In a new interview with Los Angeles Times, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour recalled the band’s last album, ‘The Endless River,’ and why he got bullied by their record label because of it.
“When we did that album, there was a thing that Andy Jackson, our engineer, had put together called ‘The Big Spliff’ – a collection of all these bits and pieces of jams [from the sessions for 1994’s ‘The Division Bell’] that was out there on bootlegs. A lot of fans wanted this stuff that we’d done in that time, and we thought we’d give it to them,” Gilmour recalled.
“My mistake, I suppose, was in being bullied by the record company to have it out as a properly paid-for Pink Floyd record,” the rocker admitted and continued, “It should have been clear what it was — it was never intended to be the follow-up to ‘The Division Bell.’ But, you know, it’s never too late to get caught in one of these traps again.”
While Gilmour is focusing on his solo works and career now, the rocker shared his excitement over the recent sale of Pink Floyd’s catalog.
“It’s history — it’s all past. This stuff is for future generations,” Gilmour noted. “I’m an old person. I’ve spent the last 40-odd years trying to fight the good fight against the forces of indolence and greed to do the best with our stuff that you can do. And I’ve given that fight up now.”
The deal came after several unsuccessful attempts to reach an agreement between bandmates Gilmour and Roger Waters, who frequently disagreed. One of the issues was the tax structure of the deal. Warner Music, Hipgnosis, and BMG were some of the companies that made bids.
However, the Financial Times and Digital Music News later confirmed the deal, saying Pink Floyd sold the rights to their music, name, and image to Sony for $400 million.