The History Of: Syd Barrett

Childhood

Syd Barrett was born Roger Keith Barrett on January 6, 1946 in Cambridge, England. He grew up in a middle class family, as the youngest of 5. His childhood was known to be the happiest part of his life, and some say that the “childish” feel to some of his songs was written in memory of a happier time, before his father, Arthur, died when Syd was just 11 years old. His parents often encouraged him in music, and it is believed by some that the death of Syd’s father contributed to his mental suffering later in his life.

The Beginning Of Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd was formed in Cambridge, London, 1965 by Roger "Syd" Barrett and his childhood friend, Roger Waters. Barrett was the band's lead singer and songwriter, having hits like "Arnold Layne". Syd named the band after two obscure blues musicians named Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. There first album, "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" was mainly the work of Syd Barrett. He played lead Guitar, with Roger Waters on Bass, Rick Wright on Keyboard, and Nick Mason on Drums. Syd's use of LSD can practically be seen in the writings of his music, with "Interstellar Overdrive" having the first minute be organized music, and then going into 7 minutes of "freaking out" with a horrific sound on the guitar, and an eerie keyboard sound. The song then uses a drum roll to end the song. The songs Syd was writing sometimes had a silly thought to them, with "Arnold Layne" being about a cross-dresser who steals women’s clothes. It is rumored that Arnold Layne was a real person who stole underwear from Syd and Roger’s mothers. "A year later, Pink Floyd came out with "See Emily Play", and Emily was a girl Syd saw in a drug-induced hallucination. Although the band was popular, they were no where near the success they would achieve in the '70s.

The Mental Breakdown

Syd Barrett's constant use of psychedelic drugs soon began to destroy him, and it was showing to the rest of the band. Legendary Guitarist, David Gilmour, joined the band in 1968 to carry out Syd's duties. He can be seen on the “See Emily Play” music video, where the band is in a field playing with imaginary instruments, and also pretending to play Cricket. Barrett's behavior was becoming less and less predictable. During concerts, he would sometimes stare into space, while the rest of the band played. His condition was known as Schizophrenia. Pink Floyd went to do the Pat Boone show. They played a song in rehearsal when the cameras were off, and Barrett would mime to the music as expected. When they put the cameras on to record it, Syd stared into space, not moving a muscle. They then turned the cameras off, and Syd did what was expected, but when the cameras were on, he went into stupor again and again until they decided that Roger Waters would mime the song. At another concert at the Fillmore West, Syd went on stage, and stared into space again, but then detuned all the strings on his guitar. He started to strum it. Rick Wright described the sound to be horrific, however the crowd loved the show.

Pink Floyd had no choice but to cancel the American tour. They never officially released there next attempt at a single, "Vegetable Man", written and sung by Syd, being about a super hero. The band simply stopped taking him to concerts, and officially formalized his departure in 1968.

The Solo Years

Barrett released "The Madcap Laughs", his first solo album in 1970. He completely changed his songwriting style, with just an acoustic guitar and voice. Some extra instruments were dubbed in the song like "No Good Trying", because it was thought to be too simplistic. Although "The Madcap Laughs" got good reviews for the most part, it failed to get much radio-play. His next album, "Barrett" was the same style. "Barrett" was produced by David Gilmour. David described the album as a "nightmare" to make, because Syd would never play the song with the same measures, or the same way at all.

After The Solo Years

After 1972, Barrett began to withdraw from music. There were attempts to bring him back. For example, the Sex Pistols wanted him to produce their next album. All attempts did not work though. There were also attempts to enter him into psychiatric help. Sometimes they could get him to the door, but never passed that. In an interview with Nick Mason, someone tried to explain Syd's symptoms to him, but Syd replied "Are you sure this is Syd's problem?” He started to live as a recluse in London.

Pink Floyd, after having a series of moderately successful albums, achieved huge stardom with the legendary masterpiece, "The Dark Side Of The Moon", which was partially written about Syd. The album is about what can drive a person to lunacy. For example, "On The Run" has the sound of an airplane crashing, showing the fear of flight. "Money" deals with the amount of greed in the world. "Us And Them" has to do with the insanity of warfare. "Brain Damage" talks at the end about lobotomy. At this time, Roger Waters was mainly writing about mental illness.

