David Jon Gilmour is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd.
76 Facts About David Gilmour
2.
David Gilmour joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett.
3.
David Gilmour is credited for bringing the singer-songwriter Kate Bush to public attention.
4.
In 2003, David Gilmour was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
5.
David Gilmour was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution title at the 2008 Q Awards.
6.
David Gilmour was voted number 36 in the greatest voices in rock by Planet Rock listeners in 2009.
7.
David Gilmour has taken part in projects related to issues including animal rights, environmentalism, homelessness, poverty, and human rights.
8.
David Gilmour has married twice and is the father of eight children.
9.
David Jon Gilmour was born on 6 March 1946 in Cambridge, England.
10.
David Gilmour's father, Douglas Gilmour, was a senior lecturer in zoology at the University of Cambridge, and his mother, Sylvia, trained as a teacher and later worked as a film editor for the BBC.
11.
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".
12.
David Gilmour's enthusiasm was stirred the following year by Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", and later "Bye Bye Love" by the Everly Brothers piqued his interest in the guitar.
13.
David Gilmour borrowed a guitar from a neighbour, but never gave it back.
14.
At age 11, David Gilmour began attending Perse School on Hills Road, Cambridge, which he did not enjoy.
15.
In 1962, David Gilmour began studying A-Level modern languages at the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology.
16.
In late 1962, David Gilmour joined the blues rock band Jokers Wild.
17.
David Gilmour travelled to France in mid-1967 with Rick Wills and Willie Wilson, formerly of Jokers Wild.
18.
In December 1967, after David Gilmour had returned to England, Mason invited him to join Pink Floyd to cover for the increasingly erratic Barrett.
19.
David Gilmour accepted; they initially intended to continue with Barrett as a non-performing songwriter.
20.
One of the band's business partners, Peter Jenner, said the plan was to have David Gilmour "cover for Barrett's eccentricities".
21.
David Gilmour was absolutely into form and shape and he introduced that into the wilder numbers we'd created.
22.
In 1975, David Gilmour played on Roy Harper's album HQ.
23.
Impressed, David Gilmour paid for Bush, then 16, to record three professional demo tracks to present to record labels.
24.
David Gilmour arranged for EMI executive Terry Slater to hear the tape, who signed her.
25.
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".
26.
In 1978 he channelled his ideas into his first solo studio album, David Gilmour, which showcased his guitar playing and songwriting.
27.
The negative atmosphere led David Gilmour to produce his second solo studio album, About Face, in 1984.
28.
David Gilmour used it to express his feelings about a range of topics, from his relationship with Waters to the murder of John Lennon.
29.
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.
30.
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".
31.
David Gilmour co-wrote five songs on Harper's album The Unknown Soldier, including "Short and Sweet", which was first recorded for David Gilmour's first solo album.
32.
In 1986, David Gilmour purchased the houseboat Astoria, moored it on the River Thames near Hampton Court and transformed it into a recording studio.
33.
David Gilmour produced the Pink Floyd studio album A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987, with contributions from Mason and Wright.
34.
David Gilmour felt Pink Floyd had become too driven by lyrics under Waters' leadership, and attempted to "restore the balance" of music and lyrics.
35.
In March 1987, David Gilmour played guitar for Bush's performance of "Running Up That Hill" at the Secret Policeman's Third Ball.
36.
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.
37.
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.
38.
In 2006, David Gilmour said that Pink Floyd would likely never tour or write material again.
39.
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".
40.
On 4 July 2009, David Gilmour joined his friend Jeff Beck onstage at the Royal Albert Hall.
41.
On 11 July 2010, David Gilmour performed for the charity Hoping Foundation with Waters in Oxfordshire, England.
42.
David Gilmour performed "Comfortably Numb" with Waters on 12 May 2011 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.
43.
In October 2010, David Gilmour released an album with the electronic duo the Orb, Metallic Spheres.
44.
David Gilmour said he had several songs which are almost complete which did not make it onto Rattle That Lock.
45.
From April 2020, David Gilmour appeared in a series of livestreams with his family, performing songs by Barrett and Leonard Cohen.
46.
Waters and David Gilmour have continued to quarrel, arguing over subjects including album reissues and the use of the Pink Floyd website and social media channels.
47.
David Gilmour plays bass, keyboards, banjo, lap steel, mandolin, harmonica, drums, and saxophone.
48.
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".
49.
In 1996, David Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd.
50.
David Gilmour has been ranked one of the greatest guitarists of all time by publications including Rolling Stone and The Daily Telegraph.
51.
David Gilmour is cited by Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery as one of his three main influences.
52.
David Gilmour used this guitar when he joined Pink Floyd in 1968, with one of Barrett's Telecasters as a spare.
53.
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.
54.
David Gilmour bought it at Manny's Music in New York City in 1970, after the band's US tour was cancelled due to the theft of their equipment in New Orleans.
55.
David Gilmour bought it from guitar technician Phil Taylor, who had purchased it from Seymour Duncan.
56.
David Gilmour used the guitar in the 2004 Strat Pack show that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Stratocaster at Wembley Arena along with one of his Candy Apple Red Stratocasters.
57.
David Gilmour owns an early 1954 Stratocaster, believed to predate Fender's commercial release of the model.
58.
David Gilmour plays a Gretsch Duo-Jet, a Gretsch White Falcon, and a "White Penguin".
59.
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.
60.
David Gilmour has used many acoustic guitars, including a Gibson Chet Atkins classical model, and a Gibson J-200 Celebrity, acquired from John Illsley of Dire Straits.
61.
David Gilmour used a pair of Jedson steel guitars and a Fender 1000 pedal steel frequently in the early 1970s.
62.
David Gilmour owns a Fender Deluxe lap steel, which he used during The Division Bell tour in 1994.
63.
David Gilmour played pedal steel guitar on the album Blue Pine Trees by Unicorn.
64.
David Gilmour has played the bass guitar both in the studio and onstage, and has played many bass models including: an Ovation Magnum, a Fender Bass VI, Fender Precision and Jazz bass models and a Charvel fretless.
65.
David Gilmour was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2003 Birthday Honours, "for services to music".
66.
David Gilmour dedicated his award to Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, who died in September 2008.
67.
On 11 November 2009, David Gilmour received an honorary doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University.
68.
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.
69.
David Gilmour has been named a vice-president of the organisation.
70.
David Gilmour's first marriage was to the American-born model and artist Virginia "Ginger" Hasenbein, on 7 July 1975.
71.
David Gilmour does not believe in an afterlife and is an atheist.
72.
In May 2017, David Gilmour endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election.
73.
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.
74.
In 1980, David Gilmour purchased Hook End Manor in Oxfordshire, where parts of The Final Cut were recorded.
75.
David Gilmour has a home near the village of Wisborough Green, Sussex.
76.
David Gilmour spends time at his recording studio houseboat Astoria near Hampton Court.