Guitar world have recently released a picture of their next issue which is due to hit shelves towards the end of this month in all major UK retailers.
This new edition will discuss in lengths Davids Guitar Collection ahead of the upcoming Auction at Christies in June of this year. Further to this edition will be an in depth look into Davids use of phrasing and bends on the song Dogs from the 1977 Animals Album.
We will give you more information as it becomes available
The first question is… how could you?!
“[Laughs] The big picture is I want to raise some money. There are a lot of major problems in our world today in terms of refugees and starvation. I have a charitable foundation and the money will be distributed from there to the people that need it most throughout the world. It will be just a drop in the bucket, but many
will potentially benefit from this sale. That’s more
important to me these days.”
Do you have any sentimental attachment to your
instruments, or have you always thought of them
more as tools of the trade?
“That’s a difficult one. I had my teenage dreams of
having a Fender Stratocaster, and then I bought one and it was great. I still romanticise Stratocasters and some of these guitars to some extent, but the more-rational me does think of them as ‘tools of the trade’. While my Black Strat is special, I don’t feel I won’t be able to achieve just as much on a different guitar. So, yeah, I guess I’m not overly sentimental [laughs].”
We can understand that. Your Black Strat has been so heavily modified, in some ways it’s not even the Strat that you bought in 1970…
“The neck has changed two or three times, and I think maybe more than one pickup has been changed on it. There have been several modifications done to it, most of which have been undone again at some point. But that’s part of the reason it’s my special guitar. I worked out all my crazy ideas on it. I did add a little switch that allows you to select just the bridge and neck pickup, which isn’t possible on a normal Strat. It was an idea. I haven’t removed that idea, but I rarely used it.”
Of the 120 guitars that are being auctioned, which are the most valuable to you?
“Well, obviously, the Black Strat. It has served me extraordinarily well. It’s on all the Pink Floyd records from the 70s. The opening notes of Shine On You Crazy Diamond fell out of that guitar one day in 1974, and the solo on Comfortably Numb was done on that guitar. It’s really on everything during the 70s. My 1969 Martin D-35 is something I’ll miss. I used it for the lead parts on Wish You Were Here, and it was my main acoustic guitar through the 70s. I still use it all the time. It’s the nicest guitar I have for just plain, straight strumming. I’m auctioning my Martin D12-28, too, which is the 12-string I wrote Wish You Were Here on. I’m also auctioning my Ovation 1619-4 six-string acoustic that was very useful to me for a long time
because of its internal electronics. It’s also important because that’s the guitar I restrung using some of the high strings from a 12-string set, which inspired me to write Comfortably Numb. I used it for almost every live performance of Comfortably Numb through the years.”
What will you use moving forward?
“I’ll hunt something down that I’m sure will do the job just as well.”
There are so many more options these days. It was often difficult to find great guitars in the 70s…
“I guess so. But I do unrepentantly like the old ones. Older instruments have a tonality of their own that often takes years to develop. But these things go in waves. Acoustic guitar makers like Gibson and Martin went through periods where they were manufacturing beautiful guitars, then through periods where they tightened their overheads and made things that weren’t
so good. Eventually, they learned their lesson, and in the long run they went back to making great guitars again. Luckily, I know the periods of guitar and the types of guitar that I like, and I’ll eventually hunt down another 1969 D-35 that is as good as the one I originally owned. You just need to look in the right places and, as you say, there are a lot of them about these days.”
Do you mind if we ask what you are planning to hang on to? It doesn’t sound like much…
“There are a few things. I’m keeping a lovely old Gibson steel guitar that has a really beefy sound. I’m holding on to a black Gretsch Duo Jet that I really love, along with a 1945 Martin D-18. I also couldn’t bear to part with my ’55 Fender Esquire that I nicknamed ‘The Workmate’. It’s the one you see on the cover of my About Face album, and it was used on Run Like Hell from The Wall among other things.”
Does the auction signal your retirement in any way?
“Not really. I still write stuff all the time, and there’s no statement of intention to retire. I’m just unburdening
myself of a huge collection, which at some point will have to go. This just felt like a good moment to raise some good, hard cash for people who need it.There are a lot of beautiful old guitars in the world, and I can track down some replacements if I need to. And if I really feel desperate for something I’ve auctioned, I can find the person I sold it to and make them an offer they can’t refuse [laughs]! Inevitably, I’ll buy more guitars; I just don’t want to have a stock that I keep in a cupboard or in their cases for too long.“
A Roger Waters “Us + Them” tour film will get an event cinema release later this year after Trafalgar Releasing landed the rights.
