David Gilmour: the ultimate Fender bender

A closer look at Gilmour's 1955 Fender Equire

By Richard Mahon

In this column, I'll be examining Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's gear and playing techniques from a musician's point of view. Please feel free to e-mail me with questions and ideas for future articles if you feel you have an idea that readers of Spare Bricks might find of interest. Past articles are posted here - http://richardmahon.8m.com/sbarchive.htm

This issue's profile will look at another of Gilmour's prized guitars - his 1955 Sunburst Fender Esquire.

This guitar has often been mistaken as a Telecaster. It was first seen in Pink Floyd's live performances of The Wall and has been seen as recently as Gilmour's performances with Paul McCartney.

The guitar was purchased from guitar pickup manufacturer Seymour Duncan. Fender Esquires originally had a single bridge pickup. Duncan added a second pickup that he designed and installed in the neck position. Gilmour's Esquire can easily be mistaken for a Telecaster with these modifications.

Gilmour's Esquire was made at a time when Fender was going through a transition phase in their guitar design. Originally, Esquires had their serial number on the bridge plate, and then they were switched to the neck plate. Gilmour's Esquire was caught in the middle of the transition. A newer bridge plate was placed on the guitar at the same time that an older neck plate was added. The result is that Gilmour's Esquire does not have a serial number.

This guitar is most notably seen on the back cover of Gilmour's second solo album About Face.

The Esquire was used in recording sessions for Gilmour's first solo album, David Gilmour and in sessions for The Wall. It has also been seen in a group of promotional videos for Gilmour's first solo album (on the song "No Way") and appears during a video of Paul McCartney's "Rockestra" sessions while recording "So Glad To See You Here" at Abbey Road Studios, October 3, 1978.

In live performances of The Wall the guitar was used to perform the songs "In The Flesh," "Run Like Hell" and "Waiting For The Worms" during the Surrogate Band sequence.

On December 28, 1991, Gilmour used the guitar for an appearance on Amnesty International's 30th Anniversary Concert.

The guitar resurfaced in the recording sessions for Paul McCartney's solo release Run Devil Run. The guitar was used for all live performances in support of the album, most recently at the Cavern Club in Liverpool on December 14, 1999.

Richard Mahon is a staff writer for Spare Bricks