David Gilmour and Bowie gig boosts BBC iPlayer music line-up
David Farnor | On 16, Nov 2015
BBC iPlayer has added an exclusive concert from David Gilmour and David Bowie to its music streaming line-up.
The Pink Floyd singer and guitarist performed live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2006, a concert that included a special guest appearance from David Bowie.
Now, fans of Floyd or The Thin White Duke can watch a recording of the gig exclusively on the Beeb’s streaming platform. The 90-minute video, which was uploaded to the site this weekend, sees Gilmour perform tracks from his solo album On An Island and a selection of hits from throughout Pink Floyd’s 40-year career. He is joined on stage by Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright and Guy Pratt, who joined Pink Floyd on two world tours along with John Carin, Phil Manzaner and Robert Wyatt.
James Stirling, Editor of BBC Music, says: “We’re really excited to bring this iconic performance to BBC iPlayer for fans to enjoy. It is an amazing show where two legendary British musicians came together to create some musical magic.”
The exclusive video is the latest in a concerted effort from the broadcaster to boost its musical offerings. It arrives just a few weeks after an Elton John concert recorded at Cornwall’s Eden Project was added to the site. In a similar vein, Festival Pass: Duran Duran At Bestival gave viewers an all-access insight into a band whose career spans over three decades, all through their festival eyes.
The BBC is also commissioning exclusive, original music programming too, from Music Box with Guy Garvey, which sees the BBC Radio 6 Music presenter and Elbow frontman delve into his personal music box to reveal which artists he’s excited about at the moment, to All Shook Up, a new live music series hosted by 6 Music presenter Marc Riley, which includes performances from artists such as Wire, Monotony, Teleman, The Wytches and Jesca Hoop.
Earlier this year, BBC iPlayer also premiered Amy Winehouse In Her Own Words, a portrait of the late singer threaded together from extracts from interviews she gave to the BBC for a variety of music and documentary projects, including footage from the Jazz and Soul Britannia series on BBC Four, BBC One Sessions in 2007, Glastonbury 2004 and 2008, The 2004 Mercury Music Prize, Later with Jools Holland in 2006 and The Hootenanny 2006. The short film was released just ahead of the feature-length documentary, Amy, now available on DVD and VOD in the UK.