Remembering Syd Barrett

Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett was born January 6, 1946 somewhere in England. Young Roger enjoyed writing, drawing, whistling and smelling his own farts. His father, Arthur Max Barrett, was a prominent proctologist. He was known as the proctologist to the stars and his greatest achievement was inspecting Sir Winston Churchill.

Syd formed Pink Floyd with Roger Waters, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright and they became the most popular musical group of the “London Underground” psychedelic music scene.

In 1967, Pink Floyd began to attract the attention of the music industry and eventually signed with EMI. Barrett had begun to unravel, and around this time the band first noticed significant changes in his behavior. By early 1967, he was regularly using LSD, and Mason described him as “completely distanced from everything going on”. Syd would often strum one chord and detune his guitar strings on stage or stare wildly at the crowd while picking his nose and eating it.

David Gilmour

In December 1967, reaching a crisis point with Barrett, Pink Floyd added guitarist David Gilmour as the fifth member. Through late 1967 and early 1968, Barrett became increasingly erratic, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD. There is also speculation that he suffered from schizophrenia. Once described as joyful, friendly, and extroverted, he became increasingly depressed and socially withdrawn, and experienced hallucinations, disorganized speech, memory lapses, intense mood swings, and periods of catatonia. Although the changes began gradually, he went missing for a long weekend and, according to several friends, including Wright, came back “a completely different person.” It is rumored that Syd saw his mother naked during this time and never recovered. On 6 April 1968, the group officially announced Barrett was no longer a member.

Syd Barrett Illustration By Paul King Art

Syd released 2 solo albums produced by David Gilmour. Gilmour also backed Barrett for his one and only live concert during this period. The gig took place on 6 June 1970 at the Olympia Exhibition Hall as part of a Music and Fashion Festival. The trio performed four songs. At the end of the fourth song, Barrett unexpectedly but politely put down his guitar and walked off the stage. Never to return.

Barrett reverted to using his original name Roger, continued to live in his late mother’s semi-detached home, and had returned to painting, creating large abstract canvases. He was also said to have been an avid gardener. His main point of contact with the outside world was his sister, Rosemary, who lived nearby. He was reclusive, and his physical health declined, as he suffered from stomach ulcers and type 2 diabetes. Barrett died at home in Cambridge on 7 July 2006, aged 60, from pancreatic cancer.

Madcap Genius

David Gilmor said it best, “We are very sad to say that Roger Keith Barrett – Syd – has passed away. Do find time to play some of Syd’s songs and to remember him as the madcap genius who made us all smile with his wonderfully eccentric songs about bikes, gnomes and scarecrows. His career was painfully short, yet he touched more people than he could ever know.”