A barn in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment. Barns are most commonly found on a farm or former farm. A barn meant for keeping cattle may be known as a byre.^[1]

Construction[link]

The skeleton of a post and beam horse barn just after raising

Thomas Ranck Round Barn in Fayette County, Indiana, U.S.

The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with USA and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (August 2011)

Older barns were usually built from lumber sawn from timber on the farm, although stone barns were sometimes built in areas where stone was a cheaper building material.

Modern barns are more typically steel buildings. Prior to the 1900s, most barns were timber framed (also known as post and beam) forming very strong structures to withstand storms and heavy loads of animal feed. From about 1900 to 1940, many large dairy barns were built in northern USA. These commonly have gambrel or hip roofs to maximize the size of the hay loft above the dairy roof, and have become associated in the popular image of a dairy farm. The barns that were common to the wheatbelt held large numbers of pulling horses such as Clydesdales or Percherons. These large wooden barns, especially when filled with hay, could make spectacular fires that were usually total losses for the farmers. With the advent of balers it became possible to store hay and straw outdoors in stacks surrounded by a plowed fireguard. Many barns in the northern United States are painted barn red with a white trim. One possible reason for this is that ferric oxide, which is used to create red paint, was the cheapest and most readily available chemical for farmers in New England and nearby areas. Another possible reason is that ferric oxide acts a preservative^[2] and so painting a barn with it would help to protect the structure.

With the popularity of tractors following World War II many barns were taken down or replaced with modern Quonset huts made of plywood or galvanized steel. Beef ranches and dairies began building smaller loftless barns often of Quonset huts or of steel walls on a treated wood frame (old telephone or power poles). By the 1960s it was found that cattle receive sufficient shelter from trees or wind fences (usually wooden slabs 20% open).

Uses[link]

The Texas Technological College Dairy Barn in Lubbock, Texas, U.S., was used as a teaching facility until 1967.

In older style barns, the upper area was used to store hay and sometimes grain. This is called the mow (rhymes with cow) or the hayloft. A large door at the top of the ends of the barn could be opened up so that hay could be put in the loft. The hay was hoisted into the barn by a system containing pulleys and a trolley that ran along a track attached to the top ridge of the barn. Trap doors in the floor allowed animal feed to be dropped into the mangers for the animals.

In New England it is common to find barns attached to the main farmhouse (connected farm architecture), allowing for chores to be done while sheltering the worker from the weather.

In the middle of the twentieth century the large broad roof of barns were sometimes painted with slogans in the United States. Most common of these were the 900 barns painted with ads for Rock City.

Features[link]

An antique barn in Poland

A gambrel-roofed barn in Wisconsin, U.S.

A barn in southern Ontario, Canada

A barn of the Uster castle in the city of Uster, Switzerland

A farm often has pens of varying shapes and sizes used to shelter large and small animals. The pens used to shelter large animals are called stalls and are usually located on the lower floor. Other common areas, or features, of a typical barn include:

• a tack room (where bridles, saddles, etc. are kept), often set up as a breakroom
• a feed room, where animal feed is stored - not typically part of a modern barn where feed bales are piled in a stackyard
• a drive bay, a wide corridor for animals or machinery
• a silo where fermented grain or hay (called ensilage or haylage) is stored.
• a milkhouse for dairy barns; an attached structure where the milk is collected and stored prior to shipment
• a grain (soy, corn, etc.) bin for dairy barns, found in the mow and usually made of wood with a chute to the ground floor providing access to the grain, making it easier to feed the cows.
• modern barns often contain an indoor corral with a squeeze chute for providing veterinary treatment to sick animals.

Derivatives[link]

The physics term "barn", which is a subatomic unit of area, 10⁻²⁸ m², came from experiments with uranium nuclei during World War II, wherein they were described colloquially as "big as a barn", with the measurement officially adopted to maintain security around nuclear weapons research.

Barn idioms[link]

• "He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn" is a popular expression for a person having poor aim when throwing an object or when shooting at something.
• To "lock the barn door after the horse has bolted" implies that one has solved a problem too late to prevent it.
• "Were you born/raised in a barn?" is an accusation used differently in various parts of the English-speaking world, but most commonly as a reprimand when someone exhibits poor manners by either using ill-mannered language (particularly if related to manure), or leaving doors open.
• "Your barn door is open" is used as a euphemism to remind someone to zip the fly of their trousers.

