Success often comes with a heavy price. For Pink Floyd, the band’s meteoric rise to fame brought both triumph and tension. David Gilmour, who joined the band shortly after its formation, witnessed firsthand how the pressures of stardom impacted their music.
As the band sold millions of albums and achieved legendary status, cracks began to form behind the scenes. Gilmour saw how fame, while rewarding, also led to creative struggles that threatened the band’s unity.
Reflecting on these challenges, Gilmour opened up about how things shifted, particularly after Roger Waters left the group. The dynamics changed, and so did Pink Floyd’s music.
The Early Years of Pink Floyd
Gilmour shared with The Sun a look back at Pink Floyd’s early days. Before the fame, they were just a band with big dreams. But as those dreams came true, Gilmour admitted, “It came with a cost.”
Success changed the band’s dynamics. “After you achieve these dizzying heights, people tend to show you way too much deference,” Gilmour said. It became harder to hold on to the carefree spirit they once had.
Despite the challenges, Gilmour remembered that in the early days, they always worked things out. “We could be as rude and insulting to each other as we wanted,” he said, yet everything was all right in the end.
The Shift After Roger Waters Left
The guitarist reflected on how things changed after Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985. He shared with Rolling Stone that they “never managed to come to a common view of the dynamic” within the band. What started as a minor irritation eventually became “an impossible irritation.”
As Gilmour moved forward with his solo career, he prepared to release his new album, Luck and Strange. Set for a September release, Gilmour made it clear what fans could expect. “It goes all the way through without any concept album bulls**t,” he said.
With Luck and Strange marking his first album since 2015, Gilmour celebrated his return by hitting the road. The rockstar was ready to reconnect with fans and showcase his latest work.