Every Pink Floyd fan dreams about catching an intimate David Gilmour show at their local watering hole – and that is exactly what regulars at a pub in the seaside city of Brighton and Hove experienced last night, when Gilmour appeared with his child Romany for an acoustic rendition of 1975 Pink Floyd classic Wish You Were Here.
22-year-old Romany Gilmour, a talented songwriter in their own right, performed a short set of covers at The Neptune Inn, which included Joanna Newson's This Side of Blue and Leonard Cohen's If It Be Your Will.
Like any other aspiring singer-songwriter, they also tested out an original song with the working title Lily of the Roses. However, what the open mic attendees didn't expect was to see the Pink Floyd icon join Romany on stage.
“Oh my gosh, you're here. And you've brought your guitar,” Romany exclaimed, then jokingly added, “You're going to come and upstage me? OK, great.” The older Gilmour quickly set up his Martin D-35 signature acoustic and joined them on the small stage for a tender rendition of the Pink Floyd classic.
The guitarist and bassist of David's current band, Ben Worsley and Guy Pratt, were also in attendance, along with Romany's brother Gabriel and Ugly Kid Joe singer Whitfield Crane.
The Gilmour family, including Romany, have been an integral part of David's just-released solo album, Luck and Strange, which he recently called “the best album I’ve made in all those years since 1973 when The Dark Side of the Moon came out.”
Romany plays harp and takes on lead vocals on the reimagined Between Two Points, a Montgolfier Brothers original. The folk-tinged Yes, I Have Ghosts sees them duet with their dad.
“I was working on this song just as we went into lockdown and had to cancel a session with backing singers,” revealed David in a press release. “But, as it turned out, the solution was right here and I couldn’t be happier with the way Romany’s voice blends with mine and the beautiful harp playing has been another revelation.”
The acclaimed guitarist is gearing up to take Luck and Strange on the road, with October and November dates already announced at Circo Massimo in Rome, London's Royal Albert Hall, the Intuit Dome and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and New York's Madison Square Garden.
“Loads of guitarists could knock spots off Neil Young, but he’s aware of his limitations and hasn’t spent his energy perfecting his technique. I’ve carried that forward”: Meet Steve Logan, the singer-songwriter putting a distinctly Welsh spin on Americana
“Please tell the bass players of the world to go easy on me. I did my best to represent you well!” Bob Rock made bass history on Metallica’s St. Anger – quite a feat, since he “never really played bass” before