Types[link]

• Stable
• Bank barn
• Carriage house/Cart Shed
• Combination barn — found throughout England, especially in areas of pastoral farming
• Dutch barn
• English barn
• Granary — to store grain
• Linhay — to store hay on the first floor with either cattle on the ground floor (cattle linhay), or farm machinery (cart linhay). Characterised by an open front with regularly spaced posts or pillars.
• Longhouse — an ancient form of cattle building, with the same entrance for people as well
• Oast houses — used for drying hops as part of the brewing process.
• Pole barn — a simple structure that consists of poles embedded in the ground to support a roof, with or without walls. The pole barn lacks a conventional foundation, thus greatly reducing construction costs. Traditionally used to house livestock, hay or equipment.
• Round barn
• Shelter sheds — open-fronted structures for stock
• Shippon — houses oxen and cattle. Has fodder storage above, regularly spaced doors on the yard side, a pitching door or window on the first floor.
• Stable — the historical building had a hayloft on the first floor and a pitching door at the front. After the barn, this is typically historically the second oldest building on the farm.
• Tobacco barn
• Tithe barn — a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing the tithes — a tenth of the farm's produce which had to be given to the church
• Threshing barn — for the processing and storage of cereals, to keep them in dry conditions. Characterised by large double doors in the centre of one side, a smaller one on the other, and storage for cereal harvest or unprocessed on either side. In England the grain was beaten from the crop by flails and then separated from the husks by winnowing between these doors. The design of these typically remained unchanged between the 12th and 19th centuries. The large doors allow for a horse wagon to be driven through; the smaller ones allow for the sorting of sheep and other stock in the spring and summer.^[3]

Historic farm buildings[link]

Barns and silo in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. They were torn down in March 2009.

Traditional Sasak rice barn in village of Sade, Lombok.

Old farm buildings of the countryside contribute to the landscape, and help define the history of the location, i.e. how farming was carried out in the past, and how the area has been settled throughout the ages. They also can show the agricultural methods, building materials, and skills that were used. Most were built with materials reflecting the local geology of the area. Building methods include earth walling and thatching.

Buildings in stone and brick, roofed with tile or slate, increasingly replaced buildings in clay, timber and thatch from the later 18th century. Metal roofs started to be used from the 1850s. The arrival of canals and railways brought about transportation of building materials over greater distances.

Clues determining their age and historical use can be found from old maps, sale documents, estate plans and visually inspecting the building itself, e.g. reused timbers, former floors, partitions, doors and windows.

The arrangement of the buildings within the 'farmstead' can also yield valuable information on the historical farm usage and landscape value. Linear farmsteads were typical of small farms, where there was an advantage to having cattle and fodder within one building, due to the colder climate. Dispersed clusters of unplanned groups were more widespread. Loose courtyard plans built around a yard were associated with bigger farms, whereas carefully designed courtyard plans designed to minimize waste and labour were built in the latter part of the 18th century.^[4][5]

The barns are typically the oldest and biggest buildings to be found on the farm. Many barns were converted into cow houses and fodder processing and storage buildings after the 1880s. Many barns had owl holes to allow for access by barn owls, encouraged to aid vermin control.

The stable is typically the second-oldest building type on the farm. They were well built and placed near the house due to the value that the horses had as draught animals

Modern granaries were built from the 18th centuries. Complete granary interiors, with plastered walls and wooden partitioning to grain bins, are very rare.

Longhouses are an ancient building where people and animals used the same entrance. These can still be seen, for example, in North Germany, where the Low Saxon house is occurs.

Few interiors of the 19th century cow houses have survived unaltered due to dairy hygiene regulations in many countries.

Old farm buildings may show the following signs of deterioration: rotting in timber-framed constructions due to damp, cracks in the masonry from movement of the walls, e.g. ground movement, roofing problems (e.g. outward thrust of it, deterioration of purlins and gable ends), foundation problems, penetration of tree roots; lime mortar being washed away due to inadequate weather, walls made of cob, earth mortars or walls with rubble cores are all highly vulnerable to water penetration, and replacement or covering of breathable materials with cement or damp proofing materials trap the moisture within the walls.^[6][7]

In England and Wales some of these historical buildings have been given Listed building status, which provides them some degree of archaeological protection.

Some grant schemes are available to restore Historic Farmland buildings, for example Natural Englands Environmental Stewardship, Countryside Stewardship and Environmentally Sensitive Areas Schemes.

