I hadnt thought this all the way through, Gilmour says.
It was fuckin freezing in there.
But we spent 15 minutes working on this tiny, little riff I wrote on the guitar.
They all joined in one by one.
But when he started amassing new songs a couple years ago, his mind drifted back to that tape.
That song started developing a depth that Id forgotten about, Gilmour says.
The playing on it is unmistakably Richard.
He was a true, lovely, creative person, and people like that are hard to find.
It just takes a while to recharge.
Im not one of these people that wants to be out on the road constantly.
Ive got a lovely family.
Ive got some lovely green fields to walk around in.
The whole lockdown thing got in the way, really.
I suppose I could say it helped focus the mind, because we were trapped.
Thats why we called it the Von Trapped Experience, a joke on the oldSound of Musicthing.
It got us into thinking what fun it could be making some music together.
We were very, very nervous about getting out and getting Covid.
We were also talking about getting older.
Pollys such a good writer and thinker about these things, and she gets into peoples heads.
Things were going quite slow for a little while.
Were those themes there from the very start?It was there from the start.
You brought in Charlie Andrew to produce the record.
How did he change the way you usually work?Well, hes a younger person.
He comes from a different era, and a different whole background.
He certainly didnt know very much about baby boomer stuff that had come quite a long time before him.
And he was kind of blind to mine.
And no one that I could think of seemed to be quite the perfect choice.
Polly, who is an ace researcher, went online and looked up people.
She had me listen to the music that these people had been involved with in one way or another.
And Charlie Andrew and his work stood out from everything.
We rang him up, and he seemed very keen to do the album.
That has been an absolutely thrilling experience, because hes a bit of a tyrant.
He really pushes us to get things done.
But because Steve Gadd is the legend that he is, Charlie was very pleased with that.
But in the meantime, we went into the studio with a couple of other younger musicians as well.
Adam Betts on the drums, Tom Herbert playing bass, this lovely guy, Rob Gentry playing keyboards.
They and Charlie pushed me to my limits, and it moved forward in a brilliant way.
You cover Between Two Points by the Montgolfier Brothers.
Most people arent familiar with that song.
And one day I thought I might just muck about with it in the studio and see what happened.
I just gave her the lyrics on a piece of paper and stuck her in front of her mic.
Shes a true pro with the microphone, has been since she was three.
And basically the vocal that you hear on that track is her first take all the way.
We thought we were moving into sort of a golden age.
What do they call it, post-truth?
Its a different piper I think.
You cant stay away from things just because theyre there.
This is more Piper of Hamelin, I suppose.
It was recorded on a mini disc player in 1997.
We floated that in towards the end.
I love that song.Scattered was written by you, Polly, and your son Charlie.
Polly came in and helped with brilliance and expertise to get it finished.
On the EPK, you said this is the best record youve made sinceDark Side of the Moon.
What makes you feel that way?Its a flip statement, really.
I mean, its not likeDark Side the Moonis even my favorite album.
I think I preferWish You Were Here.
Mostly the musicians who have been playing on the record are part of the new band.
[Bassist] Guy Pratt is in the new band, of course.
And I have Louise Marshall, one of the singers from the last time.
Theyre English girls from not far away from where I live actually.
And I have been able to persuade Romany to come and do a lead vocal on a few shows.
I havent really worked out quite which ones shell be able to do.
I know people love them, and I love playing them.
Ill be doing Wish You Were Here, of course I will.
Will that be in the setlist?Yeah, quite likely.
Quite likely.How about songs like Breathe, Time, and Money?I dont think Ill be doing Money.
I havent really worked it out yet.
We havent started rehearsals.
You said earlier this year that your last band started feeling like a Pink Floyd tribute act.
And so I can just concentrate on singing and playing my bit.
And also, not sticking quite so slavishly to the original records.
I wanted people to feel a little bit more freedom, and make the music actually alive.
And the musicians obviously want to stray from that.
I want to stray from that.
Nick Mason has spent the last few years playing shows with his band Nick Masons Saucerful of Secrets.
Have you seen them yet?I havent seen it myself, no.
I love the fact that hes doing it.
I dont know what to say about that really, exactly.
Im all for him doing it.
I need to ask you about the other guy now.
Back in 2010, you and Roger were on decent enough terms that you played a charity show together.
You then guested at hisWallshow in London.
I dont really know his work since.
Enough of your nonsense.Gilmour shared the Tweet and added, Every word demonstrably true.
I agreed with her piece and said so.
Again, thats all.
If things were different… and I am not interested in that from a financial standpoint.
It works on a veto system.
You could say its three people saying yes, but one person saying no.
You and Nick revived the Pink Floyd name in 2022 when you made Hey, Hey, Rise Up!
And you might as well use what youve earned through your life to benefit causes that you believe in.
Maybe when I get a bit older Ill think about them.There have been a flood of rock biopics recently.
No, I dont know about that.
No one has really suggested it.
Hey, but you Yanks have got to do what youve got to do.
And that election is your business.
And weve just had one here.
Lets end by talking about Yes, I Have Ghosts.
Its a bonus song on the new album that really sums things up.
But its not been out on an album yet.
And we both really like it.
In fact, its our 30th wedding anniversary next week.Congratulations.Thank you.
