Information AboutSyd Barrett |
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett ( 6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006 ) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, and artist. He is most remembered as a founding member of Pink Floyd . He was active as a rock musician for about ten years, before going into a self-imposed seclusion that lasted over thirty years and ended with his death in 2006. EARLY YEARS Barrett was born in 1961 , less than a month before Barrett's 15th birthday. He attended Cambridgeshire High School For Boys , now known as Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge and enrolled in Camberwell Art School in South London in 1964 before forming his first band in 1965. During this pre-Floyd time he wrote such tunes as "Effervescing Elephant" to play at local parties. Bloomberg.com Pink Floyd Founder `Syd' Barrett Dies of Diabetes (Update2) Accessed July 2006 The Australian Obituary - Accessed July 2006 MUSICAL CAREER Pink Floyd years (1965–1968) Starting in 1964, the band that would become Pink Floyd underwent various line-up and name changes such as "The Abdabs", "The Screaming Abdabs", "Sigma 6" and "The Meggadeaths" (not to be confused with , or meandering with the streams through the wooded valleys"''. While Pink Floyd began by playing cover versions of American R&B songs (in much the same vein as contemporaries The Rolling Stones , The Yardbirds and The Kinks ), by 1966 they had carved out their own style of improvised rock and roll, which drew as much from improvised Jazz as it did from British pop-rock, such as that championed by The Beatles . In that year, a new rock concert venue, the UFO , opened in London and quickly became a haven for British Psychedelic Music . Pink Floyd, the house band,1 was their most popular attraction, and, after making appearances at the rival Roundhouse , became the most popular musical group of the so-called " London Underground " psychedelic music scene.Palacios, Julian. ''Lost In The Woods: Syd Barrett and the Pink Floyd'' (Boxtree, 1997) ISBN 0-7522-2328-3 By the end of 1966 Pink Floyd had gained a reliable management team in Andrew King and Peter Jenner . The duo soon befriended American expatriate Joe Boyd , who was making a name for himself as one of the more important entrepreneurs on the British music scene. Boyd produced a recording session for the group in January 1967 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, which resulted in a demo of the single '' Arnold Layne ''. King and Jenner took the song to the recording behemoth EMI , who were impressed enough to offer the band a contract, under which they would be allowed to record an album. The band accepted. By the time the album was released, ''Arnold Layne'' had reached number 20 on the British singles charts (despite a ban by the BBC) and a follow-up single, '' See Emily Play '' had done even better, peaking at number 6. These first two singles, as well as a third (''Apples and Oranges''), were written by Syd Barrett, who also was the principal visionary/author of their critically acclaimed 1967 debut album, '' The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn ''. The album's title was taken from the mystical "Pan" chapter of '' The Wind In The Willows ''. Of the 11 songs on ''Piper'', Barrett wrote eight and co-wrote another two.EMI Records Ltd., "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" insert '' (1967)]] ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' was recorded intermittently between January and July 1967 in Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios. At that same time at Abbey Road the Beatles were recording '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band '' in Studio 1 and the Pretty Things were recording '' S.F. Sorrow ''. When ''Piper'' was released in August of that year, it became a smash hit in the UK, hitting #6 on the British album charts (the album was not nearly so successful in the USA). However, as the band began to attract a large fanbase, the pressures on Barrett contributed to his experiencing increasing psychiatric illness. Barrett's behaviour became increasingly unpredictable, partly as a consequence of frequent experimentation with psychedelic drugs such as LSD . Many report having seen him on stage with the group, strumming on one chord through the entire concert, or not playing at all2. At a show at The Fillmore West in San Francisco , during a performance of '' Interstellar Overdrive ,'' Barrett slowly detuned his guitar. The audience seemed to enjoy such antics, unaware of the rest of the band's consternation. Before a performance in late 1967, Barrett apparently crushed Mandrax and an entire tube of Brylcreem into his hair, which subsequently melted down his face under the heat of the stage lighting, making him look like "a guttered candle".Schaffner, Nicholas. ''Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey'' (Delta, 1991) ISBN 0-385-30684-9, p. xv Nick Mason later disputed the Mandrax portion of this story, stating that "Syd would never waste good mandies".Willis, Tim. ''Madcap: The Half-Life of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd's Lost Genius'' (Short Books, 2002) ISBN 1-904095-24-0 Following a disastrous abridged tour of the United States , David Gilmour (a school friend of Barrett's) was