilson, formerly of Jokers Wild.

In December 1967, after David Gilmour had returned to England, he accepted an invitation to join Pink Floyd to cover for the increasingly erratic Barrett.

One of the band's business partners, Peter Jenner, said the plan was to have David Gilmour "cover for Barrett's eccentricities".

David Gilmour was absolutely into form and shape and he introduced that into the wilder numbers we'd created.

Impressed, David Gilmour paid for Bush, then 16, to record three professional demo tracks to present to record labels.

David Gilmour arranged for EMI executive Terry Slater to hear the tape, and he signed her.

David Gilmour is credited as the executive producer on two tracks on Bush's debut studio album, The Kick Inside, including her second single "The Man with the Child in His Eyes".

In 1975, David Gilmour played on Roy Harper's album HQ.

In 1978, he released his first solo album, David Gilmour, which showcased his guitar playing and songwriting.

David Gilmour toured Europe and the US, supported by the Television Personalities, who were dropped after the singer, Dan Treacy, revealed Barrett's address on stage.

When he returned from touring, David Gilmour played guitar with a range of artists and produced the Dream Academy, including their US top-ten hit "Life in a Northern Town".

David Gilmour co-wrote five songs on Roy Harper's album The Unknown Soldier, including "Short and Sweet", which was first recorded for David Gilmour's first solo album.

In 1985, David Gilmour played on Bryan Ferry's sixth solo album, Boys and Girls, and on the song "Is Your Love Strong Enough" for the US release of the Ridley Scott film Legend.

David Gilmour contributed to Pete Townshend's 1985 album White City: A Novel, including the single "Give Blood", and the 1985 Grace Jones album Slave to the Rhythm.

David Gilmour played guitar on Paul McCartney's 1984 hit single No More Lonely Nights, on the title track of Supertramp's 1985 album Brother Where You Bound and on three tracks of the 1986 album Persona by the classical guitarist Liona Boyd.

In 1986, David Gilmour purchased the houseboat Astoria, moored it on the River Thames near Hampton Court, London, and converted it into a recording studio.

David Gilmour produced the Pink Floyd studio album A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987, with contributions from Mason and Wright.

David Gilmour believed Pink Floyd had become too driven by lyrics under Waters' leadership, and attempted to "restore the balance" of music and lyrics.

In March 1987, David Gilmour played guitar for Kate Bush's performance of "Running Up That Hill" at the Secret Policeman's Third Ball.

In December 1999, David Gilmour played guitar, alongside Mick Green, Ian Paice, Pete Wingfield, and Chris Hall, for Paul McCartney, at a concert at the Cavern Club, in Liverpool, England.

In 2001 and 2002, David Gilmour performed six acoustic solo concerts in London and Paris, along with a small band and choir, which was documented on the In Concert release.

In December 2006, David Gilmour released a tribute to Barrett, who died that year, in the form of his own version of Pink Floyd's first single, "Arnold Layne".

In early 2007, David Gilmour reconvened his touring band and spent a week recording in a barn in his farm.

On 11 July 2010, David Gilmour performed for the charity Hoping Foundation with Waters in Oxfordshire, England.

On 12 May 2011, David Gilmour made a surprise performing appearance during "Comfortably Numb" with Waters at the O2, London and, with Nick Mason, played with the rest of the band on "Outside the Wall" at the conclusion of the show.

In September 2015, David Gilmour released his fourth solo album, Rattle That Lock.

Waters and David Gilmour continued to quarrel, arguing over subjects including album reissues and the use of the Pink Floyd website and social media channels.

From April 2020, David Gilmour appeared in a series of livestreams with his family, performing songs by Barrett and Leonard Cohen.

David Gilmour said the song was a "one-off for Pink Floyd".

In 2024, David Gilmour contributed guitar to a new version of Mark Knopfler's "Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero" in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

David Gilmour said Andrew challenged him musically as he "has a wonderful lack of knowledge or respect for this past of mine".

David Gilmour felt Luck and Strange was his best work since The Dark Side of the Moon.

David Gilmour contributed guitar to a cover of "Comfortably Numb" by the American metal band Body Count, released in September 2024.

David Gilmour began a tour for Luck and Strange in September 2024, with performances in London, Rome, Los Angeles and New York.

David Gilmour replaced some musicians in his touring band, saying he wanted to use more creative musicians and avoid "sticking quite so slavishly to the original records".

The author Mike Cormack wrote that David Gilmour's playing from The Dark Side of the Moon onwards "defines the sound of Pink Floyd".

David Gilmour plays bass, keyboards, banjo, lap steel, mandolin, harmonica, drums, and saxophone.

David Gilmour said he played bass on some Pink Floyd tracks, such as the fretless bass on "Hey You", as he could do it more quickly than Waters; he said that Waters would thank him for "winning him bass-playing polls".

David Gilmour used this guitar when he joined Pink Floyd in 1968, with one of Barrett's Telecasters as a spare.

David Gilmour used the Black Strat, a Fender Stratocaster, in most Pink Floyd concerts and for every Pink Floyd studio album recorded between 1970 and 1983.

David Gilmour bought it at Manny's Music in New York City in 1970, after Pink Floyd's US tour was cancelled due to the theft of their equipment in New Orleans.

David Gilmour owns an early 1954 Stratocaster, believed to predate Fender's commercial release of the model.

David Gilmour plays a Gretsch Duo-Jet, a Gretsch White Falcon, and a "White Penguin".

David Gilmour played a Bill Lewis 24-fret guitar during the Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon recording sessions, and a Steinberger GL model which was his main guitar during A Momentary Lapse of Reason recording sessions.

David Gilmour has used acoustic guitars including a Gibson Chet Atkins classical model, and a Gibson J-200 Celebrity, acquired from John Illsley of Dire Straits.

David Gilmour used a pair of Jedson steel guitars and a Fender 1000 pedal steel frequently in the early 1970s.

David Gilmour owns a Fender Deluxe lap steel, which he used during The Division Bell tour in 1994.

David Gilmour played pedal steel guitar on the album Blue Pine Trees by Unicorn.

In 1996, David Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd.

David Gilmour has been ranked one of the greatest guitarists of all time by publications including Rolling Stone and The Daily Telegraph.

David Gilmour was voted the 36th-greatest rock singer by Planet Rock listeners in 2009.

David Gilmour was cited by the Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery as one of his three main influences.

David Gilmour was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2003 Birthday Honours, "for services to music".

David Gilmour dedicated his award to the Pink Floyd keyboardist, Richard Wright, who died in September 2008.

On 11 November 2009, David Gilmour received an honorary doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University.

David Gilmour has supported charities including Oxfam, the European Union Mental Health and Illness Association, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, the Lung Foundation, Nordoff-Robbins music therapy, Teenage Cancer Trust, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

David Gilmour has been named a vice-president of the organisation.

David Gilmour's first marriage was to Virginia "Ginger" Hasenbein, an American-born model and artist on 7 July 1975.

Since 1994, David Gilmour has been married to the writer Polly Samson, an English novelist and journalist, who has written lyrics for many of his songs, including Pink Floyd albums.

In May 2017, David Gilmour endorsed the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election.

David Gilmour later sold the company, which he had started as a hobby, feeling that it was becoming too commercial for him to enjoy; he said he retained an old biplane which he flew sometimes.

David Gilmour owns a home near the village of Wisborough Green, Sussex.

David Gilmour spends time at his recording studio houseboat Astoria near Hampton Court.