Since the 70s when Pink Floyd released classic albums like “Dark Side of The Moon” (1973) and “The Wall” (1979), the guitarist David Gilmour has been part of lists of the greatest guitarists of all time. His guitar playing is an essential part of the music made by the Progressive Rock band and it was a crucial element that made them one of the best-selling bands in history.
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Even though his main influences are from artists that he heard in his youth and in the early days of his musical career, he continued to pay attention to new players. He even mentioned in the 80s which were two new guitarists that he was being influenced by.
The 2 guitarists David Gilmour said influenced him in the 80s
Eddie Van Halen
In an interview with Guitar Classics magazine in 1985, almost one year after he had released his second solo album “About Face”, David Gilmour talked about new guitar players. He mentioned two recent ones that he was being influenced by. One of them was Eddie Van Halen, who already was one of the most influential guitar players in the world.
Although his music was really different from what Gilmour used to do, he told the magazine that he was being influenced by Van Halen. “These days I don’t listen to other people with the objective of trying to steal their licks. Although I’ve got no objections to stealing them if that seems like a good idea. I’m sure that I’m still influenced by Mark Knopfler and Eddie Van Halen as well.”
He continued:
“I can’t play like Eddie Van Halen, I wish I could. I sat down to try some of those ideas and I can’t do it. (But) I don’t know if I could ever get any of that stuff together. Sometimes I think I should work at the guitar more. I play every day but I don’t consciously practice scales or anything in particular,” David Gilmour said.
Eddie passed away in 2020 at the age of 65 after years battling cancer. Gilmour had the opportunity to meet him a couple of times over the decades. The Pink Floyd musician told Guitar Player magazine in 2009 that he always seemed to be a very nice guy.
“I have to confess I don’t listen to an awful lot of Van Halen, but Eddie is fantastic. His moments of sheer, unbridled, joyful playing- as he did on the Michael Jackson track – can’t help but make you want to jump around on a dance floor.”
“He was a major influence on a lot of people, wasn’t he? He changed Rock music. (Eddie) made a lot of very average players think they were a lot better than they actually were!” David Gilmour said.
As he told Guitar Classics, Mark Knopfler was another guitarist he was being influenced by at the time. Knopfler is three years young than Gilmour and first achieved fame with the release of Dire Straits‘ self-titled debut album released in 1978. In that same year the Pink Floyd member released his solo debut.
That record had the number 1 hit “Sultans of Swing” that put the British band on the map and made everyone pay attention to their next releases. Gilmour and Knopfler became good friends over the decades and already had the opportunity to play together during live performances.
Gilmour even listed Dire Straits’ debut record in an interview with Guitar Tricks Insider as one of his favorites of all time. In 2023 even rumors that they were recording something together appeared. Because Gilmour’s wife, lyricist and photographer Polly Samson posted a photo the two legendary musicians at British Grove Studios. The caption said: “Random Man and Local Hero”.
Dire Straits were one of the best-selling bands of all time. They have sold an estimated amount of 100 to 120 million records sold wolrdwide. They came to an end in 1995 and since then Knopfler focused on his solo career, releasing nine studio albums. The most recent one is “Down The Road Wherever”, released in 2018.
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