Moored on the banks of the Thames, the‘Astoria’ is an elegant pre-war houseboat in the quiet middle-class suburb of Hampton, south-west of London. Built in 1910, this wooden houseboat was originally owned by the famous music hall impresario Fred Karno. The bridge could accommodate a 90-person orchestra, and it is probably this anecdote, in addition to its serene surroundings, that attracted its buyer in 1986, the singer, guitarist and composer David Gilmour.
IAstoria Since then it has become a recording studio, to say the least, atypical. The final albums of his former group Pink Floyd, A momentary lapse of reason (1987) and The division bell (1994), were released there as well as his two solo albums. on an island (2006) and Make that lock ring (2015). His fifth and latest work to date, Lucky and strange (“Chance and Strange”), was partially recorded there and then mixed.
At the end of the corridor that leads to the bow of the ship, a narrow cabin of just 15 square meters has been improvised as a listening room for this new album. Some drum parts of The division bell They also recorded there, reveals Gilmour loyalist Phil Taylor. At the other end of theAstoriaA more spacious room houses an impressive recording console “now completely obsolete”his owner admits, somewhat amused.
An almost unexpected announcement
This Monday, July 22, the 78-year-old Englishman, known for his discreet character, shows up smiling, even saying hospitality in French, without an accent. He studied the language at university and perfected it during a three-month stay in Saint-Etienne in 1968, shortly before joining Pink Floyd. David Gilmour is aging well, his face hollowed by time now gives him a wise look. His deep blue eyes have lost none of their intensity. During the interview, he never puts down his six-string acoustic guitar for long, often stringing together a few chords to support or punctuate his answers.
Nine years after the publication of Make that lock ringthe now semi-retired from his gigantic group with 360 million albums sold worldwide seems to have only one priority: enjoying his large family. Father of eight children, four of whom are from a first marriage with Virginia Hasenbein, another three from his relationship with his second wife since 1994, the writer and lyricist Polly Samson, and an adopted son, Charlie, the biological son of Polly, Samson and director Heathcote Williams (1941-2017). And a happy grandfather.
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