The Heartbreaking Reason Why David Gilmour Doesn’t Want To Play ‘Echoes’ Live

It’s Not Surprising

Clocking in at over 23 minutes and taking up the entire second side of the “Meddle” album, “Echoes” is one of Pink Floyd’s best-known and most enduring songs. It was originally called “Return To The Sun Of Nothing.” It’s a team effort by the four members of the band – David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason. According to Wright, it was him who composed the long piano intro.

Wright passed away from lung cancer in 2008.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 2016, Gilmour revealed that he no longer wanted to perform “Echoes” live. He spoke about performing at Pompeii’s amphitheatre in Italy.

“It would be lovely to play Echoes here, but I wouldn’t do that without Rick,” he said. “There’s something that’s specifically so individual about the way that Rick and I play in that, that you can’t get someone to learn it and do it just like that. That’s not what music’s about.”

“Being a solo artist is what I do. It’s what I’ve been doing for the last 20 years and a bit before then,” he added. “I can’t remember really what it’s like to do it within Pink Floyd. In my mind, that’s a thing of the past.”