Background

David Kilminster was born on January 25, 1962, in Bristol, England.

Career

During his youth, David also sang in a barbershop quartet. Shortly after, Kilminster was asked to teach at the Guitar Institute in Acton. This also involved writing exam material and courses for Trinity College and Thames Valley University. Kilminster has taught at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford and written for Guitar Techniques magazine. He has launched a series of instructional DVDs for Roadrock's Licklibrary after the success of his global satellite series, named Killer Guitar.

In 2002, Kilminster toured with Keith Emerson and Emerson's group The Nice, emulating the guitar work of David O'List. From 2006 to 2008, he toured with Roger Waters on his The Dark Side of the Moon and from 2010 to 2013 he toured as first guitarist on Waters' The Wall Live 2010–2013 tour. On both tours, he performed similar parts to David Gilmour on the original studio albums.

He has also played alongside John Wetton (ex King Crimson), Ken Hensley (ex Uriah Heep), Qango (an Asia spin-off), The Nice, and Carl Palmer. In May 2015, Kilminster replaced Guthrie Govan in Steven Wilson's band for its 2015 North American tour.

Dave re-released his acoustic guitar album 'Playing with Fire' in 2004. In 2007, he launched the rock album Scarlet, which featured Emerson bandmates, drummer Pete Riley and bassist Phil Williams. The album was re-released as 'Scarlet – The Director's Cut' in 2012. This was followed up by a new album of original material, and ... The Truth will set you free in 2014. Kilminster co-produced Anne-Marie Helder's first solo album The Contact (2004). She sings backing vocals on Scarlet.

He has used Cornford guitar amplifiers. Govan and Kilminster most recently performed together at the International Music Show, at London's ExCel arena on 14 June 2008, where Kilminster played songs from his album Scarlet, before joining Govan and his band to perform tracks from the album Erotic Cakes.

In 2017, Dave features on the new chart-tracking Steven Wilson album "To The Bone", providing backing vocals on three of the tracks.

Achievements

• Fans and critics agree that Dave's work is in a class by itself, encompassing technical mastery and enormous power. A favorite because of his likeable enthusiasm and unmatched on stage energy, Dave wins rave reviews from fellow musicians. Dave's unusual and unexpected techniques add new dimensions to their work. Kilminster is one of the most extraordinary talents to emerge from the UK, and is sought after as a collaborator, band member and solo performer.
  
  Dave won the 'Guitarist of the Year' competition in 1991, run by 'Guitarist' Magazine.
  
  

Works

More photos

• music

  • Scarlet 2007
  • Scarlet - The Director's Cut 2012
  • ...and the Truth Will Set You Free... 2014

Views

He has used many different playing techniques such as tapping and sweep picking, but considers them to be "just tools really" and not an important part of his playing style.

Quotations: "If you want to improvise, if you want to play the music inside your head, then you need to transcribe."

Personality

Dave Kilminster: "As for Steven Wilson, I wasn’t really aware of what he did until I saw his show at the Royal Albert Hall. I just went along to see my friend Guthrie Govan do his thing, but I was just totally blown away! I went and bought The Raven That Refused to Sing album the next day, and couldn’t believe how good it was! It’s one of the best things I’ve heard in many, many years, and so of course I was absolutely thrilled to play and tour with him."

Quotes from others about the person

• Roger Waters: "Dave is an absolute natural for the job he does in my band. Because of the extraordinary level of his technical ability, he can reproduce the ‘other’ Dave’s parts - including all the well-known solos - with fluency and accuracy, while also bringing his own special flair to them. He is, in many respects, like a virtuoso concert violinist. The notes are written in stone in terms of pitch and time, but the interpretation is all his own. It was always my intention to treat Dark Side as a classical piece, remaining faithful to the original, so Dave’s special skills are an absolute godsend."

Interests

• Music & Bands

  Black Sabbath, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, The Eagles, Steely Dan, 10cc, Marvin Gaye, AC/DC, David Bowie, ELO, The Carpenters, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin.