Paul McCartney was one of the musicians David Gilmour mentioned in a 2002 interview with French Guitarist magazine. There, he displayed his love for Paul and how much he meant to him.
One of the most important artists of all time, David Gilmour was the guitarist and singer for Pink Floyd and contributed to the creation of several iconic Progressive Rock albums, including “The Wall” and “Dark Side Of The Moon” (1973). (1979).
During the French Guitarist interview, he told that Paul was one of the greatest musicians in the world. He stated, “He is a musician in the broadest sense of the word. He can play everything: bass, guitar, piano, drums … And on all these instruments, he has a very good level. We cannot, therefore, mystify him, he knows exactly what he wants. We owe him certain productions which were not of the greatest interest. But he definitely deserves the success and respect he enjoys.”
Not only that, but David also really wanted to be part of the Beatles. This was revealed back in 2016 during an interview with Mojo Magazine. He recalled, “I really wish I had been in the Beatles. [They] taught me how to play guitar; I learnt everything. The bass parts, the lead, the rhythm, everything. They were fantastic. I’m a kid, really. You get into Studio Two at Abbey Road, you’re sitting there with Paul McCartney and your guitar is plugged in. You think that’s an ordinary day’s works, but of course, it isn’t it’s magical! Managing to persuade him to sing ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ at the Cavern, with me doing the John Lennon parts, was absolutely fantastic.”
“I’ve been in The Who, I’ve been in The Beatles and I’ve been in Pink Floyd! Top that, mother***er!”
The feeling is also mutual between the two musicians. Paul has also called David a ‘genius.’ Paul McCartney referred to David Gilmour as “a genius” in his book “The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present,” which was published in 2021. He marked, “David Gilmour plays the solo on the record. I’ve known him since the early days of Pink Floyd. Dave is a genius of sorts, so I was pulling out all the stops. I admired his playing so much, I’d seen him around; I think he’d just done his solo ‘About Face’ album. So I rang him up and said, ‘Would you play on this?’ It sounded like his kind of thing.”
Over the years, the two musicians got the opportunity to perform live together. Paul McCartney put together a special band to perform with him for a special concert in 1999 at Liverpool’s storied Cavern Club. Along with David Gilmour, McCartney also included the accordion player Chris Hall, guitarist Mick Green, keyboardist Pete Wingfield, and drummer Ian Paice of Deep Purple. The performance included a lot of timeless Rock tunes from the 1950s and 1960s.