The "Wish You Were Here" Sessions

Syd Barrett had a horrific reunion with Pink Floyd in 1975 during the making of "Wish You Were Here" at Abbey Road Studios. His condition had severely gotten worse. He walked in the studio unannounced. When Rick Wright saw him, he did not recognize him. Neither did the rest of the band members. Syd Barrett had shaved of all the hair from his head and including his eyebrows. He had gained alot of weight and said "I have a large fridge at home and I've been eating alot of pork chops". When the band members were told who it was, they greeted Syd politely. He had a toothbrush, and tried to brush his teeth by holding it still, and jumping up and down. He coincidentally came in during the making of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", which was obviously about him. The title also spelled out his name, (S)hine on (Y)ou crazy (D)iamond, with the first letter of every other word spelling S-Y-D. When Syd left the studio, the band members, Waters and Wright in particular, were crying.

In an interview with Rick Wright, he spoke about the session, saying: "One thing that really stands out in my mind, that I'll never forget; I was going in to the Shine On sessions. I went in the studio and I saw this guy sitting at the back of the studio, he was only as far away as you are from me. And I didn't recognize him. I said, 'Who's that guy behind you?' 'That's Syd'. And I just cracked up, I couldn't believe it... he had shaven all his hair off... I mean, his eyebrows, everything...he was jumping up and down brushing his teeth, it was awful. And, uh, I was in, I mean Roger was in tears, I think I was; we were both in tears. It was very shocking...seven years of no contact and then to walk in while we're actually doing that particular track. I don’t know – coincidence, karma, fate, who knows? But it was very, very, very powerful". Syd was often catatonic, and after his long moments of being in a trance, he would have short moments of extreme excitement.

Barrett's Later Years

After the making of the hugely successful "Wish You Were Here", Syd literally walked backed to Cambridge, where he left the music industry for good. There are many pictures of him in the '80s, '90s, and '00s, were he is either walking or biking to the store. There were some compilations of his solo work, with "Wouldn't You Miss Me" containing his never-before-heard "Bob Dylan Blues", and the album “Opel”. "Crazy Diamond" was also released, and had the same songs, but with different takes, to show how Syd wouldn't play the song the same way.

Last Years

In the last years of Barrett’s life, he lived in his mother’s run-down home, where he enjoyed gardening and painting. He started to go by his original name, Roger. Although Syd had mental problems, he also suffered from Type-B diabetes and stomach ulcers. He had very little contact with other people besides his sister, Rosemary, fans and paparazzis knocking on his door. When a fan knocked on his door, he usually tried to say goodbye in the most polite way possible, and on very rare occasions he would let them in. Barrett became upset when people from the Pink Floyd-era of his life were around him. However, he went to his sister’s house to see a BBC Pink Floyd documentary. He thought it was “too noisy”, but he liked to hear “See Emily Play” again.

Death

On July 7th, 2006, Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett died of Cancer after suffering from diabetes. He died in his home at the age of 60. It was announced by his sister, Rosemary a few days later. The news shocked fans, and Syd's Pink Floyd album, "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" started to sell again.

Influence In Music

Pete Townshend has spoken about Syd, calling him “Legendary”, and Townshend is a big fan of Barrett. In the ‘60s he even took Eric Clapton to see Barrett play. Syd is known to be the first LSD casualty, although it is likely that other artists, such as Jimi Hendrix, would have gotten mentally ill due to their use of LSD, had they not died. Other Schizophrenics in music are Peter Green, the founder of Fleetwood Mac, and Jim Gordon, a member of Eric Clapton’s Derek And The Dominos band, best known for writing the piano coda at the end of “Layla”. He is known as one of the most original artists in music, and his originality can be heard in "Pow R. Toc H.", which begins with organized screaming. He tackled many genres, with English Pop, Psychedelic Rock, Folk and others.

