David Gilmour 

David Gilmour is guitarist, vocalist and writer with Pink Floyd, but is also renowned for his solo
work: his highly acclaimed 2006 platinum album On An Island was Number 1 in the UK and
achieved Top Tens in many countries.

David Gilmour and Roger 'Syd' Barrett met as children in Cambridge, UK, and later began playing
guitar together. In 1965 Syd joined Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason to form Pink
Floyd, while David continued playing with a succession of his own bands. In 1968 David was asked
to augment the Pink Floyd line up as the singer and guitarist, only for Syd to leave the group five
gigs later. David's guitar playing, singing and song writing became major factors of Pink Floyd's
worldwide success, including his distinctive vocals and guitar playing on The Dark Side Of The
Moon, the third most successful album of all time.

In 1978, David released his first solo album, David Gilmour, which charted in the UK and the US.
His second solo album, About Face, was released in 1984, again hitting the Top 20 in the UK.

David assumed control of Pink Floyd in 1985, after Roger Waters' departure, creating the new
Floyd album A Momentary Lapse Of Reason with Richard Wright and Nick Mason. It was followed
in 1994 by The Division Bell, which contained the instrumental Marooned, composed by David and
Richard Wright, for which Pink Floyd won their sole Grammy Award. Both albums charted at
Number 1 on both sides of the Atlantic and were supported by sell-out world tours. Live album
and video, P.U.L.S.E., followed in 1995.

In 1996, Pink Floyd were inducted into the US Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, followed by the same
honour in the UK in November 2005. In 2002, following a concert for Robert Wyatt's Meltdown
Festival, three semi-acoustic concerts were performed by David Gilmour and friends at London's
Royal Festival Hall, released on DVD as David Gilmour In Concert.

David is one of the all-time guitar greats, with an instinctive and distinctive sound; he was voted
'Best Fender Guitar Player Ever' in a poll in Guitarist magazine, beating such greats as Jimi Hendrix
and Eric Clapton. In 2005, David was made a CBE for services to music. In July 2005, Pink Floyd
reunited with Roger Waters for a one-off performance at Live 8 in London's Hyde Park, which was
regarded by many as the highlight of an astonishing show.

On 6th March 2006, David released his third solo album, On An Island, which entered the UK
Charts at Number 1, subsequently hitting the top position in the pan-European Charts, as well as
hitting multi-Platinum around the world. On An Island was accompanied by tour dates in the US
and Europe, including a one-off performance in the historic dockyards of Gdańsk, Poland, with a
40-piece orchestra. David's live show at London's Royal Albert Hall was filmed by director David
Mallet and released in 2007 as a DVD, entitled Remember That Night – Live At The Royal Albert
Hall, which topped the charts upon release.

In May 2008, David was awarded an 'Ivor' for Lifetime Achievement by the British Association of
Composers and Songwriters. In September 2008, Fender Guitars made available their David
Gilmour Signature Black Strat model, in 'Relic' and 'New Old Stock' models, a month which also
saw the release of Live In Gdańsk, David's live album from the outdoor show there.
In 2009, David was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from East Anglia's Ruskin University of
Cambridge and Chelmsford for his outstanding contribution to music as a writer, performer and
innovator. In 2010, David gave a performance with Roger Waters in aid of the HOPING Foundation
charity in Oxfordshire, UK. Following that appearance, David appeared at one of Roger Waters'
stagings of 'The Wall' at the O2 Arena, London, on 12th May 2011.

In 2010, an album entitled Metallic Spheres, by The Orb featuring David Gilmour, was released to
help the cause of UK alleged computer hacker Gary McKinnon, who was then fighting extradition
to the US, subsequently winning his battle. The album entered the UK charts at Number 12.

In September 2014 Pink Floyd released The Endless River, and David confirmed that it would be
the band's final album: it topped the charts in over 20 countries. David then returned to working
on his album Rattle That Lock, released worldwide on Friday 18th September 2015.

Rattle That Lock once again featured novelist Polly Samson as primary lyricist, although David
wrote lyrics for two songs himself. Longstanding collaborator Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music co-
produced the album with David. The striking cover was art directed by Dave Stansbie from The
Creative Corporation under the creative directorship of Aubrey Powell from Hipgnosis. The title
track begins with the four notes, created by Michaël Boumendil, which precede announcements at
French SNCF railway stations which David recorded on his phone at Aix-en-Provence station.
Polly's lyrics were inspired by Book II of John Milton's 'Paradise Lost', which is also featured in her
recent acclaimed novel, 'The Kindness'. The album went to Number 1 in 13 charts around the
world and Number 2 in a further eight, hitting the Top 5 in a total of 25 listings.

The Rattle That Lock world tour saw David play fifty shows in thirteen countries; on July 7th and
8th 2016, David performed two spectacular shows at the legendary Pompeii Amphitheatre in the
shadow of Mount Vesuvius, 45 years after he first played there for Adrian Maben's classic film Pink
Floyd Live At Pompeii.

The concerts were the first-ever rock performances played to an audience in the ancient Roman
amphitheatre, which was built in 90 BC and entombed in ash when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.
David was the only performer to play to an audience in the arena since the time of the gladiators,
almost 2,000 years ago. The film of these shows directed by Gavin Elder, was released for one
night only and topped the box office In Italy, Germany and France and was Number 2 in the UK.

David Gilmour Live At Pompeii was released on Blu-ray, Vinyl, CD, DVD and digital download on
Friday 29th September 2017.