Polly Samson | |
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 Samson in 2020 | |
| Born | 29 April 1962 London, England |
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| Children | 4 |
| Website | pollysamson |
Polly Samson (born 29 April 1962) is an English novelist, lyricist and journalist. She is married to the musician David Gilmour and has written lyrics for many of his songs, including albums with his band Pink Floyd.
Samson's father was Lance Samson (died 4 February 2013 [1] ), a newspaper editor [1] and diplomatic correspondent for the Morning Star. [2] He and his Jewish family lived in Hamburg, from where he fled from Nazi persecution as a child on the Kindertransport, coming to England as a refugee. [3] Her mother was Esther Cheo Ying, a Chinese-English writer [3] whose memoir, Black Country to Red China, dealt with her time serving as a Major in Mao Zedong's Red Army. [4] Samson's mother's second husband was the British journalist Alan Winnington. [5]
Following a troubled childhood, Samson joined the publishing industry, through which she met the writer Heathcote Williams with whom she became romantically involved during the publication of his book-length poem Whale Nation (1988). Samson was responsible for publicising what became a best-selling volume, despite its author's reluctance to promote his own work. [6] With Williams she had her first son, Charlie. [7] Following his birth, Samson became homeless and was taken in for a period by the journalist Cassandra Jardine. [8]
Samson has written short stories for BBC Radio 4 and has had a collection published Lying in Bed (Virago 1999) and a novel, Out of the Picture (Virago 2000). [7] She contributed to books and publications including Gas and Air (Bloomsbury 2003), Girls Night In (Harper Collins 2000), A Day in the Life (Black Swan 2003), and The Just When Stories (Beautiful Books 2010). Samson's collection of stories, Perfect Lives, was published in November 2010 by Virago Press. Her novel The Kindness was published in 2015. [9]
In 2018, Samson was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. [10] Her novel A Theatre For Dreamers was published on 2 April 2020 by Bloomsbury Circus. [11] The novel entered the Sunday Times Bestsellers Chart at number two. [12]
After splitting from Williams, Samson met the Pink Floyd singer and guitarist David Gilmour. They married in 1994 during Pink Floyd's Division Bell tour. [13] Her son Charlie was adopted by Gilmour. [13] They have three other children: Joe, Gabriel and Romany. [4]
Samson is credited as a co-writer on seven songs on the 1994 Pink Floyd album The Division Bell. [14] Gilmour said that Samson's contributions had "ruffled the management's [feathers]", but the producer Bob Ezrin later reflected that her presence had been inspirational for Gilmour, and that she "pulled the whole album together". [15] Samson did not want credit, saying "the idea of my name being attached to Pink Floyd was like some nightmare", but Gilmour insisted, telling her she would regret going uncredited. She later said he was right, and that she had become used to him singing her lyrics. [16] Samson contributed lyrics to "Louder than Words" on the 2014 Pink Floyd album The Endless River . [17] She wrote lyrics for Gilmour's 2006 album On an Island , [14] and made a guest appearance on piano and vocals. [14] She also wrote lyrics for Gilmour's albums Rattle That Lock (2015) and Luck and Strange (2024). [18]
On February 6, 2023, Samson tweeted to Gilmour's former Pink Floyd bandmate Roger Waters: "Sadly you are antisemitic to your rotten core. Also a Putin apologist and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy, megalomaniac. Enough of your nonsense." [19] Gilmour followed up by writing: "Every word demonstrably true." [20]
George Roger Waters is an English musician and singer-songwriter. In 1965, he co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd as the bassist. Following the departure of the songwriter, Syd Barrett, in 1968, Waters became Pink Floyd's lyricist, co-lead vocalist and conceptual leader until his departure in 1985.
David Jon Gilmour is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink Floyd had become one of the highest-selling and most acclaimed acts in music history. Following the departure of Roger Waters in 1985, Pink Floyd continued under Gilmour's leadership and released the studio albums A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987), The Division Bell (1994) and The Endless River (2014).
The Division Bell is the 14th studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 March 1994 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and on 5 April by Columbia Records in the United States.
The Final Cut is the twelfth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 21 March 1983 through Harvest and Columbia Records. It comprises unused material from the band's previous studio album, The Wall (1979), alongside new material recorded throughout 1982.