Mental Illness

Many people have been fascinated by Syd, and have been curious to hear his music to see what the songwriting of a damaged mind is like. Some believe he suffers from Asperger's Syndrome , a disease that is often confused with Schizophrenia and it is believed that Albert Einstein suffered from this too. Most believe (including Roger Waters) it is the catatonic form of Schizophrenia. It has been wondered what caused his breakdown. While most believe drugs caused it, David Gilmour says it would have happened anyway, but the drugs acted as a catalyst, and worsened it. He also said that the type of lights that were used at Barrett's concert could have contributed when mixed with drugs. It is also believed that the death of Syd's father also contributed.

Although Syd’s career was short-lived, he proved to be one of the most inspirational and original artist of all time.

Comments

[Tombi]

I liked it.

[Eddy Hitler]

that was quite good. i seen that documentary hich is mentioned in the text a few times , it was really good , and also saddening to hear of syds downfall , mentally. he really is an inspirational musician. R.I.P Syd.

[eviledge87]

that was great, i knew Wish You Were Here was written about a former abdn memeber but i didn't know who as I only have Dark Side of The Moon and Wish You Were Here

[bassdrum]

Pretty good article. Too bad that Syd passed away, R.I.P.

[timmEH]

a lot of good facts there, i give it 2 thumbs up

[No Woman No Cry]

Good job. We needed something like this to honour Syd.

[Mahavishnu80]

I liked Syds work but i think floyd would have not become the legends they were without Syd leaving-Roger Waters would have left the songwriting to Syd which would have totally changed the band.

Syd is also responsible for a torrent of horrible Indie bands in britain (shoegazing self righteous english wankers to those not aware what indie is)

[Ary]

Good article. R.I.P. syd

[some_rock_fan]

Sad story. I hope that Pink Floyd do a tribute gig for him.
R.I.P. Syd

[horazonblade]

Thats a great read, 5 stars.

[horazonblade]

^ er 10 stars lol.

RIP Roger.

[Kalakala]

Something needs to be said here...

There are some of us ol' geezers that were around when Kesey and Owlsley opened Pandora's Box with the Acid Tests at Maritime Hall in Frisco. Now, this was the real deal kids. Talk about playing with dynamite. Over the next decade, the influence of LSD in popular music cannot be emphasized enough.

Here's the point: After the oh...mid-seventies, what passed as "acid" was nowhere near what Kesey and The Pranksters were delivering to the masses. Owlsleys Acid was something that had a certain unpredictability to it, and the overall mental outlook the user had that indulged in it was going to determine to a large degree how the overall trip was going to unfold. If you were a relatively mentally happy and healthy person, the trip would open doors of unconscienceness in the mind that in many cases, the user wasn't aware of. No wonder those with an artistic bent flocked to it.

Syd already had some issues cooking on the back burner before his discovery of acid. Not the stuff passed off today as acid,(garbage) but the stuff in the 60's like yellow sunshine, orange barrels and the like.

The combination of the early stuff and Syd's mentality proved his undoing, as it did for a few. Granted, Syd was an extreme case but nevertheless...it's all a roll of the dice. Who knows why some people get afflicted with any of a variety of afflictions known to humanity?

All in all, an unfortunate chapter in music history, but when you look at the work done in the 60's and early 70's, LSD certainly wrote a few pages of some incredible music. I find it unfortunate that many unenlightened "experts" seem to whitewash the era with a massive brush of LSD being "destructive and evil...the road to insanity". Anything ingested with over indulgence is destructive. Music owes a nod of acknowledgement to what this substance did in many cases.

Syd's story just didn't turn out as many had hoped, that's all. Fortunately, he's left behind something tangible, something that will mark his place, his contribution in the world of music.

Shine on Syd!

[saband]

^ WTF RIP SID

[crazyfool91]

dark side of the moon wasnt written about syd, but the aticle was pretty good. not much of a writer though.

[Conky420]

saband wrote:

^ WTF RIP SYD

fixed for spelling :P

[hang.em.high.]

Good, good, good article. RIP Syd.

[uuhi]

Wow Kalakala, that surely was an interesting read. I assume you lived in the 70's?

[Caustic]

Aspergers syndrome is a form of autism, unrelated to schizophrenia...

Still, nice to see him being appreciated. One of the most tragic stories in music. His album "The Madcap Laughs" really is like looking through a cracked window into a broken mind.

