Why David Gilmour Initially Refused to Release New Pink Floyd After Rick Wright’s Death — and What Changed His Mind

After Rick Wright died in 2008, David Gilmour was adamant that Pink Floyd was finished. In interviews, he said the band had “run its course” and that releasing anything new without Wright felt wrong — musically and emotionally. He shut down ideas for reissues, live releases, and especially any “new” album that would use leftover material.

But a few years later, Gilmour listened to hours of unreleased keyboard improvisations Wright had recorded during the The Division Bell sessions. He realized those tracks captured Rick at his most creative and vulnerable. That shifted his thinking: instead of pretending Pink Floyd still existed, he could assemble an album that would be a pure tribute to Wright’s presence in the band. The result was The Endless River (2014) — almost entirely instrumental