Two years after Pink Floyd’s founding, in 1967, guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour joined the group. Over the ensuing decades, he became an essential component of the band’s sound and one of the most important guitarists in the world. With an estimated 250 million albums sold globally, the trio is among the best-selling artists of all time.
However, Gilmour had already recorded his solo debut in 1978 and his second album, “About Face,” six years later, while the band was still touring (1984). The album “On an Island” (2006) came out 22 years ago, while “Rattle That Lock” (2015), his most recent album, came out nearly 10 years ago.
After his final tour in 2015 and 2016, he stopped doing tours. Why doesn’t the artist go out more frequently like his former bandmate Roger Waters, considering that he never did any solo touring during his career?
The reason why David Gilmour doesn’t tour too much
The answer is rather straightforward: David Gilmour prefers to tour primarily when he has new music to share with his audience and promote. This is why he doesn’t do it too often. His most successful solo tours so followed the publication of a new solo record. Naturally, he also has an estimated net worth of 180 million dollars, so he doesn’t have to worry about money.
If he had traveled as much as Waters did in previous decades, that would undoubtedly have been considerably larger. The projected net worth of the vocalist and bassist is above 310 million dollars. Even though he was Pink Floyd’s primary lyricist, he also made a significant amount of money by touring nonstop during the previous few decades.
But he may soon make a comeback after going nearly ten years without performing. The explanation is that he is in the process of recording a new album, which should be released in 2024. His lyricist and wife Polly Samson has been sharing pictures of him in the studio for over a year. The photos depict him collaborating with Guy Pratt, the bassist from his last album. Romany, the daughter of Gilmour, who frequently performs at home with her father, and renowned session drummer Steve Gadd are also mentioned.
He doesn’t want big long tours anymore
While promoting the album “Rattle That Lock” in 2015, Gilmour has declared his disinterest in lengthy tours. According to Gilmour, he had no ambition to tour and perform in several places. He said that one of the primary causes was his age. He was 69 years old at the time and almost 80 now. In 2024, the guitarist will become 78 years old.
In a 2015 interview with Relix magazine, he stated, “I’m not a young kid anymore. I’m 69 and I just don’t feel the desire to travel around dozens of cities. I think most of my audiences are much younger than me. (So) I kind of think they can travel to me rather than me having to go to them quite as much. I don’t want to do a big long tour.”
He continued, “I want to really enjoy a shorter (tour), playing in really nice places. In rooms I can control well sound-wise and really enjoy myself. That will be better for the people who come to them. I don’t want to do a long, arduous tour. I’ve done plenty of those. I’m kind of done with it.”
Roger Waters, on the other hand, has been performing mostly Pink Floyd songs on solo tours since departing the band in the middle of the 1980s. He was the one who filled the vacuum left by the band when they disbanded in the middle of the 1990s. The only way for the audience to consistently hear the band’s classical music had been through Waters.
Nick Mason, the drummer for the group, also decided to travel and cover a further void throughout the past several years. This wasn’t performed by Gilmour and Rogers and was the band’s early material. His band, Saucerful of Secrets, focuses on records released up to the early 1970s. The majority of the music they perform is older than “Dark Side of the Moon” (1973).