In the years since Pink Floyd’s most fruitful chapter in the early-mid 1970s, David Gilmour has had a lot of time to reflect. The British band have one of the most fascinating stories in rock music history, featuring a distinctive creative arc that would see them record masterworks and misfires along the way.
Together, the classic lineup of Pink Floyd, featuring Gilmour, Roger Waters, Rick Wright and Nick Mason, would hit heights that only a few can claim to have done. After a period of experimentation and realignment following the departure of original frontman Syd Barrett in 1968, the quartet moved ever closer to their ultimate creative vision by the dawn of the new decade. This journey culminated in the era-defining albums The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973 and its follow-up, Wish You Were Here, two years later.
As with every group that tastes such monumental success, things started to unravel for Pink Floyd. A series of factors split them apart at the seams, and during this period, Roger Waters became increasingly atomised from his bandmates and took a more dictatorial grip on proceedings. This power shift would culminate in keyboardist Rick Wright being kicked out during the making of The Wall and Gilmour and Waters starting a feud that is still ongoing today.
The recording process of The Wall was such a momentous turning point for Pink Floyd that it would even feature the “last” song the consequential songwriting partnership of Gilmour and Waters would write together, ‘Comfortably Numb’. Yet, despite the masterful nature of the track, its creation was still marred by intense friction that signalled the end of this lineup.
When speaking to Italy’s La Repubblica, David Gilmour reflected on his time with Pink Floyd and the making of The Wall. He maintained that the success of The Dark Side of the Moon “corrupted” the band and led to their “worst period”.
Asked by the interviewer if he knew that Pink Floyd were to “change rock music forever” when writing The Dark Side of The Moon, Gilmour replied that the group were indeed aware of the gravity of the album. He recalled: “We were strong and snotty. You usually answer no, we weren’t aware of this, and instead, I say yes, we were. We understood that we were doing something which was going to change our lives and then the world around us.”
In response to being asked if the period of time was about “much money, but no corruption”, Gilmour delivered a very self-aware answer. He asserted that the band switched because the finances played a significant role. He said: “Oh yes, we were corrupted. Corrupted because, for a while, we thought we could do anything. Money eats up something inside you.”
Gilmour believed that Pink Floyd “stood up” until the release of the 1977 album Animals, but then the problems had seeped much deeper, with each of their personal lives affected so severely that the group simply imploded. Gilmour explained: “Because of that poison of corruption, we blew up. Every one of us blew up in his personal way; the period of The Wall was our worst period. We had lost the meaning of our work.”
