A lot has been said and written about in terms of the playing and songwriting abilities of former Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. Pink Floyd was already one of rock music’s top emerging bands by the time 1970 rolled around, as Gilmour had been added to the group just a few years prior in December 1967. It turns out that Gilmour had an abundance of musical abilities aside from just performing, as the guitarist recently revealed that he was one of the audio techs behind the soundboards to help mix Jimi Hendrix‘s performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.
Related: Watch “Light My Fire” From The Doors’ Final Filmed Set At Isle Of Wight 1970
According to a new interview with Gilmour published in Prog magazine, Gilmour happened to be at the well-attended music festival and stepped up to help mix Jimi’s performance when the event’s production team was short-staffed.
“I went down to go to [the festival] and I was camping in a tent, just being a punter,” Gilmour admitted in the new interview. “I went backstage where our main roadie guy, Peter Watts, was trying to deal with all the mayhem, with Charlie Watkins of WEM … They were very nervous; they were going to have to mix Hendrix’s sound. I did some mixing stuff in those days and they said ‘Help! Help!’ so I did.”
Gilmour must have done a pretty good job behind the boards, as Hendrix and his band went on to deliver an epic 18-song performance which included a cover of The Beatles‘ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, Bob Dylan‘s “All Along the Watchtower“, in addition to originals like “Freedom”, “Red House”, “Foxy Lady”, and “Purple Haze“. Fans can watch the video below to see some interview and performance footage of Hendrix from that late summer day in 1970.
Jimi Hendrix – Isle of Wight Performance
[Video: weirdopedia]
Gilmour also recently announced his plan to auction off over 100 guitars from his personal collection, including a few used on some of Pink Floyd’s most well-known recordings.
[H/T Guitar Player]