“I’m not thinking about the audience and what they want, to be honest”: Why David Gilmour never learned to play this iconic Pink Floyd guitar solo

David Gilmour.

David Gilmour may have written two iconic guitar solos for Comfortably Numb, but when it comes to playing it live, he says he’s “never learned” one of them.

His comments relate to the track's second showing. It's near-faultless on the record. But, like a true artist, Gilmour isn’t one for repeating things robotically. Instead, his approach is far more intuitive – he plays what he feels on the night.