David Gilmour has spoken candidly about his lingering discomfort with Pink Floyd's 1983 album The Final Cut, describing the period surrounding its creation as "such a nightmare" that he tried to erase it from memory. The comments highlight the deep tension between Gilmour and Roger Waters in the band's later years, as Waters increasingly dominated songwriting and direction following the more collaborative Wall era, leaving Gilmour feeling sidelined despite contributing to what became largely a Waters solo project in all but name.

Gilmour acknowledged the quality of individual tracks, such as "When the Tigers Broke Free," calling it "a very nice track" while suggesting it might be better suited to a Waters greatest hits collection than a Pink Floyd legacy. After Waters departed the band, Gilmour took over as frontman and pushed for a return to more collaborative songwriting on subsequent albums like A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell, determined to avoid repeating the fractured dynamic that had defined the band's final years with Waters.