David Gilmour thinks people show him "way too much deference".

The former Pink Floyd rocker admitted the "dizzying heights" he has experienced in his career over the years has left many of his collaborators too scared to give him frank and honest feedback because they feel they need to give him unyielding respect.

He told The Sun newspaper: “After you achieve these dizzying heights, people tend to show you way too much deference,” he admits. “It becomes hard to retrieve the setup you had when you were young.

“In the earlier stages of Pink Floyd, we could be as rude and insulting to each other about our personalities and our music as we wanted — and yet everything would be all right in the end.

“No one ever stomped off permanently — until that bloke [Roger Waters] did...

“I was thrust into being band leader of Pink Floyd and, later, into being a solo artist. But I feel a more collaborative approach is better for me.”

On his new album, 'Luck and Strange', the 76-year-old star enlisted the services of Charlie Andrew, who is best known for his work with Alt-J and Marika Hackman, on the suggestion of his wife Polly Samson - who he writes his lyrics with - and appreciated the fact the producer had a "total lack of knowledge" about Pink Floyd.

David said: “I looked at all the people I knew but I’d got to a point in life where I wanted to move things forward in a different way...

"I made contact with Charlie and he came down to the house. He had total lack of knowledge of Pink Floyd and the side of the music industry that I come from.”

And when they were in the studio, David recalled: "Charlie was refreshingly blunt with some of his opinions. He was brilliant’’.

The 'Wish You Were Here' hitmaker heaped praise on his "lovely wife" and collaborator Polly.

He said: “As a married couple, we discuss our fears and our joys. She knows my preoccupations.

“It’s a great skill that she can inhabit my head.

“But her input is not limited to the lyrics. She has solid opinions on every aspect of what we do and is not scared to voice them.”