David Gilmour Performs With The Roots & Debunks ‘Dark Side’/’Wizard Of Oz’ Rumors On ‘Fallon’

Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour made his first U.S. television appearance in eight years on last night’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Gilmour sat for an interview with host Jimmy Fallon and teamed with house band The Roots to perform “Dark and Velvet Nights.”

Fallon asked Gilmour about a series of rumors during their extensive chat. After denying hearing “Wish You Were Here” led him to stop smoking and acknowledging he was once a male model, David Gilmour laid to rest the urban legend that Pink Floyd purposely synced up The Dark Side Of The Moon with the 1939 film The Wizard Of Oz.

“I only heard about it years later,” Gilmour said of the theory. “Someone said you put the needle on … and on the third roar of the MGM lion, you put the needle on for the beginning of Dark Side and there’s these strange synchronicities that happen.” He acknowledged that while “there are these strange coincidences,” they are just “coincidences.”

The legendary guitarist ended the episode by playing “Dark and Velvet Nights” with The Roots. The song is featured on Gilmour’s recently released album, Luck and Strange. David Gilmour ends a tour in support of the LP with shows at Madison Square Garden tonight (Friday, November 8) and tomorrow (Saturday, November 9).

Watch David Gilmour performing “Dark and Velvet Nights” and sitting for an interview on Fallon below: