Formed in London, England back in 1965, Pink Floyd is the most successful Progressive Rock band of all time, with an estimated amount of more than 250 million records sold worldwide. The singer and guitarist David Gilmour joined the band in 1967, two years after their foundation, since Syd Barrett was deteriorating mentally and could no longer play or sing properly. So he ended up being his replacement when they fired the original member in 1968.
It was in the 70s with the release of albums like “Dark Side of The Moon” (1973) and “The Wall” (1979) that they really became commercially successful and caught the attention of fans all over the world.
Over the decades, many groups covered Pink Floyd and David Gilmour mentioned in an interview with Q magazine in 2006, which were two versions he liked.
The 2 Pink Floyd cover songs that David Gilmour said he likes
The Scissor Sisters “Comfortably Numb”
“The Scissor Sisters‘ version of ‘Comfortably Numb’ surprised me, but I enjoyed it. I wish more people would cover us,” David Gilmour said. The Scissor Sisters version for that song certainly surprised everyone and not only Gilmour, since it is a really different version. The American group that often mixed pop-rock and disco, gave their touch to the track. So it became a really unique cover that doesn’t really have a lot in common with the original song besides the lyrics.
Their version for the Pink Floyd song was first featured on their self-titled debut album released in 2004. It was also released as a single and appeared on the charts at the time especially in Europe. It peaked at number 1 on the United Kingdom Dance chart, for example. Their version was nominated to the Grammy Awards in the “Best Dance Recording” category in 2004. But they lost to Britney Spears’ “Toxic”. They also had the chance to perform the track live that year at the Glastonbury festival.
Although they gained recognition with the release of their debut record, their breakthrough album would really be the second one called “Ta-Dah”, released in 2006. That album had the hits “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin'” and “I Can’t Decide”.
They still released two more albums before entering a hiatus in 2017. They are “Night Work” (2010) and “Magic Hour” (2012).
Easy Star All-Stars “Dub Side of the Moon”
“There’s the (Reggae novelty version) Dub Side of The Moon, which is fun,” David Gilmour said.
Well, this one is not the cover of one song, but a Reggae version of the band’s 1973 album “Dark Side of The Moon”. It was recorded by the American/Jamaican band Easy Star All-Stars, which became known for making Reggae versions of well-known albums.
The Pink Floyd version, released in 2003, was the first album of their discography. It sold an estimated amount of more than 85.000 copies worldwide and in 2006 a DVD was also released. After that success, the group re-recorded other famous albums by artists like Radiohead, The Beatles and David Bowie. But they also released an album featuring only original songs, which was called “First Light” in 2011.
The Reggae collective Easy Star All-Stars was formed in 1997 in New York City by American and Jamaican studio musicians. But before the release of the first Pink Floyd rendition, they basically existed as a studio entity.