The tour took in 156 shows and countries and regions including Australia, Latin America and North America. Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd, played tracks from his career with the band as well as his solo work to 2.3 million people in all. The film of the tour is currently in production and has yet to be named. It will capture moments from several gigs during the tour.
Waters is renowned for live performances that become immersive sensory experiences. “Roger has been the innovator of theater in arena and stadium rock-n-roll since the early ’70s,” said his manager, Mark Fenwick. “He is legendary for pushing the boundaries of surround sound and visual entertainment with his message of love and humanity through ‘Us + Them.’”
Event cinema specialist Trafalgar has fared well recently with music releases from bands including BTS and Coldplay. It has worked with Waters before, on the release of “Roger Waters – The Wall” in 2015.
“Roger Waters’ contribution to the music landscape is unrivaled,” said Trafalgar CEO Marc Allenby. “His spectacular shows across the world, in the greatest stadiums and arenas, are always poignant, relevant both creatively and as a champion of human rights. It’s a great honor to be collaborating with Roger and his team again.”
The film will get a global release this fall.
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Nick Mason seems to be enjoying being back out on the road, With the european tour in full swing the band have just announced 3 more dates as part of their busy 2019 tour.
The new additions see the band heading to Prague, Poland, Italy. Its an exciting time to be a floyd fan.
Thursday 25th July 2019 – Lucerna Velky Sal, Prague, Czech Republic
Saturday 27th July 2019 – Korty Legii/Legia Tennis Stadium, Warsaw, Poland
Friday 12th July 2019 – Teatro Antico di Taormina, Sicily, Italy
Tickets will be on sale via Ticketmaster on Friday 29th March 2019
A few more issues have arisen for the Zee – Identity 2019 Reissue.
A Statement from Dave Harris reads – ” My dear friends, the curse of ‘IDENTITY 2019’. I have been made aware today that there is a problem at ‘Burningshed’ and they are refunding money to anyone that has ordered ZEE from them. I am shocked because the response and sales from around the world have been really good.
My agent is presently mid flight back from the States and I have no more information than this right now. I will inform you all of what is happening when I find out tomorrow. I have total faith in Rob and know this will all be sorted very soon. ❤️❤️ “
We will update you all as soon as more information becomes available.
The pre-sale exhibition features immersive multimedia. All images: Eleanor Jane
In January, Christie’s announced details of David Gilmour’s intention to auction over 120 instruments from his personal guitar collection in New York on 20 June 2019, with the sale proceeds benefiting charitable causes.
Sure to be the most lucrative guitar auction in history, the collection comprises guitars that the Pink Floyd star has used throughout his career, including his famous black 1969 Stratocaster aka ‘The Black Strat’. Other highlights include the all-gold 1955 Les Paul used for the solo on Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2) and the white #0001 Stratocaster used to record the song’s rhythm part.
Gilmour purchased his 1969 Stratocaster at Manny’s in New York in 1970
Wednesday 27 March saw Christie’s host a special media preview of the pre-sale exhibition at its London saleroom. Featuring every instrument in the sale, the exhibition will be open to the public until 31 March. Entry is free, with timed tickets available via the auction house. Highlights of the sale will then be exhibited in Los Angeles from 7-11 May, before the collection is reassembled for the New York sale preview from 14-19 June.
This morning’s media preview event begins with the auction house’s musical instruments specialist Kerry Keane opening The Black Strat’s case in front of a scrum of photographers, declaring, “Here is the most iconic guitar in rock ‘n’ roll history.” After marvelling at the jaw-dropping array of guitars on display – including so many with voices familiar to millions of music fans across the globe – we sit down with Keane to find out more.
Kerry Keane from Christie’s unveils The Black Strat to the media
“It’s an extraordinary collection and it’s wonderful to be surrounded by guitars of this quality,” says Keane. “We have good expectations, as does Mr Gilmour. The important aspect there is the mission. The mission of this sale is for proceeds to fulfil those philanthropic passions that Mr Gilmour has.”
“I’ve had a few wonderful conversations with him and a day spent with him back last year, talking about the collection and talking about what excited him and the guitars that he’s passionate about,” Keane continues.
