Syd Barrett - Singer

He invented psychedelic rock with Pink Floyd, wrote their first album, then vanished from music entirely at twenty-two - spending the next thirty-eight years painting in a Cambridge house while the band he left became one of the biggest acts on earth.

Musicians Singer / Musician Singer-Songwriter Poetry Music United Kingdom Europe 20th Century

A life in dates

2006Died7 July 20061975“Well, I've got a colour telly, and a fridge. I've got some pork chops in the fridge, but the chops keep going off, so I have to keep buying more.”In their wordsIn response to being asked by David Gilmour what he was up to lately during an unexpected reunion in 1975, as written in Nick Mason'sRead the whole statement

1971“I'm full of dust and guitars…”In their wordsDecember 1971Rolling Stone, December 1971Read the whole statement

“I don't think I'm easy to talk about. I've got a very irregular head. And I'm not anything that you think I am anyway.”In their wordsDecember 1971Rolling Stone, December 1971Read the whole statement

“That's all I wanted to do as a kid. Play a guitar properly and jump around. But too many people got in the way.”In their wordsDecember 1971Rolling Stone, December 1971Read the whole statement

“Their choice of material was always very much to do with what they were thinking as architecture students. Rather unexciting people, I would've thought, primarily.”In their words27 March 1971Syd Barrett interview in Melody Maker, 1971-03-27Read the whole statement

1970

BarrettAlbumMore about this

The Madcap LaughsAlbumMore about this, 19701967“We feel that in the future, groups are going to have to offer much more than just a pop show. They'll have to offer a well-presented theatre show.”In their words9 December 1967Melody Maker, 1967-12-09Read the whole statement

1946Born6 January 1946

Photos 8

Pink Floyd 1967 with Syd Barrett (higher quality) (cropped) (b)

Alexey Akindinov. The stargazer - Cyd Barrett. 1997

Blue plaque for Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett - geograph.org.uk - 8191048

Helix, v.4, no.3, Aug. 1, 1968 - DPLA - 8005c2559d8982847066960b6e94d12c (page 15)

Lucy Leave single

Pink Floyd 1967 (Syd Barrett headshot crop)

Pink Floyd 1967 with Syd Barrett (higher quality cropped)

Pink Floyd 1967 with Syd Barrett (higher quality) (cropped) (c)

In their own words 8

Syd Barrett

8 statements, newest first

Well, I've got a colour telly, and a fridge. I've got some pork chops in the fridge, but the chops keep going off, so I have to keep buying more.
1975, In response to being asked by David Gilmour what he was up to lately during an unexpected reunion in 1975, as written in Nick Mason's, Own words
I'm full of dust and guitars…
Dec 1971, Rolling Stone, December 1971, Own words
I don't think I'm easy to talk about. I've got a very irregular head. And I'm not anything that you think I am anyway.
Dec 1971, Rolling Stone, December 1971, Own words

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Albums 2

BABarrett1970

TLThe Madcap Laughs1970

About this person

Roger Keith Barrett co-founded Pink Floyd in 1965 and fronted the band through The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in 1967, writing whimsical, stream-of-consciousness songs and playing guitar with dissonance and feedback that shaped psychedelia. By April 1968 he was gone, amid speculation about mental illness and LSD use, his tenure lasting barely three years. He released two solo albums in 1970 - The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, recorded with help from his former bandmates - then left music altogether in 1974. He spent the rest of his life in Cambridge, painting and gardening, guarding his privacy while Pink Floyd memorialized him in "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and parts of The Wall. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2006, thirty-two years after his last note.

Country

United Kingdom

Musicians from the United Kingdom 6

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