Being a rock star might sound like a dream, but it’s not always great for your bank account. People love the idea of a rich musician traveling the world, but the truth is, it costs a lot of money to make music and put on shows. Things like recording in a studio, paying people to promote the concerts, and building cool stage setups all take cash out of a musician’s pocket. Most artists start off with very little money, and David Gilmour, a famous guitarist from Pink Floyd, learned over time how easy it is to waste it.
Lots of musicians don’t see they’re making bad money choices until it’s too late—like when they spend it all or get into trouble with drugs. Gilmour saw some bandmates struggle with drugs, especially Syd Barrett, who got worse over time. Gilmour liked to relax with marijuana, but he was careful not to let it ruin him.
After Pink Floyd’s big album Dark Side of the Moon, things changed in the band. Roger Waters, another member, started taking charge of the stage ideas. For their album The Wall, he wanted a huge show where they built a giant wall on stage and then tore it down every night. That sounded amazing, but it cost millions of dollars, even for just a few performances.
By the 1980s, Gilmour split from Waters and kept working with Pink Floyd. Around that time, music was getting flashy with MTV, where stars like Madonna and Michael Jackson made big, expensive videos and shows. David Bowie, another famous singer, had been doing wild stage shows since his Ziggy Stardust days. When he made Let’s Dance, he was a pro at it. But his Glass Spider Tour for the album Never Let Me Down was over-the-top. It had a giant spider set on stage and was super expensive.
Gilmour didn’t think it was worth it. He said, “Shows can cost a lot, and it’s easy to spend money the wrong way. That glass spider thing Bowie used was a huge waste. It was a pricey show, and it didn’t seem like good value.” Gilmour wasn’t just being mean—he knew big shows from his own band. Pink Floyd had awesome lights and even pretended a plane crashed during one song, but they always tried to keep costs smart, even if it was still a lot.
Bowie, though, loved going big. He later said the Glass Spider Tour was his way of trying something poppy, like Phil Collins. Still, it’s hard to imagine how much money he needed just to not lose cash on that giant show!