[4evermetal]

I get sad everytime i listen to piper at the gates of dawn now... especially Chapter 24, **** that's a beautiful song...

[Dallen_007]

Caustic wrote:

Aspergers syndrome is a form of autism, unrelated to schizophrenia...

Aspergers syndrome is often mistaken as schizophrenia, as some of the symptoms are similar, he was not saying they were related.

RIP Syd Barret

[Bubonic Chronic]

While not a bad outline of the history, this does cast his LSD use in a bit of an inaccurate light - not in regards to its frequency but regarding its effects on his mental status. The correlation between LSD and mental illness has never been satisfactorily established, although some researchers have hinted that they believe it may cause those who have the disorder, Schizaphrenia, to experience an earlier onset.

For those of us who do not suffer from the disorder, LSD is among the safest drugs, and again such popular rumors as serious brain damage are not connected with its use. More likely, those cases in which LSD users exhibit brain damage were also users of other drugs known to cause such damage, namely cocaine, which is known to affect the speech and language processing centers of the brain.

Interestingly, George W. Bush, a former user of cocaine, has trouble with language that seems to indicate that such damage may have occured. Not all victims of drug-induced brain damaged are musicians or blue collar types indulging in psychadelics. In fact it is no less common amongst the upper class who indulge in these more expensive drugs and also alcohol, another major player in producing brain damage in long-time chronic users.

[Caustic]

Dallen_007 wrote:

Caustic wrote:

Aspergers syndrome is a form of autism, unrelated to schizophrenia...

Aspergers syndrome is often mistaken as schizophrenia, as some of the symptoms are similar, he was not saying they were related.

RIP Syd Barret

Indeed. After my post, I looked and noticed I'd misread the sentence.

[Missino]

crazyfool91 wrote:

dark side of the moon wasnt written about syd, but the aticle was pretty good. not much of a writer though.

No it wasn't trully written about him, but Dark Side was written about madness, hysteria, greed, darkness...Themes strongly linked to Syd Barrett...

Anyway, good article! I strongly recommend both Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here to all musiciens...Very inspirationnal...Especially the tracks "Shine On You Crazy Diammond", "Wish You Were Here", "The Great Gig In Th Sky", "Brain Damage", "Time" and "Us And Them"!

[CirrusMinor]

**Tears**
Great Job

[Stop Messin']

Great column. The WYWH Sessions story is always a sad one to read

[Hendrix68689]

thats a sad story how such a huge influence gets destroyed, also kinda like jimi hendrix even though he didnt have brain damage he died early and wasnt even able to complete his last album, stories like these make me sad that people so good have such horrible deaths.

[epiphonist13]

wow...good read. its amazing how someone who started life so simply could have touched so many lives so greatly. at least now hes somewhere jamming with hendrix, garcia, and the other greats...R.I.P Syd

[Thin Ears]

Kalakala wrote:

Something needs to be said here...

There are some of us ol' geezers that were around when Kesey and Owlsley opened Pandora's Box with the Acid Tests at Maritime Hall in Frisco. Now, this was the real deal kids. Talk about playing with dynamite. Over the next decade, the influence of LSD in popular music cannot be emphasized enough.

Here's the point: After the oh...mid-seventies, what passed as "acid" was nowhere near what Kesey and The Pranksters were delivering to the masses. Owlsleys Acid was something that had a certain unpredictability to it, and the overall mental outlook the user had that indulged in it was going to determine to a large degree how the overall trip was going to unfold. If you were a relatively mentally happy and healthy person, the trip would open doors of unconscienceness in the mind that in many cases, the user wasn't aware of. No wonder those with an artistic bent flocked to it.

Syd already had some issues cooking on the back burner before his discovery of acid. Not the stuff passed off today as acid,(garbage) but the stuff in the 60's like yellow sunshine, orange barrels and the like.

The combination of the early stuff and Syd's mentality proved his undoing, as it did for a few. Granted, Syd was an extreme case but nevertheless...it's all a roll of the dice. Who knows why some people get afflicted with any of a variety of afflictions known to humanity?

