David Gilmour has commented, when asked about future Pink Floyd activity, that he does not have any plans for the band, so the announcement at the end of June that Pink Floyd would reunite with erstwhile band member Roger Waters for a one-off performance at Live 8 in Hyde Park, was greeted with a mixture of incredulity and excitement. The Live 8 performance showed a band undimmed by the passage of time – Gilmour’s playing and singing was a highlight of a highlight. The performance caused a 1,343 percent sales increase of Pink Floyd's album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd. As a result, Gilmour vowed to donate all 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 also called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 performances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fundraising.
David Gilmour was instrumental in launching the career of Kate Bush, and pivotal in the early history of Dream Academy. He has performed as a session musician, producer and even concert sound engineer, for a wide variety of acts including Roy Harper, Bryan Ferry, Robert Wyatt, Hawkwind, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sam Brown, Jools Holland, Grace Jones, Tom Jones, Elton John, Arcadia, Propaganda, Pete Townshend, The Who, Supertramp, Warren Zevon, various charity "supergroups" and many more.
In 1999 David played on Paul McCartney’s rock ‘n roll album, Run Devil Run, which was followed by several concerts culminating in a performance at Liverpool’s famous Cavern Club.
Following a concert which he was invited to undertake for Robert Wyatt’s Meltdown Festival, three semi acoustic concerts were performed by David Gilmour and friends in 2002 at London’s Royal Festival Hall, with one critic remarking that a ‘reinvented rock god shines on as 21st century folk hero.’
In May 2003 David Gilmour hit the headlines by donating the proceeds of the sale of his Maida Vale house, £3.6 million, to Crisis, the charity for the homeless. In the November of that year he was made a CBE, for services to music.
One of the finest musicians of his generation, David Gilmour is renowned for guitar solos that are well-composed and constructed, economical and expressive. The US and UK Number 1 hit single from Pink Floyd's ‘Another Brick In The Wall Part 2’ showcases the profoundly influential Gilmour style of extracting emotion from tunes rather than creating a technical exercise. His position in the canon of rock guitar players can be construed from his headline billing at the recent Wembley concert celebrating 50 years of the Fender Stratocaster guitar, ahead of such guitar legends as the Shadows’ Hank Marvin, The Eagles’ Joe Walsh, and Queen’s Brian May.'
The writing and recording of On an Island has taken place during 2005, with recording sessions in his home studio, on his houseboat studio ‘Astoria’, and at the world famous Abbey Road studios.
Protection - we do a lot of it these days. Sun cream for our skin, sunglasses for our eyes, condoms for you know where - but do you remember to protect your hearing?
Click to find all the information you need to look after your hearing now so you can enjoy music for years to come
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