“I had a long vamp out and I played an extra few notes. David smiled and said, ‘Tony, in Pink Floyd you don’t do that extra couple notes until far later’”: Tony Levin on playing for Pink Floyd in the post-Roger Waters era

Saying that Tony Levin has had just an illustrious career would be an understatement. The esteemed bassist has played with everyone, from John Lennon to King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, and David Bowie.

Levin also played a significant role in Pink Floyd’s legacy during a particularly precarious time for the band – the recording of 1987’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason and the post-Roger Waters era.

“David Gilmour asked me to play bass on the album after Roger Waters famously left the band, thinking it was the end of them,” Levin tells Vulture. “I wasn’t part of any of the band’s intrigue and was thrilled to enter into the world of trying to play appropriately for a Pink Floyd context but also be somewhat myself.

“I brought out the Chapman Stick, an instrument I can play as a bass. It’s not the most common instrument, but I use it as one of my regular basses. I found David to be a fascinating guy and a real gentleman – a wonderful person to be with.”

Levin explains that while the sessions weren’t particularly hard, capturing the style Pink Floyd had honed over the years was challenging.

“I can remember one instance when I had a long vamp out and I played an extra few notes. I’m not talking about a fast bass riff here; I’m just talking about a couple notes,” he recalls.

“After the take, when we got together to listen, David smiled and said, ‘Tony, in Pink Floyd you don’t do that extra couple notes until far later.’ I had the right idea, but I did it too quickly. He was silently saying, ‘You don’t know that, but the rest of us do.’”

Levin also reveals that after a week or so of recording, the band approached him to tour with them. However, due to scheduling conflicts with Peter Gabriel’s tour, Levin was forced to decline.

“It was one of those big career decisions, perhaps even my biggest, where I went to stay with Peter. I’ve never regretted it, but I’m sure my career path would’ve been different had I spent that next year and a half doing Pink Floyd,” he concludes.

Tony Levin has recently wrapped up the 65-date BEAT tour alongside superstar guitar soloist Steve Vai, King Crimson guitarist and frontman Adrian Belew, and Tool drummer Danny Carey, celebrating the ’80s era of King Crimson.