Gilmour said the two shows would be similar to the way he performed at the Royal Festival Hall in June, which was “more or less acoustically with a cellist and a gospel choir.

“I played some Pink Floyd, a new song called ‘Smile,’ a Syd Barrett song, an aria from Bizet’s ‘The Pearlfishers,’ along with a couple of other things. This will be the basis of the new shows.”

The constant rumblings about a Pink Floyd tour have gotten progressively louder but Gilmour seems to be enjoying music on a smaller scale for the moment.

“The downsized, unplugged format is quite tricky and I have to demo it in the studio to find the right songs to fit with the right musicians. It’s guesswork really, in parts, but it’s what I’m keen on at the moment,” he said. “The desire to hit the stadiums hasn’t returned, I’m glad to say.”

Gilmour’s atmospheric playing became a hallmark of the post-Syd Barrett Pink Floyd sound. He joined the hugely influential band in time for their second album, replacing original member Barrett, who departed after suffering a mental breakdown.

In between Pink Floyd projects, Gilmour issued two releases of his own: a self-titled effort in 1978 and About Face in 1984. His tour supporting the second album marked his last road trip as a solo artist.

In the mid ‘80s, Gilmour reunited with drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright to re-form Pink Floyd.

The band’s founder and creative mastermind, Roger Waters, attempted to get an injunction preventing the trio from touring as Pink Floyd without him, but he lost the case. The Gilmour-led Pink Floyd did a wildly successful tour in 1987-88 and hit the road again in 1994.

Talk of another Pink Floyd tour never really goes away and interest in the band sparked anew in 1999 when Waters embarked on his first U.S. tour in 12 years. The initial dates were so well received, he returned for another round in the summer of 2000.

Waters is expected to confirm a new (probably European) tour in the next few days. News of the Gilmour dates and a Waters tour won’t hurt the Pink Floyd retrospective album, Echoes – The Best Of Pink Floyd, due out next month.