In August 2006, when David Gilmour was visiting behind his then-current album, ‘On an Island’, he and his party maneuvered into Venice, Italy, for an outside show in Piazza San Marco, as known St. Stamp’s Square.
The day before the show, he and his wife, novelist/journalist Polly Samson, were walking around the bustling city when they came upon a street performer playing wine glasses (also called the glass harp). At the point when the busker was finished with his “set,” a charmed Gilmour hit up a discussion with him.
“Do you want to play it with us tomorrow night on the stage here in St. Mark’s Square?” Gilmour asked. Although there seemed to be a slight language barrier at first, things took a positive turn as soon as Gilmour said the magic words, “I’ll pay you.” The performer—who truly didn’t seem to know who Gilmour was—was in.
You can observe all (well, most) of the above in the brief below. At the 34-second check, the activity movements to St. Check’s Square, where Gilmour warms up on acoustic guitar as local people watch from behind a boundary. At the 55-second check, we see that it’s pouring; it really rained for a considerable length of time before the gig and didn’t stop till the show’s interlude.
At 1:07, we quickly observe Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright (who died two years later at age 65). At last, at 1:17, Gilmour presents his new (impermanent) band mate: “He plays in the avenues of Venice for you consistently. He’s going to play…the wine glasses.” What takes after is around 20 seconds of “Sparkle On You Crazy Diamond” highlighting Strat, keyboards and glass harp.
