Syd Barrett-Survivor of Rock n Roll

[spotlightkid]

Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd.now here is a very intersting rock n roll survivor,instead of like a lot of famous rock n rollers who died early-Hendrix,Joplin,Morrison and many others Syd Barrett just one day decided that's it rock n roll is over for me.He supposedly was in a studio in 1974 picked up a guitar strummed a few chords dropped the guitar and walked out of the studio.What made him do what he did-we'll never know.Yet for the sad tradgey that it was he is still alive today living a quiet existence while many other rock n rollers died way too young-at least Syd will be remebered as living well past many other great rock n rollers.A
true enigma.

[Sckott]

It wasn't just Rock n Roll, but everything according to Waters and Gilmour. He just snapped, and slowly went into the void. Supposedly he was performing "Giggalo Aunt" live and in the middle of it, he just quit and walked off leaving his musicians to play without him.

The Pat Boone story and footage says it well. They rehersed 2-3 times, and then they actually ran tape in the camera. That's when Roger had to mime the Columbia single "Apples & Oranges" because Syd was stiff and staring into nothingness. I think that was '67.

He's still alive and receives portions of the Pink Floyd Music royalties, even after he was replaced. He lives well, and still does art. He can't be visited by any of his friends or he gets very upset and falls apart.

Now, if YOU were Roger or David, you would have to emotionally write him off. That's a much different and spookier feeling than simply knowing he died, IMHO.

[MikeD]

Spotlight:

I think you may be romanticizing the situation a bit. Syd fell victim to the onset of schizophrenia, probably exacerbated by the drugs. This is not romantic, it's just sad.

[spotlightkid]

yes sad it certainly is but at least Syd had the mind to get out of the game before the game got him instead.

[Sckott]

Spotlight, I don't want to look like I'm trying to downplay anything, but Syd didn't have a mind at all that was controllable. He was institutionalized. The game never necessarilly got him, he was diagnosed phycologically unstable, and he was given lots of LSD to boot, just like MikeD said. :(

There's a video of one of his harshest LSD trips available on DVD without audio (audio overdubbed recently). It's not very classy, and only serves the purpose of horrorifying the viewer. Syd was never aware of anything. He was and is still gone.

[spotlightkid]

i have not seen the LSD video nor do i care to.to me the worst part is we never got to see him make anymore music.he did write some of pink floyd's best songs early on.i am a fan of Pink FLoyd saw them in concert 77, 80 and the divison bell tour.i also saw the recent Roger Waters concert where Roger played-set the controls for the heart of the sun with many images of Syd on the screen behind roger and the band.

[czeskleba]

Originally posted by Sckott
Syd was never aware of anything. He was and is still gone.

Well, I wouldn't say he's "still gone" now. From what I've heard, he is stable on medications and leads a quiet life in a fairly independent setting. He makes a decent living off his songwriting royalties. He's not institutionalized or a vegetable or anything like that. He simply has no desire to attempt to play music or talk at all about his past or to see anyone from his past.

[Grant]

On the DVD "The Wall", Waters admits that much of the stuff in the movie was based on things that Syd Barret went through and did, like sitting in a Los Angeles hotel room with a cigarrette burning between his fingers and Syd not responding to the pain.

[Paul Chang]

There would have been a much different Pink Floyd had Syd Barrett stayed sane. Both high school mates of Barrett, David Gilmour was brought in to play guitar and Roger Waters assumed more song writing responsibility when Barret started to "tune out". The Pink Floyd could have stayed the course of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Barrett's brilliant masterpiece (10 out of 11 songs plus rear cover design). The Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall could have been titled something else and sounded darker if they were made at all. There would have been no Shine On You Crazy Diamond, a tribute to Barrett, on Wish You Were Here.

[Chris M]

OK, I've been obsessed with all things Syd for years so I have to chime in and clear a few things up.

-The Syd 'LSD DVD' is actually silent film of a 19 year old Syd tripping on mushrooms shot by one of his friends. It's really quite funny and I can't imagine it being described as horrific.

-A few fans met Syd a few years ago while he was unloading groceries out of his car. They spoke to him briefly and allowed them to take photos of him. They reported that Syd seemed 'totally on the ball'. He lives alone and cares for himself. He drives a car, pays his bills, buys the paper everyday, etc.

-I've seen film of Syd walking down a Cambridge street that was shot last year. He looks better than Nick Mason :-)

-The Pat Boone show footage does not exist anymore but Syd's Floyd on American Bandstand does exist and circulate. Syd looks disinterested and spaced but he answers Dick Clark's questions lucidly.

-Syd has never been diagnosed as Schizophrenic. He did spend a brief amount of time in a mental insitution in ''68 but has never really been committed.

-A previously unheard Syd original called In the Beechwoods has recently surfaced. It's an instrumental backing track that was recorded in 10/67 and it's really quite wonderful. It's *very* catchy and IMO would of been a better choice of a 3rd single than Apples and Oranges.

-Syd played one solo show. He was backed by Gilmour on bass and Jerry Shirley on drums. A tape of this performance circulates and Syd *does not* walk of stage during Gigalo Aunt. The playing at this show is much tighter than on the solo LP's.

-A new 'Mark Lewishon' styled book that documents all Syd's recordings with PF and solo is out. It's called Random Precision and can be found at the UK amazon site. Nearly all of the Piper multi-tracks and outtakes are gone, but all of Syd's post Piper sessions with the Floyd survive. They actually did quite a bit of work with Syd after Piper before Gimour. (Veg Man/Jugband/Apples/In the Beechwoods/Scream/others)

-A new revelation is that Syd did all of the guitar work on Set the Controls. Turns out that this track was all but completed *before* Gilmour was on board.