See also[link]

• Barn conversion
• Barn raising
• Barnyard
• Farmhouse (building)
• Functionally classified barn
• Gin gang or round house — an extension to a threshing barn. It contained a horse driven engine, used to power a threshing machine. Sometimes called a wheel house. Water power and wind power were also used to drive the machine, and by the 1850s portable steam engine machines were used. Horse-engines, original threshing or winnowing machines are exceptionally rare.
• Historic Barns of Connecticut
• Barn (unit) — a unit of area used in high energy physics
• Dairies
• Dovecote — built to house pigeons, which provided variety to the diets of high-status households and a rich source of manure. Examples survive from the medieval period.
• Shed

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Barns

• Dairy Barn History
• www.thebarnjournal.org

David Gilmour
Gilmour playing his trademark black Fender Stratocaster in concert in Munich, Germany on 29 July 2006
Background information
Birth name	David Jon Gilmour
Also known as	Dave Gilmour
Born	(1946-03-06) 6 March 1946 (age 66) Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, art rock, blues rock, experimental rock
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, saxophone, harmonica, slide guitar, programming
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Capitol, Columbia, Sony, EMI
Associated acts	Pink Floyd, Jokers Wild, Deep End, Richard Wright
Website	www.davidgilmour.com
Notable instruments
'The Black Strat' Fender Stratocaster 'The Red Strat' Fender Stratocaster 'The 0001 Strat' Fender Stratocaster Fender Telecaster

David Jon Gilmour,^[1] CBE (born 6 March 1946) is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It is estimated that as of 2010, the group have sold over 250 million records worldwide^[2][3], including 74.5 million units sold in the United States.

In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo artist. Gilmour has been actively involved with many charities over the course of his career.

In 2003, he was appointed CBE for his charity work and was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution title at the 2008 Q Awards.^[4] In 2011, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him number 14 in their list of the greatest guitarists of all time.^[5]

Early life[link]

Gilmour was born in Cambridge, England. His father, Douglas Gilmour, was a senior lecturer in zoology at the University of Cambridge and his mother, Sylvia (née Wilson), was a teacher and film editor who raised her family at Grantchester Meadows, later immortalised by a Roger Waters song on Pink Floyd's Ummagumma.^[6] He has a younger brother who is also a musician.

Gilmour attended The Perse School on Hills Road, Cambridge, and met future Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist Syd Barrett, along with bassist and vocalist Roger Waters who attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys, also situated on Hills Road. He studied modern languages to A-Level and, along with Barrett, spent his lunchtime learning to play the guitar. They were not yet bandmates however, and Gilmour started playing in the band Joker's Wild in 1962. Gilmour left Joker's Wild in 1966 and busked around Spain and France with some friends. However, they were not very successful, living virtually a hand-to-mouth existence. In July 1992, Gilmour stated in an interview with Nicky Horne on BBC radio that he ended up being treated for malnutrition in a hospital.^[7] In 1967, they returned to England.

Pink Floyd[link]

Gilmour was approached in late December 1967 by drummer Nick Mason, who asked if he would be interested in joining Pink Floyd, which he did in January 1968, making Pink Floyd briefly a five-piece band. He filled in for Syd Barrett's guitar parts when the frontman was unable to take a consistent part in Floyd's live performances. Syd Barrett "left" the group due to his erratic behaviour—commonly believed to have been caused by excessive use of LSD—when the band chose not to pick Barrett up one night for a gig; and Gilmour by default assumed the role of the band's lead guitarist. He took over most of the band's lead vocal duties with bassist Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright also occasionally singing in Barrett's stead. However, after the back-to-back successes of The Dark Side of the Moon and then Wish You Were Here, Waters took more control over the band, writing much of Animals and The Wall by himself. Wright was fired during The Wall sessions and the relationship between Gilmour and Waters would further deteriorate during the making of The Wall film and the 1983 Pink Floyd album The Final Cut.

