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

Concert starts: 7:30pm (to be confirmed)

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

Website: www.royalalberthall.com

COMMENTS

It is worth noting that the six shows at London's Royal Albert Hall are the entirety of his UK performances this time around. We suspect there could be dates elsewhere announced in due course.

Tickets for this concert go on sale in two stages. Fans in the UK/Ireland pre-ordering Luck and Strange from the official David Gilmour UK Album Store will get first access to tickets, via an exclusive ticket pre-sale on Thursday 9th May through Ticketmaster UK. If you have ordered from elsewhere, there IS, however, a "No purchase necessary" option you can select at David's store to get the pre-sale code without having to cancel your existing order.

The window to qualify for the pre-sale ends at 3pm UK on Wednesday, May 8th, with all existing pre-orders from the official David Gilmour UK Album Store also eligible. Pre-sale codes will be sent out later that day.

Tickets will then go on general sale at 10am UK on Friday, May 10th, through this link at Ticketmaster UK. We are sure that demand will be high for these special concerts. Our thanks to John Johnstone for the ticket scan to the right.

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

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

Night fourteen of the tour (including the two dress rehearsals conducted in Brighton, on the south coast of England, last month), and the last of six nights in London. The Royal Albert Hall has long been a favourite of David Gilmour, and it proved to be a great place to see him play again. That's it for the European dates, held in three cities, and now the production, crew and band pack things up and head to California for the next two venues on the 2024 jaunt.

Reports are that the performance throughout was yet again superb, and proved an audio and visual treat! We had a specific comment about potentially more improvisation during this particular show, which is entirely possible being David's final UK show (for now, anyway).

One thing that some people were confidently expecting was that in London in particular there "would definitely" be at least one guest appearance during the run of dates. Nick Mason seemed high on the list of those who "would definitely" be guesting, and other names were bandied about at various points. As we expected, NO guest appearances took place, even though various musicians were spotted at various points (for example, Gary Kemp and Sex Pistol drummer Paul Cook) who were actually there to enjoy the show!

We'd love to know in more detail how the concert went. Did you go? Let us know what YOU thought!

CONCERT SETLIST and TIMINGS supplied by BD CONTRIBUTOR, JOHN JOHNSTONE

 

 

CONCERT REVIEW and PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, KEVAN PORTER:

It’s a funny old world; I went from deciding not to see any of Gilmour’s shows (as a protest against the expensive ticket prices) to eventually seeing two shows; the first at Brighton and now tonight’s final UK show in London’s Royal Albert Hall. After my initial tantrum and passing up an eighth row, dead centre seat in the pre-sale, I managed (some weeks later) to pick up a stalls ticket which proved to offer a great vantage point.

Although the set list has pretty much remained the same since the Brighton rehearsal shows a few weeks ago, everything else has changed enormously! First off, David and his band have really found their stride, playing superbly well with such a dynamic vigour and fluidity. The sound quality is very loud but as clear as a bell, with every instrument and voice richly defined in the mix. And the light show! Wow, it is stunningly breathtaking and seemingly much larger in scale than the actual hall itself - quite some feat. So, the first half is exactly what you want from DG, a lovely mix of old and new tracks, sublime performances, a great light show and theatrical giant weather balloons bouncing around the arena… of the kind featured in the video that accompanies High Hopes. So far, so good.

During the break, I decided to have a wander around the hall and found myself (deliberately) in the arena whereupon I came across a couple of friends sitting on the fifth row. After telling them where I was seated, they pointed out two seats that had been empty throughout the whole of the first set. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I decided to liberate one of them and suddenly I’m sat on the fifth row, dead centre - an even better seat than the one that I originally passed up in the pre-sale!

Normally, when so close to the stage, the sound can be a little harsh but not at all; it was just as superb as it had been further back. Changing seats half way through a gig is highly recommended, if you can get away with it!

The second half stepped up a couple of gears. If the first half had been impressive then everything that followed just seemed so much more impressive. Perhaps it was my close proximity to the stage but I felt the band went into some other kind of next level overdrive! Fantastic stuff.

Again, no surprises with the set list until almost the end of the show. As from October 1st, ‘Sings’ was played before the set closer of ‘Scattered’ which was accompanied by archive video footage of DG (guitar in hand) with his and Polly’s baby son, Joe, whose infant voice can be heard on the track. ‘Scattered’ is definitely my favourite track on the new album and is simply epic when performed live, providing the perfect way to bring proceedings to an end, accompanied by a stunning pinpoint lighting effect created by shining powerful spotlights onto a huge glitter ball suspended from the ceiling.

As we all know (and probably expect), a stunning ‘Comfy’ was the inevitable but wildly appreciated encore with its laser light show turning the RAH into a deleted scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was also funny to see a sunglasses wearing Romany enthusiastically head-banging to her dad’s soloing!

All in all, another remarkable and life affirming show from Gilmour and co… a fitting and worthy close to his residency at the RAH. Next stop will be America after first popping in to Alexander Palace to appear on Later With Jools Holland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCERT REVIEW and PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, JOHN JOHNSTONE

Wow, was it really eight years since my wife and I last saw David at the RAH? I must admit that when we saw him in 2016 that this would have been his last time, but here we are again, a new album and tour. I actually had a ticket for one of the Brighton rehearsals but let it go as I wanted to see and hear David after he had warmed up after a few gigs. I also deliberately refused to read any reports so that the set list and performance would be a surprise … which it was!

After a quick pint in the Gloucester Arms, my wife and I made it to our box on level 2 and got settled in. David took to the stage at around 19:45 and started with 5AM and a couple of songs from his new album (Black Cat / Luck and Strange), which I must admit, sounded really good live. Then it was into five old faithful Pink Floyd numbers, one of which (Fat Old Sun) was a highlight and another (Marooned) a welcome addition. The other timeless classics were Speak To Me / Breathe and Time. A Single Spark was next followed by an excellent rendition of Wish You Were Here. Band introductions and two more songs from the new album (Vita Brevis and Between Two Points) followed. Romany Gilmour was greeted warmly as she took the stage for Between Two Points and made the number her own, despite a great solo from David. The first set concluded with High Hopes, another highlight for me.

After a short break, a grungy Sorrow followed by the band rocking out to A Piper's Call set the tone. The next two songs (A Great Day For Freedom and In Any Tongue) seemed appropriate for today's worldly issues with David really nailing the solo in the latter. The Great Gig In The Sky followed and was played with a different but pleasing arrangement with the four backing singers (including Romany) harmonising rather than soloing. David's tribute to Rick Wright (A Boat Lies Waiting) was next and was quite emotional. He then played his tribute to his wife Polly (Coming Back To Life) and this was followed by Dark And Velvet Nights, which was supported by a brilliant, if a little scary, backing film. Two more numbers from the new album (Sings and Scattered) finished a quite remarkable set, complete with lasers and glitterball.

The encore had to be Comfortably Numb and this seemed to have more than a nod to David's latest recording with Body Count as the guitar solo's were almost heavy metal. Wow!

Overall, David's playing and singing were exemplary and he seemed to be very much in control and enjoying himself. The rest of the band were excellent and gave him great support. A mention must also be made about the light show, which really added to the overall atmosphere. All-in-all, a brilliant concert that will live long in my memory. I know that the tickets and travel (I live in the Lake District) were expensive but I feel that it was totally worth it! Hopefully there will be a next time ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCERT COMMENT and PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, PETR CEJKA

It was an AMAZING night!

 

 

 

 

 

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!