asked to join the band as a second guitarist to cover for Barrett as Barrett's erratic behavior prevented him from performing. For a handful of shows David played and sang while Barrett wandered around on stage, occasionally deigning to join in playing. The other band members soon tired of Barrett's antics and, in January 1968, on the way to a show at Southampton University , the band elected not to pick Barrett up. They attempted to retain him in the group as a songwriter, much as The Beach Boys had with Brian Wilson , but this proved impractical. There are many stories about Barrett's bizarre and intermittently Psychotic behavior — some are known to be true. According to Roger Waters, Barrett came into what was to be their last practice session with a new song he had dubbed "Have You Got It, Yet?". The song seemed simple enough when he first presented it to his bandmates, but it soon became impossibly difficult to learn: while they were practising it, Barrett kept changing the arrangement. He would then play it again, with the arbitrary changes, and sing "Have you got it yet?". After more than an hour of trying to "get it", they realised they never would and that they were simply bearing the brunt of Barrett's rather obtuse sense of humour.DiLorenzo, Kris. "Syd Barrett: Careening Through Life." ''Trouser Press'' February 1978 pp. 26-32 {Link without Title} Barrett did not contribute any material to the band after '' A Saucerful Of Secrets '' was released in 1968. Of the songs he wrote for Pink Floyd after ''Piper'', only one (" Jugband Blues ") made it to the band's second album; one became a less-than-successful single ("Apples and Oranges"), and two others (" Scream Thy Last Scream " and " Vegetable Man ") were never officially released. Barrett supposedly spent some time outside the recording studio, waiting to be invited in (he also showed up to a few gigs and glared at Gilmour). Barrett played slide guitar on " Remember A Day " (which had been recorded during the ''Piper'' sessions) and (according to a 1993 '' Guitar World '' interview with Gilmour) also played on " Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun ". His main contribution to the album, " Jugband Blues ," is often seen by Pink Floyd fans as Barrett's admission that his days in the band were probably numbered ("It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here/And I'm most obliged to you for m-making it clear/that I'm not here", the song opens). In March 1968 it was officially announced that he was no longer a member of Pink Floyd. Solo years (1968–1972) '' (1970)]] After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett distanced himself from the public eye. However, at the behest of EMI and Harvest Records , he did have a brief solo career, releasing two mercurial solo albums, '' The Madcap Laughs '' and '' Barrett ''. Much of the material on both albums dates from Barrett's most productive period of songwriting, late 1966 to mid 1967, and it is believed that he wrote few new songs after he left Pink Floyd. The first album, ''The Madcap Laughs'', was recorded in two distinct sessions, both at Abbey Road Studios: a few tentative sessions took place between May and June 1968 (produced by Peter Jenner), while the bulk of the album was recorded between April and July 1969. The record was produced first by Malcolm Jones, a young EMI executive, and then by David Gilmour and Roger Waters. In "The Making of the Madcap Laughs" by Malcolm Jones, he states "when Dave came to me and said that Syd wanted him and Roger to do the remaining parts of the album, I acquiesced." A few tracks on the album feature overdubs by members of the band Soft Machine . Barrett also played guitar on the sessions for his close friend and Soft Machine founder Kevin Ayers ' debut LP '' Joy Of A Toy '', although his performance on "Religious Experience" was not released until the album was reissued in 2003. '' (1970)]] The second album, ''Barrett'', was recorded more sporadically than the first, with sessions taking place between February and July 1970. This effort sounds more polished than the first, but Barrett was arguably in a worse state. The album was produced by David Gilmour and featured Gilmour on bass guitar, Rick Wright on keyboard and Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley . Despite the numerous recording dates for his two solo albums, Barrett undertook very little musical activity between 1968 and 1972 outside the studio. On '') with the lyrics and composition having since been credited to Richard Wright. Barrett was accompanied on this session by David Gilmour and Jerry Shirley who played bass and percussion, respectively. Gilmour and Shirley 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, London, and was part of a "Music and Fashion Festival". The trio performed four songs, playing for less than half an hour, and because of poor mixing, the vocals were inaudible until part-way through the last number. At the end of the fourth song, Barrett unexpectedly but politely put down his guitar and walked off the stage. Barrett made one last appearance on BBC Radio, recording three songs at their studios on 16 February 1971 . All three came from the ''Barrett'' album, and were presumably aired to encourage people to buy the record. After this session, he would take a hiatus from his