Gilmour, in the early 1970s with Pink Floyd

After recording Animals, Gilmour thought that his musical talents were being underused, and channelled his ideas into his self-titled first solo album (1978), which showcases his signature guitar style, as well as underscoring his songwriting skills. A tune written during the finishing stages of this album, but too late to be used, became "Comfortably Numb" on The Wall.^[8]

The negative atmosphere surrounding the creation of The Wall album and subsequent film, compounded by The Final Cut's virtually being a Roger Waters solo album, led Gilmour to produce his second solo album About Face in 1984.^[9] He used it to express his feelings about a range of topics, from the murder of John Lennon,^[9] to his relationship with Waters. He has since admitted that he also used the album to distance himself from Pink Floyd. He toured Europe and the US along with support act The Television Personalities,^[9] who were promptly dropped from the line-up after revealing Syd Barrett's address on stage.^[9] Mason also made a guest appearance on the UK leg of the tour,^[9] which despite some cancellations eventually turned a profit.^[10] When he returned from touring, Gilmour played guitar with a range of artists, and also produced The Dream Academy, who had a top ten hit with "Life in a Northern Town".^[11]

In 1985, Waters declared that Pink Floyd were "a spent force creatively".^[9][12] In 1986, Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason issued a press release stating that Waters had quit the band and they intended to continue without him.^[9][12] Gilmour assumed full control of the group and produced A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987 with some contributions from Mason and Richard Wright.^[9] Wright officially rejoined the band after the release of the album for a lengthy world tour and helped create 1994's The Division Bell.^[9] Gilmour explained:

I had a number of problems with the direction of the band in our recent past, before Roger left. I thought the songs were very wordy and that, because the specific meanings of those words were so important, the music became a mere vehicle for lyrics, and not a very inspiring one. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were so successful not just because of Roger's contributions, but also because there was a better balance between the music and the lyrics than there has been in more recent albums. That's what I'm trying to do with A Momentary Lapse of Reason; more focus on the music, restore the balance.

In 1986, Gilmour purchased the houseboat Astoria which is moored on the River Thames near Hampton Court, and transformed it into a recording studio.^[12] The majority of the two most recent Pink Floyd albums, as well as Gilmour's 2006 solo release On an Island, were recorded there.^[12]

Gilmour at Live 8 in July 2005

On 2 July 2005, Gilmour played with Pink Floyd—including Roger Waters—at Live 8. The performance caused a temporary 1343% sales increase of Pink Floyd's album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.^[13] Gilmour donated all of his resulting profits to charities that reflect the goals of Live 8 saying:

Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert. This is money that should be used to save lives.^[13]

Shortly after, he called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 performances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fund-raising. After the Live 8 concert, Pink Floyd were offered £150 million to tour the United States, but the band turned down the offer.^[14]

On 3 February 2006, he announced in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica^[15][16] that Pink Floyd would most likely never tour or write material together again. He said:

I think enough is enough. I am 60 years old. I don't have the will to work as much any more. Pink Floyd was an important part in my life, I have had a wonderful time, but it's over. For me it's much less complicated to work alone.

Regarding agreeing to play at Live 8, he said:

There was more than one reason, firstly to support the cause. The second one is the energy consuming an uncomfortable relationship between Roger and me that I was carrying along in my heart. That is why we wanted to perform and to leave the trash behind. Thirdly, I might have regretted it if I declined.

On 20 February 2006, Gilmour commented again on Pink Floyd's future when he was interviewed by Billboard.com, stating, "Who knows? I have no plans at all to do that. My plans are to do my concerts and put my solo record out."

In December 2006, Gilmour released a tribute to Syd Barrett, who had died on 7 July of that year, in the form of his own version of Pink Floyd's first single "Arnold Layne".^[12] Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall, the CD single featured versions of the song performed by Pink Floyd's keyboard player (and Gilmour's band member) Richard Wright and special guest artist David Bowie.^[12] The single entered the UK Top 75 charts at number nineteen and remained steady for three weeks.^[17]

Since their Live 8 appearance in 2005, Gilmour has repeatedly said that there will be no Pink Floyd reunion. With the death of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright in September 2008,^[12] another reunion of the core group members became impossible. Gilmour said of Wright

In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously. I have never played with anyone quite like him.^[18]

In May 2010 Roger Waters told the Associated Press that Gilmour "is completely disinterested in anything like [another reunion]. After Live 8, I could have probably gone for doing some more stuff, but he's not interested, so it is what it is."^[19]

Solo projects[link]

David has recorded four solo albums, all four of which charted in the US Top 40 (2006's On an Island peaked at No. 6 in 2006, 2008's Live in Gdansk peaked at No. 26, his 1978 self-titled solo debut peaked at No. 29 in 1978 and 1984's About Face peaked at No. 32 in 1984).

