The American band Body Count which often mixes Heavy Metal with Hip-Hop and is fronted by ICE-T released a few months ago a really powerful version for the Pink Floyd classic “Comfortably Numb”. The version was approved by Gilmour and he even asked to be part of the track. But, since the track was also originally written by Roger Waters, they also had to get his approval.
In an interview with Classic Rock, Ice-T recalled the struggle to get approval from the Pink Floyd members.
Ice-T recalls how Body Count got David Gilmour’s and Roger Waters’ approval for their “Comfortably Numb” version
“I approached the publishing company, but they said that Floyd don’t clear samples or accept remakes. We were defeated. Then our manager got hold of David’s manager, who got it to David, and he loved it. But we had to talk to Roger Waters – and I didn’t know about the situation with Roger and David. We were fucked again. But Roger asked: ‘Who’s singing it?” “Ice-T.’ ‘Approved’!
“The next thing was that David asked to be on it – and be in the video! He gave us more than we could imagine, and it’s got a thumbs up from the listeners. To connect with a little band called Body Count says a lot about David Gilmour, more than the music. God bless him,” Ice-T said.
What David Gilmour said about the Body Count “Comfortably Numb” version
The track is part of their new album “Merciless”, released in 2024. About the new Body Count version for the classic song, David Gilmour said in an official statement: “Body Count’s version of ‘Comfortably Numb’ is quite radical, but the words really struck me. It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They’ve made it relevant again.”
“The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like the new lyrics. They’re talking about the world we’re living in now, which is quite scary. Ice-T and Body Count played in London recently. Sadly, I couldn’t make it, but if another opportunity came up to play with them, I’d jump at it,” David Gilmour said.