As you may remember, he began bubbling up without a lot of advance fanfare. There was just this vague knowledge of this new guy on the scene called Prince. And then, of course, we all got our world rocked when “Purple Rain” showed up at the theaters. Even today, I’m struggling to try and emulate that guitar introduction to “When Doves Cry.” It’s just a testament to his extraordinary technique.

Wait. When you say emulate — you mean you try to play it and you can’t?

I continually come back to attempting to piece together each and every one of those segments. And it’s very short. It’s not an extended solo by any means. But the way it is delivered. There’s certainly no way to write it. You’ve just got to dive in and feel it to see if you could come close. This might be a little off the subject, but just this morning, Andy Langer sent me a link to Prince on YouTube performing “Honky Tonk Woman.” I had never seen it. I don’t know if there’s a fixed date that could be attached to it. I would encourage you to check it out. Here, within the four minute time span, you really get a sense of urgency that was behind his dedication to playing.

Technique. You’ve said that a few times.

Three times.

Yes, three. That’s a very particular word. Prince is somebody we always thought of as flash, beautiful, almost touched by something otherworldly. But when I hear the word technique, I think of practice, intellect, study.

Yes, and we can only surmise that there were a great number of hours in private where he was developing ways to approach the guitar that ultimately led to his prowess over the instrument. I bring this up over the years. My friendship with Prince was made known. There was hardly a day that went by if Prince’s name came up in the conversation, little did they give credit to his guitar playing. It was more about the flash. The showiness. There are a few repeatable examples that were fortunately caught on film or record that will settle the score once and for all. When I sat down with Prince that fateful evening in Manhattan, he was really touched by the fact that I knew quite a bit of his guitar playing …

Add David Gilmour to the list of those remembering Prince in song, though he did so with a twist. Performing last night at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Gilmour combined Pink Floyd‘s “Comfortably Numb” with “Purple Rain,” the title track from Prince’s 1984 multi-platinum smash.

It happens at about the 4:30 mark on the video above, just after the crowd erupts into another cathartic chorus of “I have become comfortably numb.” The stage lights switch from white to purple, but rather than going into the usual solo found on Pink Floyd’s 1979 The Wall, Gilmour’s backing singers begin to replicate the unspoken outro vocals from “Purple Rain.” Gilmour doesn’t mimic Prince’s iconic guitar work on the song, however, choosing instead to offer a moving exploration of his own. About a minute later, the stage lights shift again, this time to red and gold, and Gilmour resumes “Comfortably Numb” as before.

He joins scores of musicians who have paid tribute to Prince since the legend’s death last week at age 57. An autopsy has been performed to determine the cause of death, but officials say it could be weeks before the results are known.

The eight-minute take on “Comfortably Numb/Purple Rain” was part of a special benefit for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Gilmour launches a European tour later this summer, hitting Pompeii – site of one of Pink Floyd’s most memorable performances – in July.

Longtime fans will recall that Gilmour offered a cover of “Purple Rain” before, back during a 1992 taping of the six-episode mini-series Tom Jones: The Right Time, which later aired on VH1. Jones even sported a purple suit for the occasion.


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