BBC: Syd Barrett dead

[bigworld]

.. more soon on BBC website

[progmom]

1. link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5169344.stm

[CBGLuthier]

2. Shine on

Hell, this one actually bothers me. Poor guy.

[flakey_foont]

3. OMG!

I have been a big fan of Syd for decades....this is very sad to me.

[slackmaster]

4. Bummer

R.I.P Syd.

[meegbear]

5. FUCK!!!!

Oh Man!! :cry:

[meegbear]

6. Here's a link ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5169344.stm

[Wickerman]

7. I hope he's found some peace

damn, sad news.



R.I.P.

[HughBeaumont]

8. I'll be playing the singles collection tonight in his honor.

And Saucerful of Secrets . .The "transition" disc.

[Ripley]

9. Shine on You Crazy Diamond..

Damn. Too Young.

[LifeDuringWartime]

10. Bike

I've got a bike,
You can ride it if you like
It's got a basket, a bell that rings
And things to make it look good
I'd give it to you if I could, but I borrowed it

[bunkerbuster1]

11. That cat's something I can't explain...

Sorry you couldn't hang 'round a bit longer, mate.

Rest in peace.

[Ghost Dog]

31. Damn. That's my memorable English youth. Only 60.

...Digging out old albums here and looking for something to smoke.

[go west young man]

12. Sad news. Waking up and reading it gave me

goosebumps. An awesome talent and beautiful guy. Shine on Sid! If anyone gets to reach the outskirts of the universe it's definently you.

[silvermachine]

13. Oh no

No, no, no, no...
A co-worker of mine passed away yesterday at age 34, and now this...

[meegbear]

15. That's an awesome pic of him ...

I kept hoping he'll come back and release all the backed up talent inside him. Now it'll never be.

[silvermachine]

19. Yeah, it's a great one isn't it...

...when I was living in England ('79-'84), a friend's mother who was a nurse worked with another psychiatric nurse who would call in on Syd at his place in Cambridge a couple of times a week to see how he was. She gave me a few photos of Syd sitting in his mother's garden with some recent paintings that he did by his side. He looked decent, better and trimmer than in the fairly recent pics in News of the World and other places I've seen.

[goodhue]

14. Vegetable man!

Where are you?

[Strawman]

16. An true original. R.I.P., Syd

[psychopomp]

17. In case you did not know...

During Pink Floyd's recording of "Wish You Were Here" the band was laying down the tracks for "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" when they noticed a fat man who was completely bald, including absence of eyebrows, sitting in the studio listening in. Nobody knew who he was, and IIRC it wasn't until he left that the band realized that it was Syd...when they realized, the tears began to flow.

I can't remember if that was David Gilmour or Richard Wright who told that story. There is a video interview with one of them telling the story, you can find it if you surf a bit.

Another aside: when I was in uni one of my acquaintences had struck up a pen-pal relationship with Syd, meaning he actually received letters back. Syd would write about living with his mother, IIRC.

on edit: that uni experience was in about 1990.

[Up2Late]

30. I wonder if that was the inspiration for the scene in film of "The Wall"

...when he shaves off his eyebrows?

I never really understood the point of that scene.

[psychopomp]

50. Ahh, good point

I hadn't thought of that...makes sense, doesn't it?

[Ghost Dog]

32. .?

[Frank Cannon]

35. Apparently he also had elastic bands holding his shoes on...

which was the inspiration for Waters' lyric in "Nobody Home". Seems Syd was quite a mess at the time. Maybe modern meds helped him out for a while.

Poor guy. Mental illness is a horrible thing. Mental illness exacerbated by massive drug use is even worse.

[hlthe2b]

18. One of the most poignant stories in Rock History: Wish You Were

Here, Syd.... I hope somewhere deep within, you were happy. Shine on...

[shadowknows69]

20. Hear hear

Heaven's band just got a lot more interesting.

[Barrett808]

38. To my namesake: Wouldn't you miss me at all?

I'll miss you, Syd.

[silvermachine]

21. Cambridge paper says it was cancer...

...Cambridge was his hometown so you would think they might have it right. Full story is supposed to be in tomorrow's issue.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/city/2006/07/11/bf2ae48d-ee3e-4af6-b5a9-0395411a1ce1.lpf

[dnbn]

27. You would think so,

but they say ".. was the lead singer before falling victim to a drug-induced breakdown in the early 1970s". He actually left the band in 1968. A very sad story of unfulfilled life (you'd assume).

