Polly Samson

Polly Samson (born 29 April 1962) is an English novelist, lyricist and journalist.

Biography

Her father was Lance Samson (died 4 February 2013), a newspaper editor and diplomatic correspondent for the Morning Star and her mother was a writer of Chinese descent, Esther Cheo Ying, who wrote a memoir, Black Country Girl in Red China, about her time serving as a Major in Mao Zedong's Red Army.

Following a troubled childhood, Polly joined the publishing industry, through which she met the writer Heathcote Williams, and with whom she had her first son, Charlie. Following his birth, Samson became homeless and was taken in for a period by the journalist Cassandra Jardine.

After splitting from Williams, Samson met Pink Floyd singer and guitarist David Gilmour, whom she married in 1994 during Pink Floyd's Division Bell tour. They currently live in West Sussex. Her son Charlie was adopted by Gilmour and they have three other children: Joe, Gabriel, and Romany.

She has also written short stories for BBC Radio 4 and has had a collection published Lying in Bed (Virago 1999) and a novel, Out of the Picture (Virago 2000), as well as contributing pieces and stories to many other books and publications including Gas and Air (Bloomsbury 2003), Girls Night In (Harper Collins 2000), A Day in the Life (Black Swan 2003), and The Just When Stories (Beautiful Books 2010). Samson's collection of stories, Perfect Lives, was published in November 2010 by Virago Press. Her novel, The Kindness was released by Bloomsbury USA in July 2015.

Samson

Samson (/ˈsæmsən/; Hebrew: שִׁמְשׁוֹן, Modern Shimshon, Tiberian Šimšôn, meaning "man of the sun"),Shamshoun (Arabic: شمشون‎ Shamshūn/Šamšūn), or Sampson (Greek: Σαμψών), is one of the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Judges chapters 13 to 16).

According to the biblical account, Samson was given supernatural strength by God in order to combat his enemies and perform heroic feats such as killing a lion, slaying an entire army with only the jawbone of an ass, and destroying a pagan temple. Samson had two vulnerabilities, however: his attraction to untrustworthy women and his hair, without which he was powerless. These vulnerabilities ultimately proved fatal for him.

In some Jewish and Christian traditions, Samson is believed to have been buried in Tel Tzora in Israel overlooking the Sorek valley. There reside two large gravestones of Samson and his father Manoah. Nearby stands Manoah’s altar (Judges 13:19–24). It is located between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol.

David Gilmour

David Jon Gilmour, CBE (born 6 March 1946), is an English musician, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he is best known for his work as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was estimated that by 2012 the group had sold over 250 million records worldwide, including 75 million units sold in the United States.

In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has produced a variety of artists, for example the Dream Academy, and has had a solo career. In 2005, Gilmour was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to music. He was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution title at the 2008 Q Awards. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 14 in their list of the greatest guitarists of all time. Additionally, Gilmour was voted number 36 in the greatest voices in rock by Planet Rock listeners in 2009.

Early life

David Jon Gilmour was born on 6 March 1946, in Cambridge, England. His father, Douglas Gilmour, eventually became a senior lecturer in zoology at the University of Cambridge, and his mother, Sylvia (born Wilson), trained as a teacher and later worked as a film editor for the BBC. At the time of Gilmour's birth they lived in Trumpington, Cambridgeshire, but in 1956, after several relocations, the couple moved their family to Grantchester Meadows.

Rattle That Lock

Rattle That Lock is the fourth solo album by British musician David Gilmour. It was released on 18 September 2015. Gilmour has completed short tours of Europe in September and October 2015 and South America in December 2015 to support the album, with a similar tour of the U.S. and Canada to follow in March and April 2016. The artwork for the album was created by Dave Stansbie from The Creative Corporation under the direction of Aubrey Powell, who has worked with David Gilmour and Pink Floyd since the late 1960s.

Recording

The album was recorded at Gilmour's recording studios. Phil Manzanera, co-producer of the album, estimates that Gilmour has been writing the material for Rattle That Lock over the past five years, though he pointed out that one piano piece was recorded 18 years ago in Gilmour's living room. Most of the album was recorded at Medina Studio, in Hove – the additional recording was at the Astoria houseboat studio. The final Pink Floyd album, The Endless River, was similarly recorded and produced using a combination of the two studios. Orchestra parts were recorded at AIR Studios in London and the Liberty Choir were recorded in a South London church. The album was mixed at Astoria and mastering for all formats was performed by James Guthrie and Joel Plante at das boot recording in Lake Tahoe, California.

Polly

Polly is a nickname for Mary, and is derived from another nickname for Mary, Molly. It is sometimes used as a name in its own right.

Women