music career that lasted more than a year, although in an extensive interview with Mick Rock and ''Rolling Stone'' in December, he discussed himself at length, showed off his new 12-string guitar, talked about his American tour with Jimi Hendrix , and stated that he was frustrated in terms of his musical work due to his inability to find anyone good to play with.Rock, Mick. "The Madcap Who Named Pink Floyd" ''Rolling Stone'' December 1971 {Link without Title} Later years (1972–2006) In 1972, Barrett formed a short-lived band called Stars with ex- Pink Fairies member Twink on drums and Jack Monck on bass. Though the band was initially well received, one of their gigs at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge proved to be disastrous (Monck describes just how disastrous it was in a TV interview in 2001 for the BBC Omnibus series documentary 'Crazy Diamond'). A few days after this final show, Twink recalled that Barrett stopped him on the street, showed him a scathing review of the gig they had played, and quit on the spot. In August 1974, Peter Jenner convinced Barrett to return to Abbey Road Studios in hope of recording another album. However, little became of the sessions, which lasted three days and consisted of blues rhythm tracks with tentative and disjointed guitar overdubs (the only titled track is ''If You Go, Don't Be Slow''). Once again, Barrett withdrew from the music industry. He sold the rights to his solo albums back to the record label, moved into a London hotel and when the money ran out he walked back to Cambridge to live in his mother's basement. Further attempts to bring him back (including one endeavor by The Damned who wanted him to produce their second album) were all fruitless. Until his death, Barrett still received royalties from his work with Pink Floyd from each compilation and some of the live albums and singles that had featured his songs; Gilmour has commented that he (Gilmour) " sure the money [got to him all right". ''Wish You Were Here'' sessions Barrett had one noted reunion with the members of Pink Floyd in 1975 during the recording sessions for '' was so distressed that he was reduced to tears. A reference to this reunion appears in the film '' Pink Floyd The Wall '' (1982), where the character 'Pink,' played by Bob Geldof , shaves off his eyebrows (and body hair) after succumbing to the pressures of life and fame. In an interview for the 2001 BBC Omnibus documentary 'Syd Barrett: Crazy Diamond" (later released on DVD as '' stated: "When I think about it, I can still see his eyes, but... it was everything else that was different". In that same interview, Roger Waters has said: "I had no idea who he was for a very long time". David Gilmour stated : "None of us recognised him. Shaved...shaved bald head and very plump". In the 2006 'definitive edition' DVD release of ''The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story'' in the UK/Europe, director John Edginton's interviews with Barrett's former Floyd colleagues are included unedited, with far more detail of their feelings and actions during Barrett's breakdown and withdrawal from the band. This 2 DVD set is due for US (Region 1) in September 2007. Compilations '' (1988)]] In 1988, EMI Records released an album of Barrett's studio outtakes and previously unreleased material recorded from 1968 to 1970 under the title '' Opel ''. The disc was originally set to include the unreleased Barrett Pink Floyd songs " Scream Thy Last Scream " and " Vegetable Man ", which had been remixed for the album by Malcolm Jones. However, the two songs were pulled (reportedly by the remaining members of Pink Floyd) before ''Opel'' was finalized. In 1993 EMI issued another release, '' Crazy Diamond '', a box set of all three albums, each loaded with further out-takes from his solo sessions that illustrated vividly Barrett's inability or refusal to play a song the same way twice. EMI also released ''The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me?'' in the UK on April 16 2001 , and in the US on September 11 2001 . This was the first time his song "Bob Dylan Blues" was ever officially released, taken from a demo tape that David Gilmour had kept after an early 1970s recording session. Gilmour still has the tape, which also contains the unreleased "Living Alone" from the ''Barrett'' sessions.Parker, David. ''Random Precision: Recording the Music of Syd Barrett 1965-1974'' (Cherry Red, 2003) ISBN 1901447251 A number of Bootleg LPs, CDs and other recordings of Barrett's live and solo material exist. For years the "off air" recordings of the BBC sessions with Barrett's Floyd circulated, until an engineer who had taken a tape of the early Floyd gave it back to the BBC—who played it during a tribute to the late John Peel on their website. During this tribute, the first Peel program (Top Gear) was aired in its entirety. This show featured 1967 live versions of "Flaming", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and a brief 90-second snippet of the instrumental "Reaction in G". BEYOND THE MUSIC AND WITHDRAWAL TO CAMBRIDGE According to a 2005 profile by a recent biographer Tim Willis, Barrett, who had reverted to using his original name of Roger, continued to live in his late mother's semi-detached home in Cambridge , and had returned to his original art-form of 