David Gilmour, the voice and guitar of Pink Floyd, played a live concert to 50,000 people against the historical backdrop of the Gdansk, Poland shipyards , and now audiences can thrill to it in digital cinema equipped theatres around the country for one night only on Monday September 22nd.
David Gilmour’s third solo album ‘On An Island’ entered the US charts at Number 6 in 2006, going Platinum around the world. His select live tour of North America was with a band including Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright and Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera plus other live Pink Floyd tour musicians.
The final performance was in Gdansk, Poland at the invitation of the Gdansk Foundation to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the Solidarity workers’ union, whose establishment in 1980 led directly to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the introduction of democracy to the former Soviet Eastern Bloc.
This extraordinary event featured a live orchestra for the only time on the tour and is commemorated with a live album ‘Live In Gdansk’ which will be released in the US on September 23rd. The album has all songs from the ‘On An Island’ and Pink Floyd songs never previously performed live with an orchestra. Some versions include a concert DVD.
This one time only special theatrical event, brought to audiences by The Bigger Picture, an AccessIT company and AEG/Network Live includes 5 songs not available on the concert DVD: ‘Speak To Me’, ‘Breathe (In the Air)’, ‘Time’, ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’ plus a reprise of ‘Breathe (in The Air’).
Playing with David Gilmour at this historic concert was his band of world renowned musicians:
- Richard Wright – Pink Floyd’s keyboard player / vocalist
- Phil Manzanera – Roxy Music guitarist and co-producer of On An Island
- Guy Pratt – bass player with Pink Floyd and Roxy Music
- Jon Carin – keyboards and longtime player with Pink Floyd Steve Di Stanislao – drums, of Crosby and - Nash Dick Parry – saxophone and longtime Pink Floyd collaborator.
The orchestra accompanying David Gilmour’s band for the only time on the ‘On An Island tour’ is the 40-strong string section of the Baltic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Zbigniew Preisner, orchestral arranger on David Gilmour’s critically acclaimed solo album, “On An Island”. It is the first ever live recording with an orchestra of Pink Floyd’s‘High Hopes’ and ‘A Great Day For Freedom’, the latter performed here as a one-off for this special Solidarity anniversary.
“David Gilmour and Pink Floyd fans will be thrilled to see such a momentous and historic moment played out on the big screen”, said Jonathan Dern, president of The Bigger Picture. “With the picture and sound quality of digital cinema fans feel like they have a front row seat in the Gdansk shipyard.” This digital cinema event will evocatively portray the drama of the Gdansk concert, set against the urban landscape of the shipyard and crane-filled skyline. Hung above the stage, suspended on two giant cranes, were six, 16 ton screens, each one focused on a band member and lit in a kaleidoscope of color and lasers by lightmeister Marc Brickman.
Of playing at the Gdansk concert David Gilmour said: “This was the first time I have played in Poland and it was a thrill to be there helping to mark one of the most important anniversaries in recent European history. The Gdansk shipyard is a deeply symbolic place and it was an honor to perform our music in such an historic space. It was particularly exciting to have my friend Zbigniew Preisner conducting the Baltic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and to be able to perform my album for the first time as it was intended”
