Capacity: 5,272 (maximum; depends on configuration of seating)

Concert starts: 7:45pm

Address of venue: Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP. MAP

Website: www.royalalberthall.com

COMMENTS

David's 2015 tour of Europe concludes at this historic venue, and this is the first of five shows. The last time David brought his show to this London venue was at the end of May 2006, and film of those three shows ended up as the Remember That Night DVD release. Could he be intending to film one or more of these new shows for future release as well? We certainly hope so!

Tickets went on sale Friday, March 6th at 10am UK time, and the DavidGilmourblog.co.uk presale started Wednesday, March 4th for those quick off the mark. For the main sale of tickets, you can use these links: Ticketmaster, Eventim, Seetickets, Stargreen and RoyalAlbertHall.com although please be aware that demand is incredibly high so you might need to be patient and keep retrying, as they seem to be adding tickets for sale progressively.

The organisers have pointed out that "for the London concerts, the name of the lead booker will be printed on each ticket. The lead booker must attend the concert and photo ID will be required to gain entry to the venue. There will be no exceptions to this rule. This is to try and stop secondary selling by ticket touts at high prices." This is exactly what happened with the Kate Bush concerts in London last year, and it seemed to work really well. It ensured that fans were there, and ticket touts/scalpers didn't get much of an opportunity to make a killing buying tickets for a show they would have no intention of seeing!

We also understand that there are a limited number of VIP packages available for this venue, priced around £249. Again, this is subject to fees and conditions.

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

Do not read on if you don't want surprises to be spoilt, regarding what the band played!

David's 2015 European tour has arrived in London, at the legendary Royal Albert Hall. It's a venue steeped in history, and has, over the years, hosted all sorts of events, from concerts to theatrical productions, to even the odd sporting event such as tennis matches! Tonight, we saw David Gilmour return to the hall for the first time (in his own right) in nine years, and the crowd made their pleasure clear by giving a stunning show, standing ovations at various points, and at times seemingly surprising the band by the strength of their cheering.

The band were on fine form throughout, playing with passion and confidence. The material is clearly well-seated with them all, and there's an obvious enjoyment in performing the current version of the set list. One does wonder if the set will change a bit over the course of the five night run; on a brief telephone chat with BBC Radio 2 morning presenter Chris Evans, David suggested he might shake up the set a little here and there.

From my position, I had some slight concern over the health of David - throughout the show, he seemed to be using some sort of medicated aid to help his throat or chest. Is he recovering (or working his way through) a cold of some sort? I even spotted him cough off-mic between lines of one of the songs, but vocally bore up remarkably well. I suspect with the soaring vocal at the start of Coming Back To Life, that's why that song was dropped from the set (it was a recent addition, and had been played at the last few shows). Rather than "short-change" the crowd though with this exclusion, some of the guitar solos elsewhere seemed quite heavily extended. The reaction of the rest of the band at times showed that they were wondering just when some songs were going to end...every solo seemed perfectly pitched and played, making for a wonderful night.

Further adding to the show were a couple of special additions. The first of these was in the form of a couple of friends of David's - Messrs Crosby and Nash, who were brought on to help out with the lovely A Boat Lies Waiting, On An Island, and Comfortably Numb. Comfy had an additional benefit (very briefly revealed at intermission) of an array of lasers, which made a great night even better with this nice Floydian touch.

Did you go to the first of the five nights in London? We'd love to know what you thought about it - how was the concert for you? Let us know what YOU thought!

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, KEVAN PORTER
After a short break since the last gig in Oberhausen, Germany, David and his band return to the stage once more for the first of five sell out nights at London's famed Royal Albert Hall.

The atmosphere in the Albert Hall tonight is buzzing and there is much excitement amongst the huge crowd of enthusiastic fans waiting to take their seats. Many languages can be heard including French, Spanish, Italian and quite a few American accents as fans from all around the world slowly make their way into the auditorium.

As we take our seats the first thing that strikes me is how massive the staging looks, filling every inch of the stage area. You would be forgiven for thinking the, now familiar, rear circular screen had grown in size but the scale of this venue is much smaller than the Théâtre antique d'Orange and also the Brighton Centre too. This only makes for a more impressive setting.

Our seats in Stalls J (just behind and left of the mixing desk) offer us a pretty much perfect view to fully appreciate the stage and lights and we sit patiently waiting for the show to start. Then, at just after 7.45pm, the already excitable audience of just over 5000 let out an almighty roar as the house lights dim and David and his band take to the stage.

There is much speculation as to whether the set list will have changed now that the new album has been released and only time will tell as the band glide perfectly into the sublime instrumental 5 A.M. from the new album, segueing into Rattle That Lock. As it turns out the set list is the same as previous shows (albeit without Coming Back To Life which has been played as an additional song as some shows). Another change to tonight's show is the very talented new sax player Joao De Macedo Mello who is replacing Theo Travis for the RAH gigs. His performances tonight on Money, Us And Them and Shine On You Crazy Diamond were flawless!

