David Jon Gilmour was born on 6th March, 1946, in Grantchester Meadows, Cambridge. As the lead guitarist of Pink Floyd, he is by many considered one of the most influential guitarists on the rock stage. Right up to "The Dark Side of The Moon", Dave wrote his own songs, but from then up to "The Final Cut", Roger Waters wrote almost all the lyrics. Dave made up for it by producing some excellent guitar work, and production work on all those albums, most notably on the songs Shine On You Crazy Diamond (from "Wish You Were Here") and Comfortably Numb (from "The Wall"). He also did a large amount of the vocals. In the early 90s Gilmour divorced his wife Ginger. He now lives with his girl friend Polly Samson, a journalist who also contributed to some of The Division Bell's lyrics. He is a neighbour to his friend and band mate Nick Mason in Maida Vale, London and has a fully equipped recording studio, The Astoria, on his houseboat on Thames. He also enjoys flying his planes and owns the Intrepid Aviation Company collection of classic aircraft. Among great friends he counted comedy sci-fi author Douglas Adams, who died on May 11, 2001 from a heart attack while working out in a gym in Santa Barbara, California.
Worked as a model before joining Pink Floyd .Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of Pink Floyd ) in 1996.Voted the best East Anglian guitarist in Total Guitar Magazine's poll of the greatest 12 British guitarists. [July 2001]The song "Comfortably Numb" from 'The Wall', was a reworking of a song written for his first solo album. The song was cut from the final song list.He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Music.Pink Floyd 's 1973 album, "Dark Side of the Moon", topped Classic Rock Magazine's list of the 30 greatest concept albums of all time. Their 1979 album, "The Wall", came tenth and their 1983 album, "The Final Cut", came 21st on the list. [March 2003]Contrary to popular belief, he did not replace Syd Barrett as a member of Pink Floyd . He was asked by the members of Pink Floyd to join the band to supplement the guitar work of the increasingly erratic Syd Barrett. For a brief time, he and Syd were both members of Pink Floyd at the same time. When Barrett's mental breakdown made it impossible for him to continue with the group, Gilmour became a permanent, contributing member in time for their second album, 1968's "A Saucerful of Secrets". Syd Barrett also contributed one track to "A Saucerful of Secrets", his last with Pink Floyd . He departed soon after that.Hobbies include car racing, flying airplanes, collecting guitars, and vintage aircrafts.Is considered to be one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th Century.Discovered singer-songwriter Kate BushLists "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" as his favourite Pink Floyd song.Lists Jimi Hendrix as a major influence. When he saw Hendrix perform at a London nightclub in 1966, Gilmour said that nobody who saw the performance that night left the club not thinking that Hendrix would go all the way to the top.Lists "Wish You Were Here" as his favourite Pink Floyd album.Pink Floyd were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame for their outstanding contribution to British music and integral part of British music culture. (16 November 2005).Winner of the 2008 Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award.Owns numerous airplanes and is a licensed pilot. Also started a flying museum called Intrepid Aviation.