Gilmour’s white Stratocaster features the serial number 0001
“When I first started vetting the collection, it became evident that there are instruments here that exhibit a wide berth of guitar history, from the very early Rickenbacker [lap steel] to more contemporary guitars made maybe only 10 years ago.”
“In his instrument collection, when it concentrated say on Fenders, I was excited to find an extraordinarily pure Esquire, the magnificent ’52 Blackguard Telecaster, a couple of Broadcasters, a ’54 Stratocaster, that’s fun stuff.”
And it’s not just Fenders: “One turns their back and they look on the other side of the room and here’s this terrific ’55 Les Paul that gave that thick and rich solo to Another Brick In The Wall. What I find interesting is, it is obligatory for any rock guitarist to own a Les Paul, but they tend to gravitate towards humbuckers.”
This ’55 all-gold Les Paul was used for the solo on Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)
“Mr Gilmour is a single-coil man, and he loves P-90s. He described it as giving a ‘raunchier sound’. In his hands, that solo is spectacular. It’s rich, thick and lyrical. What he pulls out of that P-90 is quite phenomenal.”
Although the likes of The Black Strat will inevitably grab the headlines, Floyd fans should fear not – there are guitars in the catalogue that are much more accessible. “There are instruments priced here from $300,” states Keane. “There’s all price points. When one looks at the Takamines, the very reasonably priced Ovations, here’s an opportunity for a collector or musician to buy a guitar that’s reasonably priced that David Gilmour played.”
This ultra-rare 1958 Gretsch White Penguin is estimated at $100,000-$150,000
“He’s obviously still touring and performing, so he has kept some guitars for that,” adds Caitlin Graham, pop culture specialist at Christie’s. “But I think we really have the most recognisable and significant guitars from his career in the sale.”
Acquired in 1984, this Strat was Gilmour’s main live squeeze for the next two decades
“There’s the Black Strat, the red Stratocaster that he played for 20 years when the Black Strat was retired for a period and some really lovely acoustic guitars that have been used in the studio since the 1970s. These include the Martin D-35 that has been David Gilmour’s primary studio acoustic since 1971.”
This sale is emphatically not an indication that David Gilmour is set to retire from music, but we’ll leave the final word to the man himself: “Many of the guitars in this sale are guitars that have given me a tune, so a lot of them have earned their keep, you might say,” Gilmour told Christie’s. “These guitars, they’ve given so much to me, it’s time for them to move on to other people who hopefully will find joy and perhaps create something new.”
Stay tuned for more from the David Gilmour auction pre-sale in the coming days.
Aubrey Powell recently confirmed in a Press release confrence for the opening of Pink Floyd – Their Mortal Remains in Dortmund, that not only is he working on the Animals 5.1 SACD release due early next year. He is infact working on a secret new box yet entitled The Later Years which is a elaborate box set of their collected work of Pink Flloyd between 1987 – to present (Roger Waters quit the band in 1986 and is not featured on the last 3 studio albums or acompanying tours)
It was Aubrey Powell himself who confirmed that he is currently working on not only the exhibitions “Hipgnosis – Daring To Dream” and “Pink Floyd – Their Mortal Remains “ , but also a still “secret” new box set, or two, and is keeping himself busy.
It was also stated in the confrence that the elaborate box set should be available in November. He already has ideas for the cover.
Following this new information a member of Pulse and Spirit, our friends over at the german based fanzine posted that
“ I was in Wilhelmshaven on Sunday and there I had the opportunity to ask specifically! The LATER YEARS BOX should therefore be released in November 2019, including the complete concert of the Nassau concert in 1988 as part of the Delicate Sound Of Thunder tour … Also for the new ANIMALS cover he has become active, it will show the Battersea in the conversion with the construction cranes in the evening light! This should come in early 2020, whether as a boxset he could not or did not want to say … ”
We will of course keep you upto date as more information becomes available.
Just hitting the shelves is a new edition of the UK’s Guitarist magazine with an issue number of 444, This is a very intresting edition that features an extensive coverage and anidotes from David Gilmour on his upcoming guitar auction.
Theres is some great photographs and background information on some of Davids key guitars and the alterations that some instruments have had to make them personal for Davids playing prefrences.
The new issue is currently on shelves in all major UK retailers but for those overseas dont panic you can order your copy online by Clicking Here.