October

Steve O’Rourke Dies

The first member of Pink Floyd passed away on 30 October 2003 when manager Steve O’Rourke died in Miami of a stroke aged 63. The butt of early cruel verbal jokes (Waters once called him a ‘glorified booker’) he was the indefatigable engineer ensuring that the Floyd engine ran smoothly, organizing everything from tour finances to the ordering of concert airships. A fanatical motor-racing enthusiast, one of his career highlights was finishing 11th in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1985. At his funeral service held in Chichester Cathedral on 14 November Mason, Wright and Gilmour paid tribute to him, performing ‘Fat Old Sun’ and – appropriately – ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’.

November

Gilmour Awarded CBE

In November 2003 David Gilmour had the rare pleasure of meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace to receive a CBE for his services to music. That he had also undertaken a number of charity-based projects (including donating the proceeds – £3.6 million – of the sale of a house to Crisis) must have also been a factor in receiving this honour. According to Gilmour, when he received his honour from the Queen she said, ‘“Pink Floyd have been doing well for a long time”, and I had to agree.’ Gilmour attended the ceremony with his wife Polly, daughter Alice and son Charlie.

Personalities | Introducing Pink Floyd
Personalities | Pink Floyd | The Post-Break Up Era (2004) | Key Events