Two bits of David Gilmour news for you today. First off, the Dutch Radio 2 channel today broadcast a fascinating interview with David, recorded just before his concert of 20 March in Amsterdam.

They have made the interview available to download on their website - schiffersfm.radio2.nl, in two versions - the 9 minute version aired on the radio, complete with plenty of music from the album (select "korte versie"), and the chiefly unedited, raw interview with David lasting nearly 16 minutes (select "lange versie").

Chris Rea (right), with Mark Cunningham © TPi 2006

Our thanks to Beert Bierma for the information.

In other news, our friend Mark Cunningham, who runs the excellent Total Production International magazine, caught up with guitarist and singer/songwriter Chris Rea backstage at the Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, on March 22nd - two days after David played there. Chris is sadly on his farewell tour - recent health problems have made it impossible to carry on touring.

Chris and David have collaborated on projects in the past - including the "Spirit Of The Forest" album. In the interview, he talks of David in glowing terms. Here's an extract from the interview, that Mark kindly sent over:

Mark Cunningham: In a way, I suppose this decision to end your touring career as we know it could be quite liberating...

Chris Rea: It is and it isn't because my brain is still 20 years old. If I was 100% fit (well I am very fit in the cardio-vascular sense) and I had my pancreas back, I'd still be gunning for the ambition of being a Pink Floyd. I started all that with The Road To Hell with all the effects. I took out six towers in Wembley when we did Road To Hell, with all the cars and the rain and the cube, and I love all that to bits.

MC: Incidentally, Phil Taylor and David Gilmour send their regards. They were here two night ago...

CR: Oh great. I've always flown a flag for David, even when he was very unfashionable as a blues guitarist. I think he's one of the best, I really do. What I love about Gilmour is he takes it somewhere else. OK, you can tell what his favourite 10 records were when he was young but he's taken it into another new area. I get very bored with these blues club things where everyone's just copying Albert King, note-for-note, and there's discussions about how someone might have missed one of the notes. It gets like the Olympic Games!

MC: But you've taken the blues to different places yourself...

CR: I have but I'm not as sassy as David. I'm not David Gilmour! My first hit record was sat at a grand piano with a horrendous mix of a song that was meant to be for Al Green. So I'm very philosophical and when I look at how I began I'm actually quite lucky to be still performing today. Many of the people who started the same time as me are now gone. It's very hard to get to that top shelf, especially with the Gilmours, Claptons and Van Morrissons, and nowadays you need money to do that. When I talk to these guys as pals, you find out they're almost re-investing to continue in music. You know, they're all fuckin' rich bastards so I'm not going to feel sorry for them or anything!

Our thanks to Mark for sending over the interview, and we hope you enjoyed this segment! For those who've not discovered Chris's music, there are some wonderful albums in his catalogue. For Floyd fans, the aforementioned "Road To Hell" album is a good place to start...