David Gilmour says he was “bullied by the record label” on Pink Floyd’s final album, The Endless River.
During a conversation with the Los Angeles Times, the guitarist reflected on how the 2014 LP came together.
“When we did that album, there was a thing that Andy Jackson, our engineer, had put together called ‘The Big Spliff’ – a collection of all these bits and pieces of jams [from the sessions for 1994’s The Division Bell] that was out there on bootlegs. A lot of fans wanted this stuff that we’d done in that time, and we thought we’d give it to them,” Gilmour recalled.
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He and his bandmates obliged by compiling the material into The Endless River. The album was almost entirely made up of instrumental and ambient music, save for “Louder Than Words,” the only song to feature lead vocals. Despite excitement around the LP, The Endless River was met with mixed reviews when it was released.
“My mistake, I suppose, was in being bullied by the record company to have it out as a properly paid-for Pink Floyd record,” Gilmour admitted, suggesting that expectations for the album were unfair. “It should have been clear what it was — it was never intended to be the follow-up to The Division Bell. But, you know, it’s never too late to get caught in one of these traps again.”
David Gilmour Says It Was ‘Lovely to Say Goodbye’ to Pink Floyd’s Catalog
Elsewhere in the conversation, Gilmour expressed his satisfaction with the recent sale of Pink Floyd’s catalog.
“It’s history — it’s all past. This stuff is for future generations,” the rocker noted. “I’m an old person. I’ve spent the last 40-odd years trying to fight the good fight against the forces of indolence and greed to do the best with our stuff that you can do. And I’ve given that fight up now.”
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In the deal, Sony acquired Pink Floyd’s recorded music, name and likeness for $400 million. While the large sum is undoubtedly a boon for Gilmour’s bank account, he’s more relieved to be done with the band’s long history of business-related discourse.
“I’ve got my advance — because, you know, it’s not fresh new money or anything like that. It’s an advance against what I would have earned over the next few years anyway,” Gilmour explained. “But the arguments and fighting and idiocies that have been going on for the last 40 years between these four disparate groups of people and their managers and whatever — it’s lovely to say goodbye to.”
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Three different eras, one great band.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