"See Emily Play" was the song that so amazed me, when I was a child, that it opened up a whole new music experience for me (the then future Pink Floyd music).

[catbert836]

29. BBC says diabetes

I guess we'll find out.

[outofbounds]

22. R.I.P. Syd

:cry: Your influence will never die

[Minstrel Boy]

23. Interesting read this from 2002:

From The Observer, "You shone like the sun":

...

The received wisdom is that you don't disturb him.The last interview he gave was in 1971, and from then until now, there are only about 20 recorded encounters of any kind. His family says it upsets him to discuss the days when he was the spirit of psychedelia, beautiful Syd Barrett, the leader of Pink Floyd. He doesn't recognise himself as the shambling visionary who, during an extended nervous breakdown exacerbated by his drug intake, made two solos LPs, Madcap and Barrett , which are as eternally eloquent as Van Gogh's cornfields. He doesn't answer to his 60s nickname now. He's called Roger Barrett, as he was born in 1946.

On a blistering hot day, pacing the cracked tarmac pavement in this suburban Cambridge street, I wonder if I can act honourably by him. When the DJ Nicky Horne doorstepped him in the 80s, Barrett said, 'Syd can't talk to you now.' Perhaps, in his own way, he was telling the truth. But I could talk to him as Roger; ask him if he was still painting, as reported. I could pass on regards from friends he knew before he became Syd. Two housewives in the street say he ignores their 'Good mornings' when he goes out to buy his Daily Mail and changing brands of fags. Apart from his sister, they don't think he has any visitors - not even workmen. But they don't see why I shouldn't take my chances. It's been a few years since backpackers camped by his gate. 'He didn't open the door for them, and he probably won't for you.'

So I walk up the concrete path of his grey pebble-dashed semi, try the bell and discover that it's disconnected. At the front of the house, all the curtains are open. The side passage is closed to prying eyes by a high gate. I knock on the front door and, after a minute or two, look through the downstairs bay window. Where you might expect a television and a three-piece suite, Barrett has constructed a bare, white-walled workshop. Pushed against the window is a tattered pink sofa. On the hardboard tops, toolboxes are neatly stacked, flexes coiled, pens put away in a white mug.

Then, a sound in the hall. Has he come in from the back garden? Perhaps it needs mowing, like the front lawn - although, judging by the mound of weeds by the path, he's been tidying the beds today. I knock again, and hear three heavy steps. The door flies open and he's standing there. He's stark naked except for a small, tight pair of bright-blue Y-fronts; bouncing, like the books say he always did, on the balls of his feet.

...

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,804928,00.html

[Dr Fate]

42. Terrific- thanx. n/t

n/t

[Roland99]

24. I'm gonna put Lucifer Sam on repeat in memory.

RIP

[jobycom]

25. Another Vincent van Gogh, a true artist who couldn't live as

an entertainer.

RIP.

[earthmama]

26. R.I.P Syd

you will be missed.

[cureautismnow]

28. And everything under the sun is in tune...

But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.

R.I.P., Roger. :cry:

[texastoast]

33. My son loved you

He will be so glad to see you.

[onehandle]

34. What will Gilmour and Waters write about now? nt

[bling bling]

43. No kidding.

That's why my avatar has all 5 of them. Syd went on to be the inspiration for the band long after he was replaced by Gilmore. I think his inspiration was what made some of their songs and music so absolutely brilliant.

[bling bling]

44. Now that I mention it,

my avatar appears to be missing. It's in my profile but for some reason I don't see it on my posts. That's bizarre. Looks like everyone else has theirs.

[onehandle]

48. I believe you have to have a star to have a custom avatar.

Five or Ten bucks will get you your star.

[bling bling]

49. I see.

Not sure when my star ran out, I didn't even notice. Thanks, I didn't know that about the personal avatar being for donors only.

[mvd]

36. R.I.P, Syd

He was too young..

[ArnoldLayne]

37. R.I.P. Roger "Syd" Barrett I will miss you.

[MagickMuffin]

39. Stardust to Stardust

Flaming Flaming: Barrett

Alone in the clouds all blue
Lying on an eiderdown.
Yippee! You can't see me
But I can you.