The 1970s & 1980s[link]

Gilmour performing in Brussels in 1984, on his About Face tour

Taking time off from Pink Floyd's schedule, Gilmour also took up various roles as a producer, sideman and even concert sound engineer^[9] for a wide variety of acts which included^[9] former bandmate Syd Barrett, Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Berlin, Grace Jones, Tom Jones, Elton John, Eric Clapton, B. B. King, Seal, Sam Brown, Jools Holland, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, The Who, Supertramp, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Alan Parsons, and various charity groups among others.

In 1985, Gilmour was a member of Bryan Ferry's band. He played on Ferry's album Boys and Girls, as well as the song "Is Your Love Strong Enough" for the US release of the Ridley Scott-Tom Cruise film Legend. A music video for the latter was created, incorporating Ferry and Gilmour into footage from the film^[9] (released as a bonus on the 2002 "Ultimate Edition" DVD release). Later that year, Gilmour played with Ferry at the London Live Aid concert;^[9] his first meeting with Ferry's keyboard player Jon Carin, later to tour with Pink Floyd.

David Gilmour also took part in a comedy skit titled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron and fellow British musicians Mark Knopfler, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King from Level 42, and Gary Moore. Guitar tech Phil Taylor explained in an interview that Knopfler used Gilmour's guitar rig and managed to sound like himself when performing in the skit.^[20]

The 1990s[link]

In 1994, Gilmour played guitar for the video game Tuneland, along with the additional saxophonist for Pink Floyd, Scott Page.

On 14 December 1999, Gilmour played a show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool with Paul McCartney, Mick Green, Ian Paice & Pete Wingfield.

The 2000s[link]

In 2001 and 2002, he performed a small number of acoustic solo concerts in London and Paris, along with a small band and choir, which was documented on the In Concert release.^[12] In 2003, Rolling Stone placed Gilmour at number 82 in a list of the hundred greatest guitarists of all time.^[21]

On 24 September 2004, Gilmour performed a three song set (tracks 28–30) at The Strat Pack concert at London's Wembley Arena, marking the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar.

Gilmour in performance, Frankfurt 2006

On 6 March 2006, his 60th birthday, he released his third solo album, On an Island,^[12] and a day later it was released in the US; it debuted at No. 1 in the UK charts.^[22] The album reached the top five in Germany and Sweden, and the top six in Billboard 200.^[23][24] Produced by Gilmour along with Phil Manzanera and Chris Thomas, the album features orchestrations by renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner.^[12] The album features David Crosby and Graham Nash performing background vocals on the title track, Robert Wyatt on cornet and percussion, and Richard Wright on Hammond organ and vocals.^[12] Other contributors include Jools Holland, Phil Manzanera, Georgie Fame, Andy Newmark, B. J. Cole, Chris Stainton, Willie Wilson, Rado ‘Bob’ Klose on guitar and Leszek Możdżer on piano.^[12] The album also features Gilmour's debut with the saxophone.^[12]

Gilmour toured Europe, US and Canada from 10 March to 31 May 2006 to promote On an Island. There were 10 shows in the US and Canadian leg of the tour. Pink Floyd alumnus Richard Wright, and frequent Floyd collaborators Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin, also accompanied him on the tour. More shows took place in Europe from July to August in 2006.

In a press release to promote the tour, David Gilmour stated:

I'm rather hoping that with this tour announcement, people will believe me when I say, honestly, this is the only band I plan to tour with!

On an Island reached number one on the UK charts. On 10 April 2006, the album was certified platinum in Canada, with sales of over 100,000 copies. The album also gave Gilmour his first US Top 10 album as a solo artist.

A video recording of a show from Gilmour's solo tour, titled Remember That Night – Live At The Royal Albert Hall^[25] was released on 17 September 2007.^[12] The double DVD, directed by David Mallet, contains over five hours of footage, including an on-the-road documentary and guest appearances by David Bowie and Robert Wyatt.^[12] The two and a half hour concert features band members Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Steve DiStanislao on drums, and various Pink Floyd regulars such as Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin.^[12] The 20-page booklet accompanying the DVD, features over 80 photos selected from studio recording and touring.^[12]

The final show of David Gilmour's On an Island tour took place at the Gdańsk Shipyard on 26 August 2006.^[12] The concert was held before a crowd of 50,000, and marked the twenty-sixth anniversary of the founding of the Solidarity trade union.^[12] The concert was notable for the inclusion of "A Great Day For Freedom" as part of the encore.^[12]

