The Lost Art of Conversation: How an Unreleased 1986 Instrumental Became a Division Bell Classic

During the 1986 sessions for A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the band (mostly David Gilmour) worked on an instrumental called “The Lost Art of Conversation.” It never made the album, but Gilmour liked the guitar figure enough to revisit it later.

That riff resurfaced on The Division Bell as the central motif of “Marooned.” The track won a Grammy in 1995 for Best Rock Instrumental, making it one of the few Pink Floyd instrumentals to receive that honor. So next time you hear those crying, slide-heavy notes, you’re catching a ghost from the mid-80s.