David Gilmour in Concert is a DVD of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concert that took place at the Royal Festival Hall, London in June 2001, as part of the Robert Wyatt-curated Meltdown festival. It also features footage filmed during three concerts at the same venue in January 2002. The track selection includes several Pink Floyd songs, in addition to Gilmour's solo works. Guest appearances are made by Floyd colleague Richard Wright, as well as Robert Wyatt and Bob Geldof. It includes the first performance of "Smile", a track that would appear almost five years later on Gilmour's third solo album, On an Island. Gilmour also plays two Syd Barrett songs.
"Mother" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd from their 1979 album The Wall.
"High Hopes" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, composed by guitarist David Gilmour with lyrics by Gilmour and Polly Samson. It is the closing track on their fourteenth studio album, The Division Bell (1994); it was released as the second single from the album on 17 October 1994. An accompanying music video was made for the song and was directed by Storm Thorgerson.
"Take It Back" is a song by the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released as the seventh track on their 1994 album The Division Bell. It was also released as a single on 16 May 1994, the first from the album, and Pink Floyd's first for seven years. The single peaked at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart, the fourth highest in the band's history, below 1979 number 1 hit "Another Brick In The Wall" and 1967 top 20 hits "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne." The music for the song was written by guitarist David Gilmour and album co-producer Bob Ezrin, with lyrics by Gilmour, his wife Polly Samson and Nick Laird-Clowes.
"Poles Apart" is a song by Pink Floyd from the band's 1994 album, The Division Bell.
Storm Elvin Thorgerson was an English art director and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other art for Led Zeppelin, Phish, Black Sabbath, 10cc, the Alan Parsons Project, the Mars Volta and the Cranberries.
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments, philosophical lyrics, and elaborate live shows. They became a leading band of the progressive rock genre, cited by some as the greatest progressive rock band of all time.
"Lost for Words" is a song recorded by English rock band Pink Floyd, focused on forgiveness, written by guitarist and lead singer David Gilmour and his spouse Polly Samson for the band's 14th studio album, The Division Bell. It appears as the penultimate track on the album. The lyrics, mostly penned by Samson, are a bitterly sarcastic reflection on Gilmour's then-strained relationship with former bandmate Roger Waters. The song was released to US rock radio the week of the album's release, succeeding "Keep Talking", the previous promotional release, released the week before. The song reached #53 in the Canadian singles chart.
"Smile" is a single by guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour, released on 13 June 2006. The song was on the UK charts for 1 week and peaked at 72.
"What Do You Want from Me" is a song by Pink Floyd featured on their 1994 album, The Division Bell. Richard Wright and David Gilmour composed the music, with Gilmour and his wife Polly Samson supplying the lyrics. A live version from Pulse was released as a single in Canada, reaching number 28 in the Canadian Top Singles charts.
The Endless River is the fifteenth and final studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released in November 2014 by Parlophone Records in Europe and Columbia Records in the rest of the world. It was the third Pink Floyd album recorded under the leadership of the guitarist, David Gilmour, after the departure of the bassist, Roger Waters, and the first following the death of the keyboardist, Richard Wright, in 2008, who appears posthumously.
"Louder than Words" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour and Polly Samson. The song, featuring lyrics written by Samson to accompany a composition by Gilmour, was recorded by the band as the closing track of their fifteenth studio and final album, The Endless River. The track features a posthumous appearance by former keyboardist and founder member of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright, and an appearance by electronic string quartet Escala. "Louder than Words" is the only song on the album with lyrics, which were sung by Gilmour.
The Rattle That Lock Tour was a concert tour by English singer and musician David Gilmour to support his fourth solo studio album, Rattle That Lock. The tour became a commercial success, grossing $47 million and selling 288,997 tickets in 16 shows in the 2015 total. It was the 76th highest grossing of the year, according to Pollstar's annual year end tour chart. The tour covered 50 performances – 17 more than his On an Island Tour in 2006. The tour is documented on the live release Live at Pompeii (2017).
A Theatre for Dreamers is a 2020 literary fiction novel by Polly Samson, which entered the Sunday Times Bestseller List at Number 2 upon its April 2020 release. It is a fictionalized account of life on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s, featuring real-life characters who lived there at the time, including Leonard Cohen, Charmian Clift and George Johnston.
"Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on digital platforms on 8 April 2022. It is based on a 1914 Ukrainian anthem, "Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow", and features vocals in Ukrainian by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian band BoomBox.
Luck and Strange is the fifth studio album by the English guitarist and songwriter David Gilmour, released on 6 September 2024 by Sony Music. It was produced by Gilmour and Charlie Andrew. Gilmour said Andrew challenged him musically and was not intimidated by his past work with Pink Floyd.
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