All in all, an unfortunate chapter in music history, but when you look at the work done in the 60's and early 70's, LSD certainly wrote a few pages of some incredible music. I find it unfortunate that many unenlightened "experts" seem to whitewash the era with a massive brush of LSD being "destructive and evil...the road to insanity". Anything ingested with over indulgence is destructive. Music owes a nod of acknowledgement to what this substance did in many cases.

Syd's story just didn't turn out as many had hoped, that's all. Fortunately, he's left behind something tangible, something that will mark his place, his contribution in the world of music.

Shine on Syd!

I bow before you...that was beautiful *wipes a tear* lol seriously though

[ObscuredByLight]

most of this is word for word from the VH1 or whatever special.

[ilikepie]

I love see emily play.

[mantyce]

Mahavishnu80 wrote:

Syd is also responsible for a torrent of horrible Indie bands in britain (shoegazing self righteous english wankers to those not aware what indie is)

Almost true...Indie doesnt necessary refer to only the English. Indie referes to any independant group (i.e: without major record labels) that are not considered mainstream. We have Indie groups in Canada, as does the U.S, and any other country.

[DanRev]

mantyce wrote:

Mahavishnu80 wrote:

Almost true...Indie doesnt necessary refer to only the English. Indie referes to any independant group (i.e: without major record labels) that are not considered mainstream. We have Indie groups in Canada, as does the U.S, and any other country.

Our "Indie" is very different, It's pretty popular, very mainstream, normally on a major record label and are normally Shoegazing self righteous english wankers.

Think the kooks and the automatic and that sorta stuff.

Checked.

[gauthier]

holy crap, i just learned a whole new chapter to my Pink Floyd knowledge

RIP Syd

[Trevor6]

holy shit, I didn't know he died so recently!

[ricky butler]

This is the only thing I've read that had fresh facts to read about Syd Barret, and didn't tell me the exact same thing I just read at a different site. This guy is, not was, a Lengend. Good job, Matt.

Derik.

[private]

This is great. I can't believe people would have the nerve to bother him.

[mechaneko]

i think i cried while reading the wish you were here sessions part. its so sad to see a person especially your childhood friend and a band member that way. shine on you, syd. RIP.

[Cheesepuff]

i think i cried while reading the wish you were here sessions part. its so sad to see a person especially your childhood friend and a band member that way. shine on you, syd. RIP.

I cried too.

[blakwyte]

crazyfool91 wrote:

dark side of the moon wasnt written about syd, but the aticle was pretty good. not much of a writer though.

"and if the band you're in starts playing other tunes
i'll see you on the dark side of the moon"

there's no way that's not about syd

[black_sabbath85]

Thanks for this article. I learned a whole new chapter on the history of pink floyd today after having been listening to them for the past 6 years.
A sad story...emotional.

[alex3996]

when I heard about Syd death, I played Wish you were here cd over and over in my car
it's like my tribute to him
RIP Syd

[sysD]

Since I listened to Pink Floyd's The Wall I and II and Wish you Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon on my first mushroom trip... I've recognized them as gods. Repeatedly I was reduced to tears during Wish you Were Here, and thought I went insane during The Dark Side of the Moon.

These guys are geniuses, and even though I'm not as into them as other people, Syd was a god, farewell man.

[J3bus]

Thats a sad story, even though i dont have schizophrenia in my family, that story changed my mind of taking LSD, i actually want to try it but not until im older. Also its hard to get pure good LSD since they lace it with PCP now. Also when i was reading what blakwyte said, as i read it, i was listening to Brain Damage and it was at that part of the song,
"and if the band you're in starts playing other tunes
i'll see you on the dark side of the moon"

[ufossuck]

To clear things up, Asperger's disorder is indeed a form of autism. It's untreatable, but there is no real need to treat it. The main effect of Asperger's is undevoloped social skill. Some one with it may speak to quietly to be heard, look downard instead of at the person they are talking to and rarely take part in social activities. However, people with Asperger's as well as autism tend to be smarter. They use large words and short difficult words that people don't understand. They tend to focus on one or a few things. For example someone may care about music, chemistry and politics, but nothing else. They're also known to be quite obsessive. Say if someone was a fan of Randy Bachman, they may know ever small detail about him.

How do I know all this? I have Asperger's disorder. I do, by the way, know ever small detail about Randy Bachman.