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. While reclusive, it was his physical health that prompted most concern, being afflicted with Stomach Ulcer s and Type Two Diabetes . Although Barrett had not appeared or spoken in public since the mid-1970s, time did little to diminish interest in his life and work; reporters and fans still traveled to Cambridge to seek him out, despite his attempts to live a quiet life. Many photos of Barrett being annoyed by Paparazzi when walking or biking, from the 1980s until his death in 2006, had been published in various media. Apparently, Barrett was not happy being reminded about his past as a musician and the other members of Pink Floyd had no direct contact with him. However, he did go to his sister's house in 2002 to watch the BBC ''Omnibus'' documentary made about him – reportedly he found some of it "too noisy", enjoyed seeing Mike Leonard (of Leonard's Lodgers) again (who he called his mentor), and enjoyed hearing " See Emily Play " again.3 Death Barrett died on July 7 , 2006 at his home in Cambridge . He died of Pancreatic Cancer ,Watkinson, Mike and Pete Anderson. ''Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett and the Dawn of "Pink Floyd"'' (Omnibus Press, 1993) ISBN 0-7119-8835-8. as excerpted on Pinkfloydz.com 4 but this was usually reported as "complications from diabetes."NME News. "Pink Floyd legend Syd Barrett dies". ''New Musical Express Online'' July 11, 2006 [http://www.nme.com/news/pink-floyd/23570] The occupation on his death certificate was given as "retired musician."5 In 2006, his home, located in St. Margaret's Square, was placed on the market, and reportedly attracted considerable interest.6 After over 100 viewings, many by fans, his house was sold to a French couple who bought the house simply because they liked it and reportedly knew nothing about Barrett.7 His other possessions were auctioned for £120,000.8. NME produced a tribute issue to Barrett the week after with a photo of the songwriter on the cover. In his will, Barrett left approximately £1.25 million to his two brothers and two sisters. This income was largely acquired via royalties from Pink Floyd compilations and live recordings to feature songs he had written whilst with the band.9 CREATIVE IMPACT ON TECHNICAL INNOVATION Barrett wrote most of the Floyd's early material. He was also an innovative Guitar ist, using Extended Techniques and exploring the musical and sonic possibilities of Dissonance , Distortion , Feedback , the Echo Machine , tapes and other effects; his experimentation was partly inspired by free improvisation guitarist Keith Rowe . One of Barrett's trademarks was playing his guitar through an old echo box while sliding a Zippo Lighter up and down the fret-board to create the mysterious, otherworldly sounds that became associated with the group. Barrett was known to have used Binson delay units to achieve his trademark echo sounds. Barrett brought the guitar in a new direction. His free-form sequences of sonic carpets pioneered a new way to play the rock guitar.Denyer, Ralph (1992). ''The Guitar Handbook''. London: Dorling Kindersley Ltd. ISBN 0-679-74275-1, p 23 He played several different guitars during his tenure with Pink Floyd, including an old Harmony hollowbody, a Fender acoustic, a Danelectro , and several different Fender Telecaster s. However, a silver Telecaster Esquire with mirrored discs glued to the body was the guitar he was most often associated with and the guitar Barrett himself "felt most close to." MUSICAL AND POP CULTURE INFLUENCE Please note that this section has been deliberately reduced to a hardcore collection of artists from the gigantic, bloated, original researchish and arbitrary collection it used to be. Before adding any other musicians or bands to this list, please discuss on the talk page and form a consensus. --> Many artists have acknowledged Barrett's influence on their work. Paul McCartney , Pete Townshend , Marc Bolan , and David Bowie were early fans; Jimmy Page , Brian Eno , and The Damned all expressed interest in working with him at some point during the 1970s. Bowie recorded a cover of " See Emily Play " on his 1973 album '' Pin Ups ''. Townshend called Barrett legendary. Barrett's decline had a profound effect on Roger Waters's songwriting, and the theme of mental illness would permeate Pink Floyd's later albums, particularly 1973's '' Dark Side Of The Moon '' and 1975's '' Wish You Were Here ''. ''Wish You Were Here'' was a conscious tribute to Barrett with the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" being devoted to him. Other artists that have written tributes to Barrett include his contemporary has covered many of his songs live and on record, and has paid homage to his forebear with the songs "The Man Who Invented Himself" and "(Feels Like) 1974". The Television Personalities ' track "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" from their 1981 album ''And Don't the Kids Love It'' is another tribute. The Television Personalities became the subject of controversy and derision when, as they had been selected as the opening act on David Gilmour's ''About Face'' tour in the early 1980s, lead singer Dan Treacy decided to read aloud Barrett's real home address to the audience of thousands. Gilmour removed them from the tour immediately afterwards.Schaffner, p. 123 Johnny