Syd Barrett

Syd Barrett is an English musician, singer, songwriter, guitarist and painter from Cambridge, United Kingdom. Born Roger Keith Barrett in 1946, he is best known as a founder member of Pink Floyd and as the group’s lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter during its early psychedelic period. He also helps to name the band.

Pink Floyd and early work

Barrett joins the group in 1965 after several earlier name changes, including The Abdabs, The Screaming Abdabs, Sigma 6 and The Meggadeaths. The band first performs as The Tea Set, then becomes The Pink Floyd Sound before shortening the name to Pink Floyd. Barrett writes much of the group’s early material and is the main creative force behind their 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. On that record he writes eight of the eleven songs and co-writes two others. The album reaches number six in the UK album chart.

His early singles with the band include “Arnold Layne”, “See Emily Play” and “Apples and Oranges”. “Arnold Layne” reaches number 21 in the UK singles chart despite a BBC ban, while “See Emily Play” reaches number six. Barrett also writes “Jugband Blues”, the only song he contributes to Pink Floyd’s second album, A Saucerful of Secrets. He leaves the group in 1968 and is officially announced as no longer a member in March of that year.

Style and influence

Barrett plays an important part in the London Underground psychedelic scene, where Pink Floyd becomes a major attraction at venues such as the UFO and the Roundhouse. His guitar work uses dissonance, distortion, feedback and echo effects, and he explores experimental approaches to sound and performance. One of his trademarks is using a Zippo lighter on the fretboard of his Fender Esquire guitar through an echo unit to create unusual sounds. His style influences musicians including David Bowie, Brian Eno and Jimmy Page. His nickname “Syd” comes from a Cambridge drummer of the same name, and he changes the spelling to distinguish himself.

Solo recordings and later work

After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett steps away from public life but records two solo albums for EMI and Harvest Records: The Madcap Laughs and Barrett. The first is recorded in sessions between 1968 and 1969 and includes material such as “Dark Globe”. The second is recorded in 1970 and features David Gilmour on bass, Rick Wright on keyboard and Jerry Shirley on drums. Barrett also appears on John Peel’s BBC programme Top Gear in 1970, performing five songs, and gives his only solo live concert the same year at the Olympia Exhibition Hall in London as part of a Music and Fashion Festival. He records three more songs for BBC Radio in 1971.

In 1972, Barrett forms a short-lived band called Stars with Twink on drums and Jack Monck on bass. He later returns briefly to Abbey Road Studios in 1974, though the sessions do not lead to a new album. He sells the rights to his solo albums back to the label and lives in London before returning to Cambridge. Pink Floyd later records “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” about him, and he appears unannounced during the 1975 recording sessions for Wish You Were Here.

Later releases and death

EMI releases Opel in 1988, a collection of studio outtakes and previously unreleased recordings from 1968 to 1970. In 1993, it issues Crazy Diamond, a box set covering all three of his solo albums with additional outtakes. Barrett dies in Cambridge in 2006 at the age of 60 from complications of diabetes.