Wednesday, Jan. 6, marked what would have been the 70th birthday of Syd Barrett, founding member of Pink Floyd and one of the most influential musicians in pop history. To mark the occasion, Syd Barrett’s new official website, sydbarrett.com, was launched, offering previously unseen, restored family photographs. The response from fans all over the world was so huge that the server wasn’t able to cope with the visitation demands. The tech team had to transfer the site onto an alternate server.
Barrett was with Pink Floyd for just three years (1965-68), yet when the band released their greatest hits album in 2001, he had written over a fifth of the tracks.
Born Roger Keith Barrett in 1946 in Cambridge, Syd obtained his nickname from regulars at a local jazz club who christened him after an old drummer from the area.
At the age of seventeen, Barrett left Cambridge to study at London’s Camberwell Art School where he was reunited with his old friend Roger Waters. He joined Waters’ band, Pink Floyd, and quickly became their main songwriter. Their experiments with feedback and electronic sound quickly made them the hippest band among London’s early psychedelic set.
Although still a prolific songwriter, Syd’s experimentation with drugs meant his grasp on reality was slipping away. He didn’t turn up for interviews and started to behave erratically, to the extent that an American tour had to be cut short.
In January 1968, the band excused Syd from performing live to enable him to concentrate on songwriting, and David Gilmour was asked to take his place, leaving Barrett to record and release two solo albums — “The Madcap Laughs” and “Barrett” — and a single, “Octopus.”
1970 saw Syd retreat to his mother’s house in Cambridge where he formed The Stars with some local musicians, though his involvement was short-lived. The following years saw him moving between Cambridge and London, where he stayed on friends’ floors. In 1978, having tired of London, he walked back to Cambridge, where he lived reclusively until his death on July 7, 2006, at age 60.
Regular updates to sydbarrett.com will reveal even more exclusive material, photographs, and information. Featured songs will receive detailed analysis alongside reviews, essays, and images from a range of celebrity guest writers.
AMEN
My favorite Floyd persona.
Happy Birthday Syd, sorry I forgot…