“I didn’t know about the situation with Roger and David”: Ice-T reveals how he got David Gilmour to play on his cover of Comfortably Numb… in spite of Pink Floyd’s infamous band politics
David Gilmour and Roger Waters haven’t seen eye to eye in quite some time. However, the former Pink Floyd bandmates could agree on one thing – rapper Ice-T is one of few people fit to cover Comfortably Numb.
Despite Pink Floyd’s strict policy on remakes, Ice-T and his rap metal unit Body Count were given the all-clear to rework the iconic 1979 track by Gilmour and Waters personally. In an interview with Classic Rock, Ice-T explains how his management didn’t take no for an answer.
READ MORE: “I tend to steer clear of people who actively support genocidal and autocratic dictators” David Gilmour says he will “absolutely not” perform with Roger Waters again
“[We] approached the publishing company, but they said that Floyd don’t clear samples or accept remakes,” he says. “Then our manager got hold of David’s manager, who got it to David, and he loved it.
Of course, Body Count still had to get Roger Waters’ approval. There were concerns that Gilmour and Waters’ rift may have foiled Ice-T’s plans, but Waters happily gave the thumbs up. “We had to talk to Roger Waters – and I didn’t know about the situation with Roger and David,” he explains. “We were fucked again. But Roger asked: ‘Who’s singing it?’ ‘Ice-T.’ ‘Approved!’”
Body Count’s Comfortably Numb transforms the prog rock track into a scathing hip-hop and metal fusion. It confronts how technology and social media has allowed the world to become ‘comfortably numb’.
“My lyrics are saying we fucked up; if God is looking at us we ain’t looking good,” he says. “We’ve got all this war and tension, and we just scroll through, change the channel. We’re comfortably numb until the pain comes to our front door.”
Gilmour was so enthusiastic about the Body Count remake that he asked to get involved himself.” The next thing was that David asked to be on it – and be in the video!” Ice-T recalls. “He gave us more than we could imagine… To connect with a little band called Body Count says a lot about David Gilmour, more than music. God bless him.”
The Pink Floyd legend explained at the time: “The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like the new lyrics. They’re talking about the world we’re living in now, which is quite scary.”
“Body Count’s version of Comfortably Numb is quite radical, but the words really struck me,” he continued. “It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They’ve made it relevant again.”
In terms of Gilmour and Waters’ feud, the pair aren’t set to make amends any time soon. Back in October, Gilmour told The Guardian that he will “absolutely not” perform alongside Waters again, citing his former bandmate’s controversial political views.
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