CHARACTERS
Planes, soccer, Pompeii: trivia you may not have known about David Gilmour, who turns 77 today
The historic guitarist and singer of Pink Floyd, David Gilmour was born in Cambridge on 6 March 1946. His father was a professor of zoology at Cambridge University, while his mother worked as a teacher and film editor.
In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour also launched an extraordinary career as a solo artist and record producer for other musicians. For this reason, he is considered one of the most influential artists on the world music scene.
Here are some facts you might not have known about David Gilmour.
Happy birthday to David Gilmour!
Historical guitarist and singer of Pink Floyd, David Gilmour was born in Cambridge on 6 March 1946. His father was a professor of zoology at the Cambridge University, while his mother worked as a teacher and film editor. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour also had an extraordinary career as a solo artist and record producer for other musicians, making him one of the most influential artists on the world music scene. Here are some facts you might not have known about David Gilmour.
David Gilmour started playing as a street performer
Gilmour met Syd Barrett during his school years and learned to play the guitar with him. After leaving England, young David performed as a nomadic street performer in France and Spain: due to this lifestyle he was also hospitalised for malnutrition. However, Gilmour has not forgotten his origins: in 2006, in a concert in St. Mark's Square in Venice, he invited a street performer, a glass player, on stage to accompany him on the notes of the famous 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'. A symbolic gesture that nevertheless means a lot.
David Gilmour is an honorary citizen of Pompeii
In 1972, Pink Floyd performed an evocative and emotional film-concert in the Roman amphitheatre of Pompeii, an archaeological site buried for centuries by ash and lapilli after the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius in 79. 45 years after that live show, Gilmour returned to the amphitheatre where he had played in 1972, performing in front of 2500 people, as a sign of respect, the guitarist became an honorary citizen of the historic city in the province of Naples.
As a young man, Gilmour used to sneak into the stadium to watch Arsenal
David is a football fan and stated that he used to sneak off with Roger Waters to Highbury (Arsenal's old stadium) to watch the Gunners' matches. The two members of Pink Floyd managed to remain unrecognised because initially they never showed their faces on records and with the lighting and special effects it was very difficult to spot them.
David Gilmour is passionate about aviation
Gilmour's love of aviation led him to collect so many aeroplanes that he even managed to set up a museum of vintage planes, but that was not enough: in the past, the singer-songwriter also founded an airline company, Intrepid Aviation, which he later sold because it had gone from being a simple hobby to being too commercial for him, as he told the BBC.
The idol of David Gilmour is Jimi Hendrix
David Gilmour can skilfully play about 15 instruments, but his favourite is undoubtedly the guitar. In fact, Gilmour's main role model is Jimi Hendrix, whom David has often tried to emulate technically and artistically. Incidentally, Gilmour was ranked 14th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 best guitarists of all time, with his idol Hendrix at the top of this list.