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Pink Floyd: David Gilmour’s Later Years Interview
22nd November 2019
To celebrate the upcoming release of Pink Floyd Later Years (out 13 December), David Gilmour has given BBC Radio’s Matt Everitt unprecedented interview access with his only interview, the result of which is the podcast The Lost Art of Conversation. The 4-part, podcast episodes will be available weekly on Mondays from 25 November
Gilmour discusses the new-look band as they reassembled after a few years away, “It’s quite a big thing to carry on Pink Floyd with Roger [Waters] having gone. He is a big, big part of it obviously, a major talent and our primary lyricist, so it was difficult.”
And on his remaining bandmates, Nick Mason and Richard Wright, “I was so glad to have Rick there with his ideas and playing the way he did. And Nick is the perfect drummer for Pink Floyd. It all felt so right on those sessions.”
On returning to original Momentary Lapse of Reason album to record a new version for The Later Years box set, he looks back, “… Later you realise ‘Fuck, it was the 80s!’”
Gilmour goes on to explain the origins of the unreleased tracks known as The Big Spliff (as coined by studio producer Andy Jackson) without which, there would have been no The Endless River album: “…We had a think about making a new record based on all that music with Rick playing on it – with all of us playing on it – after his death.”
Covering the material and stories featured in The Later Years box set, the episodes are split into four themes from the band’s career from 1987 to the present day, delving into the multi-faceted elements of Pink Floyd’s creative output:
The Studio
David Gilmour talks about the band’s return to the jam sessions in the recording studio and embracing the new technology when faced with mountains of new advances in synthesisers and other instruments.
Artwork
Gilmour tells of his ideas for the band’s artwork including how his simple sketch of a single, empty bed was transformed by the artist Storm Thorgerson into the image of around 500 beds on the cover of A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
Live Performances
How the band were preparing for the prospect of the upcoming tour, only added to by the pressure facing them whilst rehearsing in an aircraft hangar at Toronto airport.
Unreleased New Material from the box set
Gilmour talks about the new and rare material included in The Later Years. His memories jogged by watching footage of the band flying around in promotional airships over Miami beach, watching hapless swimmers surrounded by sharks.
On 13 December 2019, Pink Floyd Records will release Pink Floyd The Later Years, a 16-disc set (five CDs, six Blu-Rays, five DVDs) covering the material created by David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright from 1987 onwards. The period generated record sales of over 40 million worldwide and included three studio albums: A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, The Division Bell and The Endless River as well as two live albums: Delicate Sound Of Thunder and Pulse. With additional production from David Gilmour and Andy Jackson, over 13 hours of unreleased audio and audiovisual material, including 1989 Venice and 1990 Knebworth concerts.
A 2 LP/1-CD Highlights package will be released on 29 November.
Available on all podcast platforms: https://pinkfloyd.lnk.to/Podcast
Pink Floyd The Later Years is available to pre-order here: www.pinkfloyd.com
