- Syd Barrett-
(1946-2006)
Pinkus Floydus is latin for someone or something that has far outlived its usefulness.
It was 1967 when the Floyd released their first single "Arnold Layne," the story of a
man who who obtained sexual gratificatin by stealing womens underwear from washing lines in Cambridge. The first album
Piper at the Gates of Dawn was a far cry from the epic releases produced by the classic Floyd lineup in the seventies, but everything; the name, the style, the singing, the guitars, all came from the brilliant and bizarre mind of Roger Keith Barrett.
At the age of 21, Syd was one of the most successfull musicians and songwriters in Britain. Four years later his career was over.
His mental breakdown over the next few years was catalysed by the pressures of fame and his propensity toward acid use. A deeply sensitive man and an "unapolagetic student of the ways of the universe," Barret found LSD's power to contribute to sound and space invaluable. It was these kaleidoscopic trips from which Syd found his inspiration, and that eventually caused him to plunge deeper and deeper into madness.
As his behaviour grew increasingly erratic, it was clear that Syd was finding it increasingly hard to deal with the real world. He would arrive late for shows, sometimes not at all. He arrived at their performance for Top of the Pops dressed in rags refusing to lip-sync. As the months went by, he would frequently strum the same chord repeatedly at shows or let his arm hang limp over the guitar, staring indifferently into the seas of people that had come to ruin his party.
By the end of the sixties Syd was, unsuprisingly, dropped from the ranks of the Floyd and replaced by his long time friend David Gilmore.
Pressure to pursue a solo career resulted in two of the strangest and most interesting albums in rock history. On his first
The Madcap Laughs Barrett's mind was in many places at once, he would would employ unexpected time changes and often atach the last bar of one beat onto the beginning of the next much to the frustration of drummer Robert Wyatt. Through the madness though , Syd's genius clearly shone through.
His second solo album outdid the first in terms of strangeness. Throughought the recording his voice seems on the brink of an intensely terrifying primal scream.
A tribute to the manic charachter of the mind of its creator.
In the years that followed Syd lapsed into isolation. As Pink Floyd took everyone by storm in the seventies with "
Dark Side of the Moon, Barrett was admitted to a mental hospital. He appeared while the Floyd were recording
Wish You Were Here in 1975, as recalled by Rick Wright;
"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." In another interview, Nick Mason has said: "When I think about it, I can still see his eyes, but... it was everything else that was different."
By 1982 french reporters tracked down Syd, who had reverted to his real name, Roger, and was living in his mothers house in Cambridge. He said he didn't play guitar or sing or paint. Syd Barrett was undoubtably one of the most unfortunate acid casualties of the 1960s. He was already a fragile individual before he found fame and LSD but the scary combination was enough to push him over the brink of schizophrenia.
Syd Barrett was a pioneer, a genius and founder of one of the most progressive musical groups in the world. Despite the Floyd's lapse into mediocrity during the late 70s and early 80s the band formed by Syd back in the 60s was far from mediocre.
Syd was a unique guitarist with a unique voice an a unique mind.
He died on the 7th of July of "diabetes complications," a mere shadow of his former self, a former self that will never be forgotten.
Goodbye Syd
Thank you for the music.