[fattypumbaa]

I hpe they not only do a gig in honor of syd but a whole ****in world tour let syd be remembered let him go out in a bang


RIP SYD

[dalcon532]

shine on you crazy diamond
***tears***
you'll always have a place in my heart and will be well missed by me

[metal_matt]

Shine On Syd!! Also I am very impressed with the amount of Intelligent posting that has come from this article!! If you want to experience Pink Floyd properly then listen while your off your head it's what turned me on to them it opens your eyes!!

RIP SYD!

Checked.

[FloydularPink]

iv heard the same, story so many times, even from roger waters, and rick wright themselves on the story of syd barrett DVD, but it still makes me shed a couple tears, i cant even play wish you were here anymore, i miss you syd, pink floyd, you better start touring

[pytolk]

RIP Syd

[osamabanana]

after i read this article i listened to wish you were here over and over. this has made me appreciate pik floyd in a different way.

[new_decade]

Our "Indie" is very different, It's pretty popular, very mainstream, normally on a major record label and are normally Shoegazing self righteous english wankers.

hey whats wrong with shoegazing! seriously though, indie in britain is crap right now, although its nothing like shoegazing. personally i blame nme for its moronic attitudes to new bands and fads.

lets not forget the many welsh/scottish indie bands too now

[Zeno666]

I had never listened to Pink Floyd (I'd heard The Wall, but that doesnt exactly count) So, I was listening to the radio, and I heard Syd Barrett, original lead singer and guitarist of Pink floyd, had died. I rushed (literally) home and searched his name on google, and spent the rest of the day reading up on him. I then hunted through my house, and discovered a copy of both "The Piper At the Gates Of Dawn" and "A Saucerful Of secrets" that was July 10th (A few days after his death) and it is now August 8th, and I have listened to his music (And now some of his solo work) every day.
Im not obsessed

[pink_floyd#1]

its hard to relate to syd as a loony when you you hear his music you would think hi is just as normal as any other person. its a tragedy knowing that hes gone and took so many locketo creat ideas but for him its like a child playing a tune in his mind but not nowing how to put it in musical tones
d up ideas inside of him that would have probably been so amazing hard

[pagan_bloodlust]

im glad i read that i knew some things about syd but learnt new stuff like he was the singer aswell good article

[Fugu]

Shame on you all labelling Syd schizo, read this http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-2271741,00.html "he neither suffered from mental illness nor received treatment for it at any time since they resumed regular contact 25 years ago"
Imagine yourself in his shoes, one Melody Makers journalist publishing gossip that you are mad and then all world labelling you mad for the rest of your life no matter you do! Even some of your friends...And making profit from that as such story sells so well...It is because of people like you Syd ended like that and world lost talented musician. Shame! Never call anybody mentally ill unless you are his doctor!

[Fugu]

just read this http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-2271741,00.html :
Rosemary is adamant that he neither suffered from mental illness nor received treatment for it at any time since they resumed regular contact 25 years ago
...

Checked.

[Cagivan]

Wow, here it is,January of 07. I just now found out that syd has passed on. R.I.P. Syd and may his legend live on. Very good story Matt. I would strongly recomend reading the biography of PINK FLOYD titled sauser full of secrets. Alot of insight to pinks life.
For all you guys out there who have never tryed "acid" I would advice against it. "acid" is unpredictable. It all depends on your chemical make up. I tried lots of it in the 70's and 80's, I came out ok. I knew some one who tried "acid" 5 times, he is for ever gone. A good friend of mine triped throughout his entire high school years. His parents tossed him in "the place" after he was caught stareing at a blank tv screen for hours. He told them the colors were a sight to see.

[sg255]

good article, but vegetable man was written about the clothes that syd was wearing at the time.

R.I.P syd

[Bluestube]

"Pink Floyd, after having a series of moderately successful albums, achieved huge stardom with the legendary masterpiece, "The Dark Side Of The Moon", which was partially written about Syd"

that is not right DSOTM was not partially written about syd according to Roger Waters it has nothing to do with syd at all but that many people think so becouse of the madness in the album... WYWH on the other side is mostly about Syd.....

[kurtcobain05199]

awesome syd rocks