Photo Credit: Anton Corbijn
Last week, David Gilmour unveiled Luck and Strange, a new collection of original songs from the legendary Pink Floyd guitarist due to arrive on September 6 via Sony Music. The artist has made a moment of his first full-length offering since 2015’s Rattle That Lock, returning to his adoring public after nearly a decade away by debuting the dreamy lead single “The Piper’s Call” on BBC Radio 2 and opening up on his process through a presser. This week, Gilmour has granted further insight with a cover story for Uncut, in which the artist expressed his intentions to tour again at long last.
Keen-eyed superfans could note Gilmour’s first intonations of a live series through his UK webstore, which indicated that fans who pre-ordered Luck and Strange would “get early access to future UK dates.” In his Uncut feature, which has made the rounds online via fansite Neptune Pink Floyd, Gilmour clarified that he is presently in the planning stage for a new tour, which would be the artist’s first run since 2016. “For the upcoming tour, rehearsals need to be scheduled and a setlist needs to be put together,” he offers, noting an “asterisk system” in the works to determine which songs will make the setlist. So far, the entire tracking of Luck and Strange is certain to make the cut, “but that’s about as far as I’ve got.”
Gilmour also spoke on his feelings about bringing back classic Pink Floyd, stressing “an unwillingness to revisit the Pink Floyd of the ’70s,” per Uncut. Unfortunately for golden-era die-hards, this formulation counts out iconic entries like Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall, though it leaves the door open for some formative and mature Floyd cuts.
When asked about the potential for these projects to make the mix, Gilmour offered, “Yeah, they might be better represented. I mean, at least one from the 60s. The one we’ve done in the past is ‘Astronomy’ [“Astronomy Domine,” track one from 1967 debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn]. That’s always entertaining and fun and gets people off to a happy start. There’s songs from the [A] Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell albums. I mean, I think ‘High Hopes’ is as good as anything we ever did at any time.”
On his backing ensemble, Gilmour shared that he had shifted his band as “it was all too robotic, and some people would have been better off in a Pink Floyd tribute band,” instead opting in 2024 to “get people who are genuinely creative and give them a little more space.” To open this space, the artist intends to recruit some “younger guys alongside Guy [Pratt] and The Webb Sisters, who sang with Leonard Cohen on his last tours.” Pratt is an esteemed instrumentalist who has collaborated with Gilmour since 1984 and toured with Pink Floyd from 1987-1990, later contributing bass to several tracks on 1994’s The Division Bell. The artist is also featured on the Luck and Strange record.
In closing, Gilmour noted that Luck and Strange and the ramp-up to his supporting tour have stoked and focused his creative fire, revealing that fans need not worry about another nine-year wait before the artist’s next project. The artist intends to plunge into his next work immediately after the tour, “which will practically force me to concentrate. I mean, we’ve got plenty more pieces of half-formed music that we can get started on. The intention is to get something else out as soon as possible”
Stay in the loop on Gilmour’s album release and tour plans via davidgilmour.com. Read more on Luck and Strange here.
Watch the official music video for “The Piper’s Call” below.
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