Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour will most likely be playing his old band’s classic song “Comfortably Numb” on his upcoming solo tour, but you can be sure it won’t sound anything like a new version of the tune that’s just been released by rapper/actor Ice-T’s heavy-metal group Body Count. Gilmour actually lent his guitar talents to Body Count’s hard-rocking take on “Comfortably Numb.”
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The track features Ice-T rapping new lyrics about the volatile state of the world over the song’s original melody.
The new cover is available now as a digital download and via streaming services. The tune also will appear on Body Count’s forthcoming eighth studio album, Merciless, which is due out on November 22. You can pre-order the album now.
The band also has released a visualizer video for the song. It offers an animated take on the single’s ominous cover art, which shows atomic explosions appearing on the surface of the Earth. The image also features an allusion to the cover art of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon album, with a rainbow of light emanating from the planet into space.
Getting Permission from Gilmour, Roger Waters to Record the Song
A new Rolling Stone article explains how Body Count had to obtain permission from Gilmour and his ex-Pink Floyd bandmate Roger Waters, who co-wrote “Comfortably Numb,” to record the song. Ice-T explained that he initially contacted Pink Floyd’s music publisher, who turned down the request, noting that the band didn’t license it’s music to be sampled.
Ice-T’s team then reached out to Gilmour and Waters directly through their managers. The former bandmates have a notoriously contentious relationship, but they agreed on allowing Body Count to record its version of the Floyd classic.
“Once we got to David, he was like, ‘F—, yeah. I love this song. I approve it,’” Ice-T told Rolling Stone. “And then Roger listened to it and his only comment was, ‘Who’s singing?’ When he heard it was Ice-T, he approved it.’ To have two people who sit on two opposite sides of the fence agree on a song, that means it must be good.”
Ice-T said he was also pleasantly surprised, and thrilled, when Gilmour offered to play guitar on the track.
Ice-T and Gilmour Discuss Body Count’s “Comfortably Numb” Cover
In a new installment of NME’s Song Stories video feature, Ice-T and Gilmour both discussed the new version of “Comfortably Numb.” Ice-T explained what inspired him to put together the new lyrics for the song, noting how people have become numb to the violence they see on TV and via other media.
“‘Comfortably Numb’ is introspective,” he said. “It’s me saying, ‘I’m older now. You guys gotta carry on with this fight, or you can give up.’ It’s me just trying to figure out what’s going on. But, we’re in a place where we don’t have to deal with reality, and we can watch the world’s chaos like it’s a TV show. It’s not reality until it actually comes to your front door.”
He continued, “They’ll show me some kid getting shot by a cop, you know? Like [comments matter-of-factly], ‘Yeah, they’re beating mother—er’s a–es. Oh, this guy just got shot in the front yard. It’s what happens.’ That should outrage us. That should make us go crazy, but it doesn’t. … We’re all numb.”
Gilmour then shared some positive reflections of Body Count’s version of “Comfortably Numb.”
“I really like the new lyrics,” he said. “They are talking about the world we live in currently. … The words strike out at me, and I thought they’re actually interesting, now, and just what we need. Very right with the world we’re currently living in, which is scary.”
About Pink Floyd’s Original Version of “Comfortably Numb”
“Comfortably Numb” originally appeared on Pink Floyd’s classic 1979 concept album The Wall. Waters’ lyrics were inspired by his experience of being injected with tranquilizers before a concert by the band.
Body Count’s and Gilmour’s Concert Plans
Body Count currently has two festival performances on its 2024 tour schedule. The band will play the Louder than Life Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 28, and the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, California, on October 12.
Gilmour will soon launch a previously announced 2024 tour in support of his recently released solo album, Luck and Strange. This past week, the album debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. chart and No. 10 on the Billboard 200.
Prior to the tour’s kickoff, David will play two intimate rehearsal gigs at Brighton Centre in Brighton, U.K. on September 20 and 21.
The trek officially gets underway with a six-date engagement in Rome that runs from September 27 through October 3. David then will play six shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London, scheduled from October 9 through October 15.
After that, Gilmour will head to the U.S. He’ll play an October 25 show at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, followed by October 29, 30, and 31 concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. David’s 2024 itinerary wraps up with five shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City scheduled from November 4 to November 10.
Tickets for Body Count’s shows and Gilmour’s concerts can be purchased now via a variety of outlets, including StubHub.
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