Shine On,

Chris

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by Paul Chang
Both high school mates of Barrett, David Gilmour was brought in to play guitar and Roger Waters assumed more song writing responsibility when Barret started to "tune out".

Just to be really anal about this, Gilmour and Syd did not go to high school together. Syd, Roger, Tim Renwick, and Storm Thorgeson all did go the same high school. Syd and David were in school together at the Cambridge College of Arts & Technology, however.

[Paul Chang]

Originally posted by Patrick M

Just to be really anal about this, Gilmour and Syd did not go to high school together. Syd, Roger, Tim Renwick, and Storm Thorgeson all did go the same high school. Syd and David were in school together at the Cambridge College of Arts & Technology, however.
You may be right, Patrick. I found two conflicting versions on the high school that David Gilmour attended.
Version 1 (http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/ptr/pfloyd/story/floyd3.html)
Original Pink Floyd line-up had Syd Barrett on lead guitar instead of Dave Gilmour, otherwise personnel has remained constant. Roger Keith (Syd) Barrett was born January 1946 in university town Cambridge, England. Together with Waters and Gilmour he attended Cambridge High School for Boys. I found similar if not exactly the same passages in The Harmony Encyclopedia of Rock, 3rd edition. Could be sloppy journalistic work passed around like urban legends.
Version 2 (on Tripod) (http://members.tripod.com/~Danzka/bio2.htm) or its mirror w/o pop-up ad (http://www.lagosnet.com.br/danzka/bio2.htm)
He attended a strict school all-boys school, The Perse Preparatory School for Boys, and joined his school friend Clive Welham in a band called The Ramblers. Through Welham, David got to know Floyd founder member Syd Barrett at Cambridge College of Arts and Technology where David studied A Levels in Modern Languages and Syd studied Art and Design. They became good friends and spent their lunch times hanging around the college's art department with their guitars and harmonicas in tow, playing Beatles and Stones riffs. This one has more detailed information and could be more accurate.

Ironically, Gilmour was accused by some fans of copying Barrett's style of guitar playing. The truth is, at least according to Gilmour, that he was the better player and has taught Barrett a riff or two.

[MikeD]

Chris:

I think Roger Waters said Syd was schizophrenic on the making of The Wall special on VH1.

So what is your take on Syd and mental problems? Your post seems to indicate that he is a just a normal guy and always was a normal guy. Is that your informed opinion?

[Chris M]

Well...I would not go as far as to say that Syd is a normal guy but some of the more sorid stories surrounding the Madcap just aren't true. The often told stories of Syd refusing to mime on American Bandstand and walking off the stage in mid song during his only solo concert are refuted by audio and video evidence. Syd had problems with the commercial direction that PF was heading to in mid '67. He was uncomfortable with all of the tenny-bobber TV shows and lip-syncing that Arnold and Emily forced him into. Also, many of his late '67 Floyd compositions were not released. I'm sure this was a sore sopt with him as Scream thy last Scream and Vegatable Man were great songs. I have no doubt that Syd suffered some sort of breakdown. Nearly everyone that knew Syd claims that he became as nutty as a fruit cake. The sad thing is that before PF's sucess Syd was considered to be a very well adjusted lad. There is no doubt that something terrible happened to Syd sometime in '67, but by all accounts he is now functioning fine on his own today. Last year, Syd actually autographed several limited edition books of photographs of him taken by Mick Rock around and during the Madcap Laughs photo sessions. Syd is well enough to care for himself but how 'togather' he is really still unknown.

Chris

[Dave]

Wow guys thanks for all the Syd Barrett, PF info.

Correct me if I'm wrong but from what I've heard supposedly Roger Waters purposely had himself locked up in a mental institution to fully experience what Syd had gone through and came out six months later with "The Wall".

The Wall does sound like Syd Barretts life alot though.

Chris, did you actually mean "teeny- boppers" as opposed to "tenny-bobbers"?;)

[Kilohegroups]

Go here to see the world's largest Syd Barrett fan group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LaughingMadcaps/

See our Resources Page and download free music:
http://rokybarrett.tripod.com/laughingmadcapsresources/

[Pinknik]

<>

First time I've heard that one, Dave. Roger tells the genesis of THE WALL so often now that it has become a rehearsed story. He hated touring in stadiums, where he felt that most of the people in the audience were there for the beer, not to form a connection with the band. On (one of) the last dates in Montreal Stadium, he was so incensed that he spit in an overzealous fan's face. Shocked at his own behavior and growing increasingly aware of the psychological/artistic barriers the band had put up between itself and the audience, he envisioned the ultimate expression of those feelings, actually building a physical barrier between the band and the crowd. Thus was the particular formation of the idea. Obviously he then interwove his own life and Syd's to create the saga of PINK, which is entertainment, and probably shouldn't be take quite as literally as some do.
But it is my favorite album/movie/concert, so I probably take it more seriously than many others do as well. :)

[Stax Fan]

Want some interesting insights from somebody who personally knows Syd Barrett? Try this link. It's some commentary about Syd from his nephew...the best thoughts about Syd's everyday-type life I've yet seen.http://www.pink-floyd.narod.ru/intersyd.html

[Vivaldinization]

Wow...this has been Really Old Threads resurrected week. Someone's been searching archives.