Depp has shown interest in a Biographical Film based on Barrett's life.10 Barrett is also portrayed briefly in the opening scene of Tom Stoppard 's play '' Rock 'n' Roll '' ( 2006 ), performing ''Golden Hair''. His life and music (including the disastrous Cambridge Corn Exchange concert and his later reclusive lifestyle) are a recurring motif in the work. Barrett died during the play's run in London. A tribute concert was held at the Barbican Centre , London on 10 May 2007 with Robyn Hitchcock, Captain Sensible , Damon Albarn , Chrissie Hynde , Kevin Ayers and his Pink Floyd bandmates performing. MENTAL ILLNESS There has been much speculation concerning the psychological well-being of Syd Barrett. Many believe he suffered from Schizophrenia .Greene, Andy. "Syd Barrett (1946-2006): Founding frontman and songwriter for Pink Floyd dead at 60." ''Rolling Stone'' Jul 11, 2006 Schizophrenia Daily News Blog. "Syd Barrett, Founder of Pink Floyd band, Sufferer of Schizophrenia, Passed Away this Week." July 12, 2006 [http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/archives/003640.html A diagnosis of .1112 Barrett's use of would have happened anyway. It was a deep-rooted thing. But I'll say the psychedelic experience might well have acted as a catalyst. Still, I just don't think he could deal with the vision of success and all the things that went with it."13 Many stories of Barrett's erratic behaviour off stage as well as on are also well-documented. In ''Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey'', author Nicholas Schaffner interviewed a number of people who knew Barrett before and during his Pink Floyd days. These included friends Peter and Susan Wynne-Wilson, artist Duggie Fields (with whom Barrett shared a flat during the late 1960s), June Bolan and Storm Thorgerson , among others. "For June Bolan, the alarm bells began to sound only when Syd kept his girlfriend under lock and key for three days, occasionally shoving a ration of biscuits under the door."Schaffner, p. 77 A claim of cruelty ''against'' Barrett committed by the groupies and hangers-on who frequented his apartment during this period was described by writer and critic Jonathan Meades . "I went Barrett's flat to see Harry and there was this terrible noise. It sounded like heating pipes shaking. I said, 'What's up?' and he sort of giggled and said, 'That's Syd having a bad trip. We put him in the linen cupboard.'"Schaffner, p. 110 Storm Thorgerson responded to this claim by stating "I do ''not'' remember locking Syd up in a cupboard. It sounds to me like pure fantasy, like Jonathan Meades was on dope himself."Schaffner, p. 110 However, in the book ''Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett and the Dawn of Pink Floyd'', authors Mike Watkinson and Pete Anderson wrote of a story told to them by Storm Thorgerson that underscored how volatile Barrett could be. "On one occasion, I had to pull him off Lynsey (Barrett's girlfriend at the time) because he was beating her over the head with a mandolin."Watkinson, p. 83 According to David Gilmour in an interview with Nick Kent , the other members of Pink Floyd approached psychiatrist R.D. Laing with the 'Barrett problem'. After hearing a tape of a Barrett conversation, Laing declared him incurable.Kent, Nick. Syd Barrett feature. ''New Musical Express'', April 13, 1974.Schaffner, pp. 106-107 David Gilmour proposed, in an interview with the '' National Post '''s John Geiger , that the stroboscopic lights used in their shows combined with the drugs could have had a seriously detrimental effect on Barrett's mental health if he was a Photo-epileptic who suffered partial seizures. When partial seizures occur in the temporal lobes patients are often misdiagnosed with schizophrenia or Psychosis .14 After Barrett died, his sister, Rosemary Breen, spoke to biographer Tim Willis for '' The Sunday Times ''. She insisted that Barrett neither suffered from mental illness nor received treatment for it at any time since they resumed regular contact in the 1980s. She allowed that he did spend some time in a private “home for lost souls” — Greenwoods in Essex — but claimed there was no formal therapy programme there. Some years later, Barrett apparently agreed to sessions with a psychiatrist at Fulbourn psychiatric hospital in Cambridge, but Breen claimed that neither medication nor therapy was considered appropriate in her brother's case. His sister denied he was a recluse or that he was vague about his past: "Roger may have been a bit selfish — or rather self-absorbed — but when people called him a recluse they were really only projecting their own disappointment. He knew what they wanted but he wasn’t willing to give it to them." Barrett, she said, took up photography, and sometimes they went to the seaside together. "Quite often he took the train on his own to London to look at the major art collections — and he loved flowers. He made regular trips to the Botanic Gardens and to the dahlias at Anglesey Abbey, near Lode. But of course, his passion was his painting", she said. DISCOGRAPHY Singles with Pink Floyd
Albums with Pink Floyd
Compilations with Pink Floyd (featuring his work)
Solo albums
Appears On
Solo compilations
Solo live recordings
Solo singles
FILMOGRAPHY
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS General links
Fansite links
|
|
|