On This Day in 2015, David Gilmour Nabbed His Second No. 1 Solo Album With Help From Public Transit and an 18-Year-Old Song

Musical inspiration and success can take unexpected forms, like when David Gilmour scored his second solo No. 1 album with the help of a decades-old piece of piano music and a public transit jingle. Gilmour released Rattle That Lock on September 18, 2015, and by the following week, it was topping the charts. His fourth solo album hit No. 1 in the U.K., the U.S., and throughout Europe.

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Which must have been all the more surprising for Gilmour’s unsuspecting collaborator, who originally thought someone was pranking him when the former Pink Floyd guitarist gave him a call.

David Gilmour Gets Second Solo No. 1 Album

While we most often associate David Gilmour with the band he helped establish in the late 1960s, Pink Floyd, the guitarist never rests on this musical legacy alone. Gilmour has worked in various capacities as a musician, including multiple bands, solo work, and as a producer for up-and-coming stars like Kate Bush. He began releasing solo albums even while Pink Floyd was still actively working and recording. David Gilmour was the first solo excursion in 1978, followed by About Face in 1984.

The guitarist then went on a solo hiatus of sorts, with his next solo record, On an Island, not coming out until 22 years later in 2006. Gilmour’s third solo album would be his first to reach No. 1 on the charts, and his fourth, Rattle That Lock, would be the second. The album release coincided with an impressive tour of historical venues around the world. Gilmour and his band performed in several Roman amphitheaters throughout Europe, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, and Madison Square Garden.

Inspiration for the Record Came From Interesting Places

Perhaps one of the most fascinating elements of David Gilmour’s second No. 1 solo album is the title track, which he wrote using a Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) jingle. Gilmour first heard the French railway system jingle while traveling in Aix-en-Provence. After recording the four-note motif on his phone, he reached out to the jingle’s composer, Michaël Boumendil, to ask for permission to use the melody in a song. In a 2015 interview, he recalled receiving a note from his assistant that said Gilmour wanted Boumendil to call him back.

“To be honest with you, I thought, ‘Okay, that might be a joke,’” Boumendil said. “So, I didn’t call back. Two hours after, my assistant sent me another message saying it was the same person. This person wanted to give the information that he is the guitar player and the voice of Pink Floyd.” The composer gave the guitarist permission to use the musical motif, which Gilmour features heavily in the album’s title track.

Gilmour also pulled from his musical reserves for this album, including on the fourth track, “A Boat Lies Waiting”. In it, Gilmour uses a piano piece he wrote nearly two decades earlier as a tribute to Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright. Gilmour’s son, a baby at the time, coos in the background.

From his international travels to quiet moments at home, Gilmour’s solo work is undeniably rooted in his individual experiences, although the undercurrent of Pink Floyd remains. When discussing his former bandmates’ reactions to his solo work, Gilmour said in a 2015 Uncut interview, “Oh, you know. The usual Pink Floyd reaction. Absolute silence.”

Photo by Neil Lupin/Redferns