THE SYD BARRETT STORY (Well, part of it)
6 January 1946 - 7 July 2006
Born Roger Keith Barrett in 1946 in Cambridge, Syd Barrett obtained his nickname from regulars at a local jazz club who when finding out his surname, christened him after as old drummer from the area. Aged 17 he moved down to London to attend the Camberwell Art School. In London he met up with old friend Roger Waters, who he had an understanding with since they were young that they would start a band together. Syd consequently joined up with the people Roger was playing with. Syd was a typical beatnick who read books, painted and enjoyed time at the beach.
The Darkly handsome young Syd with his brooding, poetic eyes quickly became the main songwriter, and named the band after two Georgia blues men Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Their experiments with feedback and electronic sound quickly made them the hippest band among London’s early psychedelic set. Whilst Pink Floyd were experimenting with sound and light they also started experimenting in the other side of London’s psychedelic set - drugs. Some thought that with the aid of drugs Syd was more liberated and had the freedom to write memorable songs. Nevertheless his grasp on reality was slipping away. He didn’t turn up for interviews and started to refuse to perform though he’d quite happily practise. His behaviour became so erratic that an American tour had to be cut short.
The band was in a dilemma; Syd was becoming a liability yet he still wrote the majority of their songs. Their solution in January 1968 was to excuse him from performing to concentrate on song writing. Dave Gilmour was asked to join the band to cover for Syd. Two of the songs that he wrote Vegetable Man and Scream The Last Scream were not released by EMI but their apparent autobiographical style was not lost on many. Pink Floyd admit that their style back in the late sixties was if there was a problem they would ignore it, then one day it came to a point where they did ignore the problem by not picking Syd up.
Syd went on to release two solo albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett in 1970. After the poor reception of the second album; Syd retreated to his mothers house in Cambridge. Back at home he joined up with some Cambridge musicians and formed The Stars. But Syds involvement was like his attention span short. During the following years Syd moved between London and Cambridge staying on friends’ floors. In the mid 70s he even turned up at the studios where Pink Floyd were recording Shine On You Crazy Diamond the song written about Syd. With his shaved head (hair and eyebrows) and weighing about 17-18 stone(around 250 lbs.) none of the band recognised him.
In 1978 he tired of London and walked back to Cambridge, where he lived for the rest of his life. Calling himself Roger Barrett having left 'Syd' behind.
Since then Syd has lived with his mother in Cambridge, trying to avoid the public eye as much as he could. But sometimes ventured into town for a quick grocery shopping. He usually got harrased by the media and fans that recognized the Crazy Diamond whilst on his small ventures down the streets.
On the 7th of July 2006, Syd Barrett, aged 60, died peacefully in his hometown.
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