The show was recorded, resulting in a live album and DVD release: Live in Gdańsk.^[12] The concert was the only occasion on which Gilmour performed the tour material with an orchestra, using the 40-strong string section of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zbigniew Preisner, who was responsible for On An Island's orchestral arrangements.^[12]

On 25 May 2009, he participated in a concert at the Union Chapel in Islington, London. The concert was part of the 'Hidden Gigs' campaign against hidden homelessness, which is organised by Crisis, a UK-based national charity campaigning against homelessness. In the concert he collaborated with the Malian musicians Amadou and Mariam.^[26]

On 4 July 2009, he joined his friend Jeff Beck onstage at the Royal Albert Hall. David and Jeff traded solos on Jerusalem and closed the show with Hi Ho Silver Lining.

The 2010s[link]

On 11 July 2010, Gilmour gave a performance for the charity Hoping Foundation with Roger Waters in Oxfordshire, England.^[29] Also performing were Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Nick Cage and Tom Jones. The performance was presented by Jemima Khan and Nigella Lawson. According to onlookers, it seemed clear that Gilmour and Waters had ended the their long-running feud and seemed to be the best of friends, laughing and joking together along with their respective partners. Waters subsequently confirmed via his Facebook page that Gilmour would play "Comfortably Numb" with him during one of his shows on his upcoming The Wall Live tour – Gilmour performed the guitar solo on 12 May 2011 at the O2 Arena, London and, with Nick Mason, played with the rest of the band playing "Outside The Wall" at the conclusion of the show.

Gilmour released an album with The Orb in 2010 entitled Metallic Spheres,^[30] on which he co-wrote every track and their subsequent parts, and produced, played guitar and sang.

Personal life[link]

Gilmour in 2005

Gilmour's first marriage was to American-born model and artist Virginia "Ginger" Hasenbein, on 7 July 1975.^[31] He had four children from this union, Alice (born 1976), Clare (born 1979), Sara (born 1983, a fashion model^[32]), and Matthew (born 1986). The children originally attended a Waldorf School, but Gilmour called their education there "horrific".^[33] In 1994, he married journalist Polly Samson, and the couple have four children, Charlie (Samson's son with Heathcote Williams whom Gilmour adopted), Joe, Gabriel and Romany. Charlie's voice can be heard on the telephone to Steve O'Rourke, at the end of "High Hopes" (The Division Bell).

Gilmour has been associated with various charity organisations. In May 2003, Gilmour sold his house in Little Venice to the ninth Earl Spencer and donated the proceeds worth £3.6 million to Crisis to help fund a housing project for the homeless. He has been named a vice president of the organization.^[34] Other charities to which Gilmour has lent support include Oxfam, the European Union Mental Health and Illness Association, Greenpeace, Amnesty International,^[9] The Lung Foundation, Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy,^[9] Teenage Cancer Trust, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).^[35] He also donated £25,000 to the Save the Rhino foundation in exchange for Douglas Adams's name suggestion for the album that became The Division Bell.^[12]

Gilmour is also an experienced pilot and aviation enthusiast. Under the aegis of his company, Intrepid Aviation,^[9] he had amassed a collection of historical aircraft. He later decided to sell the company, which he had started as a hobby, feeling that it was becoming too commercial for him to handle. In a BBC interview, he stated:

Intrepid Aviation was a way for me to make my hobby pay for itself a little bit, but gradually over a few years Intrepid Aviation became a business because you have to be businesslike about it. Suddenly I found instead of it being a hobby and me enjoying myself, it was a business and so I sold it. I don't have Intrepid Aviation any more. I just have a nice old biplane that I pop up, wander around the skies in sometimes...^[36]

On 22 May 2008, Gilmour won the 2008 Ivor Novello Lifetime Contribution Award.^[37]

In autumn 2008, he was awarded for outstanding contribution for music by the Q Awards. He dedicated his award to his bandmate Richard Wright, who died in September 2008.^[4]

On 11 November 2009, Gilmour received an honorary doctorate from the Anglia Ruskin University.^[38]

Musical style[link]

Gilmour on piano, in Düsseldorf during his About Face tour in 1984

Gilmour is best known for his lead guitar work. Gilmour's solo style is often characterised by blues-influenced phrasing, expressive note bends and sustain. In 2011, Gilmour was rated the 14th greatest guitarist by Rolling Stone. In January 2007, Guitar World readers voted Gilmour's solos, "Comfortably Numb", "Time" and "Money" into the top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos ("Comfortably Numb" was voted the 4th, "Time" was voted the 21st and "Money" was voted the 62nd greatest solo of all time).^[39]