However, there will be a couple of great surprises tonight as the show unfolds!

With the crew not being able to use the LED video screen at the last show I attended in Orange it is a welcome return to see the wonderful films and animations that do indeed add another dimension to David's songs as they are played live before us. Again the lights and smoke add yet more atmosphere to what is steadily becoming a fabulous show, very reminiscent of what I expect a mid 70's Floyd show to have been like.

Not quite up to par is the sound quality, which I find to be a little harsh and sibilant with slightly murky bass. This is no detriment to my enjoyment nor the fault of the talented sound crew as I believe the RAH to be a difficult hall to sound right for amplified music - I've never heard any band sound perfect here!

So, onto tonight's surprises! Firstly, just before the band play A Boat Lies Waiting, David introduces to the stage none other than David Crosby and Graham Nash who lend their sweet harmonic voices to the choruses in fine form. Crosby and Nash rejoin the band later in set two to sing equally well on On An Island, the title track from David's last solo album. It is also worth noting the fantastic guitar interplay on this track between David and the legendary Phil Manzanera with Phil playing a meaty sounding Gibson in contrast to Gilmour's firey Strat. Crosby and Nash's duties aren't quite finished though as they rejoin the band a third time for the final encore of Comfortably Numb with Crosby joining Gilmour on lead vocals.

And talking of that that final encore, our second surprise this evening: a new addition to Mark Brickman’s palette is a new bank of lasers sat behind the band shooting needle thin beams of light into the audience. Combined with the smoke pouring out of the stage it all makes for the perfect visual foil for the track and makes a dramatic and climactic ending to the show.

So to the end of another great show, the first of five in this run at The Royal Albert Hall. A show many will not forget in a hurry and, for me personally, a magical trip back in time!

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, DAVID STEWART
Really enjoyed last night, in Row G Stalls which was a great position. David's own work looks weak against the Floyd's and seems to be guitar solos which are exquisite surrounded by so-so lyrics and melodies. The Floyd element of the show was exceptional with Run Like Hell being the absolute highlight for me - it was driven from the off like an express train; they pushed it hard and aggressively from the first second and it was a real triumph.

David's guitar playing had a definite harder edge to it last night with less precision note by note and more chord sequence which heightened the dramatic moments in Run Like Hell especially and Fat Old Sun to a lesser extent. The audience reaction during Run Like Hell was extraordinary with fans coming down the aisles to the front and the atmosphere was electric.

The sax player needs a special mention, they are using a separate player in London to Europe and his playing in Us and Them and Money was just breathtaking. It was straight from Dick Parry at the time of Dark Side and played with real panache and gusto - fantastic! My first concert with Pink Floyd was April 1969 at the Royal Festival Hall and 46 years later last night was a real thrill and a pleasure to be there.

If you have tickets for the RAH - enjoy. You won't be disappointed!

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, DOMINIC TWOSE
In addition to reviews already posted, I'd make a few additional points. I was at Brighton and at RAH first night. While the set lists were the same, and I did love Brighton, RAH was so much better! Why? Dunno. Better venue? Better crowd response? Band responding to both? Yes, some rough edges had been rubbed off - but there weren't many. And speaking of rough edges, they clearly hadn't put too much thought into getting Crosby and Nash on and off stage - David whispered to them at some point - my guess was he said "get off now because it is about to go black"!

I had a fantastic seat - 12th row. It was odd to see Polly and (I presume) two of her kids, walking around pre-show, without being crowded for autographs. Reminded me of the story of the members of Pink Floyd years ago wandering through a pre-show audience, unrecognised.

Despite the great seat, I was still one of the lucky ones to get to the stage for the encores. To stand within a few feet of them for Time and Comfortably Numb is a memory I will treasure...I also got a sense of the love just flowing from the crowd to the stage. Oh to be a rock star...

One other point on the concert: Fat Old Sun. There is that tricky transition point when David switches from acoustic to electric guitar. Ten years ago it was covered by a repeated chorus of "sing to me". In Brighton it was covered by Manzanera playing a solo. While they both did the job, neither seemed artistically right to me. But last night Jon Carin played a keyboard solo which was so sympathetic to the piece, so damn right, it went on longer than it needed to and I'm glad it did. I hope the band recognises they've solved that problem.

Finally, since I've got your attention: I was listening to And Then...tonight and thinking it would be a great piece for a humanist funeral. Maybe mine. It conveys the comfort of the night beautifully.

OK, I'll shut up now.

YOUR HELP NEEDED! We want to cover David's concerts the best we can, to share the experience with everyone, especially those who won't be able to attend the shows. We'd love to see ANY pictures, tickets scans, reviews, newspaper reports, and anything else you come across for this show - we look forward to hearing from you!