The Story of the Guitar with David Gilmour

Links – BBC iPlayer – Story of Guitars on BBC WebsiteDiscuss this on the forumNPF Newsletter


On Astoria Houseboat StudioThe three part series The Story of the Guitar on BBC1 features Pink Floyd’s very own David Gilmour in tonight and next week’s episodes!  Check out the BBC Website.  It is broadcast on BBC1 at 10:20pm GMT.

Download Episodes

If you missed last weeks episode like me, then you can make use of the BBC iPlayer which has content on for 7 days.  You can also download the episodes to your computer with high quality sound and picture and view for up to 30 days.

Episode 1Download Page – Available until 10:19pm 26th Oct 2008
Episode 2Download Page – Available until 9:24pm 26th October 2008
Episode 3 – Not Broadcast Yet

You can also watch the interview below from the BBC website.  Also, feel free to discuss this on the forum.

Video 1 – Solos and Bending Strings

Video 2 – 12 String Guitar

Part 1 – In The Beginning – 5th Oct 2008 @ 10:20pm

Episode 1Download Page – Available until 10:19pm 26th Oct 2008

Alan Yentob embarks on a three-part personal journey to discover how the guitar became the world’s favourite musical instrument. Beginning with the rise of the acoustic guitar, the series takes him from an ancient Middle Eastern ancestor of the lute, to the iconic guitars draped round the necks of Bill Hailey and Elvis Presley and beyond.

Featuring interviews with Bert Weedon – the man who taught Britain to ‘Play in a Day’, Pete Townshend, Bill Bailey, flamenco player Paco Pena and classical guitarist John Williams.

Part 2 – Out of the Frying Pan – 12th Oct 2008 @ 10:20pm

Having a little amp trouble, Mr Gilmour?

Episode 2 – Download Page Removed – Available until 9:24pm 26th October 2008

Alan Yentob presents a three-part series examining how the guitar became the world’s favourite musical instrument.

As the guitar turns electric, music is changed for ever. The world’s first electric guitar had nothing to do with jazz or blues, but Hawaiian-style music and was known as the ‘frying pan’.

Yentob continues his investigation from the blues of the Mississippi to the guitar wars of the 1950s, when the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul were battling for supremacy.

Key talent – Alan Yentob
Participant – Dave Gilmour
Participant – Pete Townshend
Producer – Roger Parsons
Executive Producer – Janet Lee

Part 3 – This Time Its Personal – 19th Oct 2008 @ 10:20pm

How Do You Bend?

Episode 3 – Not Broadcast Yet

In the final programme of the series the guitarists talk about how they find their own sound, and how the guitar has changed their lives. Since its invention, the electric guitar has unleashed a seemingly inexhaustible sonic invention among guitarists.

Featuring Muse’s Matt Bellamy, who turns out to be following in his father’s space age footsteps, Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath, who talks about the invention of heavy metal, David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, Pete Townshend (Perhaps equally famous for smashing guitars), Johnny Marr from the Smiths on ‘the mother of all riffs’, Slash and The Edge from U2 among many others.

Key talent – Alan Yentob
Participant – Dave Gilmour
Participant – Pete Townshend
Producer – Roger Parsons
Executive Producer – Janet Lee