In his early career with Pink Floyd, Gilmour played a multitude of Fender Stratocasters. One of his popular guitar solos ("Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2") was played on a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar equipped with P-90 pick-ups.^[40][41] In 1996, Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. Gilmour's solo on "Comfortably Numb" was voted as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time in several polls by listeners and critics.^[42]

Although mainly known for his guitar work, Gilmour is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist. He also plays bass guitar (which he did on some Pink Floyd tracks),^[12][43] keyboards, synthesiser, banjo, harmonica, drums (as heard on the Syd Barrett solo track "Dominoes",^[12] and other songs where he opted to play all the instruments) and lately, the saxophone.^[44]

Music equipment[link]

Some of the equipment Gilmour has used either on his solo or Pink Floyd records and tours.

Main electric guitars[link]

Gilmour playing a Fender Stratocaster in 1984

• Fender
  • Stratocaster
    • Gilmor's main stage and studio guitar is a 1969 Fender Stratocaster. Black with a black pickguard, it has white pick-up covers and knobs. It does not have the original neck. The guitar has a added switch that combines the neck and bridge pick-ups. It has a Seymour Duncan SSL-1C (SSL-5 Prototype) bridge pick-up. The guitar strap that Gilmour pairs with this instrument once belonged to Jimi Hendrix.
    • His main guitar for the post-Roger Waters era Pink Floyd tours was a red 1984 '57 Stratocaster reissue. It had a set of EMG SA active pick-ups. This guitar still continues to be used for specific songs during Gilmour's live performances.
    • David Gilmour owns Stratocaster # 0001. This is not the first model made.
    • Cream coloured '57 reissue Stratocaster. This guitar was used on Gilmour's 1984 solo tour and also during the early part of the 1987–1990 Pink Floyd tour. During the 1994 Pink Floyd tour it was used as a spare guitar. During Pink Floyd's Live 8 set sidesman Tim Renwick was seen playing it. It has the same EMG setup as his red '57 Reissue model. After it was used for Live 8 the neck from the cream Stratocaster was transferred to Gilmour's main black Stratocaster.
    • '57 Lake Placid Blue. (Serial number #0040). This guitar was used during The Wall recording sessions.
    • Double-neck Stratocaster. Custom made body by guitar builder Dick Knight and using standard Fender necks. It was used in the early 1970s.
    • 1959 sunburst Stratocaster body with a 1963 neck with a rosewood fingerboard. This guitar was given to Gilmour by Steve Marriott. David didn't like the guitar enough to use it for very long but did like the neck better than the original one on his black Stratocaster and the two were switched. The sunburst model was used as A spare and for slide guitar in subsequent years.
    • White with white pickguard. Used in the late 1960s. Received as a gift from the rest of the band.^[45] It was stolen in 1970.
    • Gilmour used a Stratocaster equipped with the Doug Wilkes 'Answer' sliding pick-up system on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' recording.
  • Telecaster
    • Blonde body with white pickguard. Used on the On an Island tour.
    • '52 Butterscotch Reissues with black pickguard. Used between 1987 and 1995. The first guitar was tuned in Dropped D rather than a standard tuning and was used for "Run Like Hell". The second served as a backup instrument and had a regular guitar tuning. Gilmour used this guitar for Astronomy Domine.
    • '59 Custom Telecaster with sunburst ash body, white binding on the body, rosewood fingerboard, and a white pickguard. A Gibson Humbucker was briefly placed in the neck position but this was removed before it was used on the Animals' recording sessions. Last seen at rehearsals during the On an Island tour.
    • '61 Telecaster used during The Wall recording sessions. Also used live in the post-Waters era for "Run Like Hell". Last seen on the Syd Barrett memory concert in 2007.
    • 1960s brown-faded body. Used in the late 1960s.
    • 1960s blonde ash body with white pickguard. This was Gilmour's main guitar during his first year with Pink Floyd, but it was lost by an airline company in 1968, prompting Gilmour to buy the brown-faded Telecaster.^[46]
  • Esquire '55 Sunburst body a.k.a. "The workmate Tele". Neck pick-up added. Used at the recording sessions for his first solo album, and The Wall recording sessions and subsequent tour. Also seen when Gilmour performed with Paul McCartney in the late 1990s.

