David Gilmour

The son of a teacher and a Cambridge University zoology lecturer, Dave Gilmour met Syd Barrett and Roger Waters at school in Cambridge, where he spent lunchtimes learning to play guitar. He joined his first band Joker's Wild in 1962 before trying his luck busking in Europe. Back in England, he joined Pink Floyd in 1968 and, following Syd Barrett's departure, assumed the role of lead guitarist. Frustrated by Roger Waters' dominance within Pink Floyd following the huge success of the albums Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here, Gilmour recorded his self-titled blues-rock debut solo album in 1978. His song Comfortably Numb was later used on one of Floyd's most successful albums The Wall, leading to Gilmore's second solo album About Face in 1984, on which he co-wrote songs with Pete Townshend of The Who and established himself as a credible separate force to Pink Floyd. He played guitar with various others, acted as a mentor for the young Kate Bush and produced an album by Dream Academy, before becoming the driving force of a revived Floyd after the acrimonious departure of Roger Waters. Gilmour was producer and main creative force of Floyd's 1987 album A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, although there was an emotional reunion with Waters at the 2008 Live 8 show in London. In 2006 he topped the album charts with his third solo album On An Island - which includes guest appearances by Jools Holland, David Crosby and Robert Wyatt - and embarked on a tour on which he was joined by David Bowie.