Whether you’re a complete beginner or a certified legend of the instrument, no one is immune to electric guitar mishaps. Just ask David Gilmour.
The Pink Floyd legend kicked off his world tour in support of Luck and Strange, his first solo album in nine years, in Rome last month, and was halfway through Comfortably Numb on September 28 when his guitar strap – which may have been one that once belonged to Jimi Hendrix – completely snapped mid-song.
While strumming through the chorus on his signature Stratocaster – which he believes is just as good as his record-shattering $4m Black Strat – Gilmour attempts to put the fallen strap back in place. Then he sees the damage caused, shrugs, and continues to perform sans Strat.
Thankfully, after waving over his guitar tech, he manages to swap the guitar out for another Fender signature just in time for the song’s spine-tingling solo.
Gilmour's leather strap, adorned with a row of white crosses, is very reminiscent of the strap Hendrix used circa 1970, which had been bought for Gilmour by his wife, Polly, in 2006 from an auction.
He once joked “I think it makes me sound more like Jimi Hendrix, don’t you?”
Now, it’s unclear whether or not the strap that recently broke is the exact one that Hendrix owned or just a replica, but all signs unfortunately point to it being the former. It doesn't look like it will be too tricky to fix, though.
It’s fair to say that Gilmour handled the strap snap like the pro he is, and saw him fair better than other recent on-stage mishaps we've seen, including Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready falling off-stage mid-solo. New Schecter signature artist Sullivan King, meanwhile, launched one of his new guitars at a photographer, mistaking them for his guitar tech.
Gilmour's new album Luck and Strange has been well received by fans and critics alike, with Gilmour praising the fact the record’s producer didn’t care about his illustrious past. He did, however, have to win them over when it came to guitar solos.