Other electrics[link]

Along with the Fender models (his primary choice for electrics), Gilmour has also used: a Gibson Les Paul goldtop model with P-90 pick-ups and a Bigsby vibrato bridge. It was used for the guitar solo on 'Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2' and the solo in 'Comfortably Numb.' Gilmour also plays a Gretsch Duo-Jet and a Gretsch White Falcon (as well as a 'White Penguin'), a Bill Lewis 24-fret Guitar (used during Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon recording sessions) and a Steinberger GL model which was his main guitar during A Momentary Lapse of Reason recording sessions.

Acoustics[link]

Gilmour has used many different acoustic guitars throughout his career including a Gibson "Chet Atkins" classical model, a Gibson J-200 Celebrity acoustic guitar.^[47] Gilmour's list of Ovation models including a Legend 1619-4, a Legend 1613-4 nylon string guitar, both used during The Wall recording sessions.^[47][48] Martin models used include: a D-35.^[47][48] a D12-28 12-string.^[47] and a D-18.^[47] Gilmour's large acoustic collection also includes many models from Taylor, Takamine and Guild.

Steel guitar[link]

Gilmour playing lap steel guitar, 26 January 1977

Throughout his recording career David Gilmour has added a different element to his guitar style with his use of steel guitars. A 1950s Fender 1000 twin neck pedal steel guitar was used frequently in the early 1970s. Originally purchased from a pawn shop while Gilmour was in Seattle in 1970, it was used during recording of "One of These Days" from "Meddle" and "Breathe" and "Great Gig in the Sky" from The Dark Side of the Moon.^[49] Other Fenders owned by Gilmour include a Deluxe lap steel (seen during The Division Bell tour in 1994.^[49] ) and also a Champ lap steel model. Along with the Fender steel models Gilmour has also used: a Gibson EH150, and two Jedson models: one red (1977-tuned D-G-D-G-B-E for Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 6–9, 1987–2006: Tuned E-B-E-G-B-E for High Hopes) and one blonde.^[49] He also uses a ZB steel model.^[48]

Bass guitars[link]

Gilmour has played bass both in the studio and onstage at different times and has played many different bass models including: an Ovation Magnum, a Fender Bass VI, Fender Precision and Jazz bass models and a Charvel fretless.(all used during The Wall recording sessions.^[48] ). He also has a Doug Wilkes built Precision-style single pick-up bass which was used on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' sessions. During the 1991 Amnesty International concert Gilmour used a Music Man Fretless Stingray bass while conducting the house band and again during Spinal Tap's performance of "Big Bottom". (All guitarists played bass on this song, and Gilmour played the solo)

Fender Signature Stratocaster[link]

David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster NOS in its case

In November 2006, Fender Custom Shop announced two reproductions of Gilmour's "Black" Strat for release on 22 September 2008. Gilmour's website states the release date was chosen to coincide with the release of his Live in Gdansk album.^[50] Both guitars are based on extensive measurements of the original instrument, each featuring varying degrees of wear. The most expensive is the David Gilmour Relic Stratocaster^[51] which features the closest copy of wear on the original guitar. A pristine copy of the guitar is also made, called the David Gilmour NOS Stratocaster.^[52]

Discography[link]

Pink Floyd[link]

Pink Floyd portal

• A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
• More (1969)
• Ummagumma (1969)
• Atom Heart Mother (1970)
• Meddle (1971)
• Obscured by Clouds (1972)
• The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
• Wish You Were Here (1975)
• Animals (1977)
• The Wall (1979)
• The Final Cut (1983)
• A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987)
• Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988)
• The Division Bell (1994)
• P•U•L•S•E (1995)

For the full discography, see Pink Floyd discography.

Solo[link]

Albums[link]

Soundtracks[link]

• Fractals: The Colours of Infinity, Documentary (1994)^[53]

Singles[link]

• "There's No Way Out of Here" (1978)
• "Blue Light" (March 1984)
• "Love on the Air" (May 1984)
• "On an Island" (6 March 2006)
• "Smile" (13 June 2006)
• "Arnold Layne" (Live) (26 December 2006)

Filmography[link]

• David Gilmour Live 1984 (VHS) – September 1984
• David Gilmour in Concert (DVD) – October 2002
• Remember That Night (DVD/BD) – September 2007
• Live in Gdańsk (DVD) – September 2008

Collaborations and work for other artists[link]

References[link]