Lazing in the foggy dew
Sitting on a unicorn.
No fair, you can't hear me
But I can you.

Watching buttercups cup the light
Sleeping on a dandelion.
Too much, I won't touch you
But then I might.

Screaming through the starlit sky
Traveling by telephone.
Hey ho, here we go
Ever so high.

Alone in the clouds all blue
Lying on an eiderdown.
Yippee! You can't see me
But I can you.

[robertpaulsen]

40. RIP, Piper at the Gates of Dawn. nt.

[Dr Fate]

41. I highly recommend that fans seek out the MONO "Piper" mixes

Blows the stereo out of the water- almost like hearing different sessions.

Love ya Syd- put in a good word for all us freaks, ya hear?

[confusa]

45. Videos

A couple of videos from YouTube from when Pink Floyd was really a band. Without Syd they were hardly anything at all.

Apples and Oranges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9nqEYfgiHg

Arnold Lane
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBezeiVvVsU

[NVMojo]

46. Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett dies at home

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2265034,00.html

http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,319568,00.jpg

[Jets2Brazil]

47. Syd Barrett Was the Only Great Thing About Pink Floyd

David Gilmour? Bleccccch. Roger Waters? Ehhhhh... Nick Mason? Uh...who?

Anybody who claims that Pink Floyd ever exceeded the brilliance of Bike or Lucifer Sam (or...Blasphemy! that anything in the PF catalog even comes close to Octopus or Wined and Dined) is a bad person. They should be destroyed.

[bling bling]

51. You're joking, right?

You'd have to be to say blecccch about David Gilmour. I definitely don't think that Barrett's song-writing or musical ability was near the level of Waters or Gilmour respectively. But aside from being an innovator and original member, you can see how much he did to bolster PF later on because he inspired them and through that inspiration they obtained musical genious (IMO). Pink Floyd would never have advanced to the legends they became without Syd Barrett. Although, Pink Floyd would never have advanced to the legends they become with Syd Barrett, either.

[maseman]

52. Agreed.

Roger Waters and David Gilmour were (and are) extremely talented. They also had a very deep respect for Syd and created many lyrics evolving around him.

The overall sound of Pink Floyd of course changed as the band progressed over the years. Their first major single in the UK, Arnold Layne, doesn't sound at all like anything you hear on the Wall of Dark Side. Of course the early days of Beatles didn't sound anything like Submarine either.

I was always intrigued and to some degree frightened by what happened to Syd Barrett. Frightened because we are all always on the cusp of loosing our marbles. One event and we could be like him lost in a world we couldn't understand unless we experienced it ourselves.

[bling bling]

55. I think a lot of people feel the same way.

VH1 did a rockumentary or whatever on Pink Floyd a few years back and Syd Barrett was the main focus throughout the entire biography. It was wierd. They've been a band for what, almost 40 years or something, and he was only in the band for like 2 years, yet he got so much of the attention in the biography. That's because I think most people who know the story of Syd Barrett find themselves fascinated, including me, and want to know more -- even though he'd been in total seclusion since the mid 70's. I even bought both of his solo works, although I found them very hard to listen to for any type of pleasure, with the exception of just a couple of songs.

But like you said, his story is intriguing but also scary. How could someone with so much going for him suddenly just lose it. Rick Wright once said the transformation of Syd happened over the course of a weekend. They all saw him on Friday and he was his normal self and then Monday he came to work and had that look in his eyes "like black holes in the sky." Sad.

[Jets2Brazil]

54. Sorry...I stand by my opinion...

With the possible exception of a song or two, I find Gilmour's songwriting to be, well, blah. Kind of tailor-made for safe, classic-rock radio. Perhaps I was a bit hard on Waters...I actually liked the Final Cut.

Gilmour certainly had much more innate technical ability than Syd (hell...your average 16 year old guitar player has much more innate technical ability than Syd), and Waters was a better lyricist (Syd's lyrics were...em, interesting), but Syd had the chunes man!

I'm sorry...Dark Globe vs. Dirty Woman? Come on! (Okay, I'm cherry picking from their respective catalogs...).

It's kind of liking comparing Nirvana or the Pixies (blatantly obviously melodies performed with questionable musicianship but an awful lot of enthusiasm) with Dream Theatre (absolutely sterile compositions peformed with immaculate precision and virtuosity and all the passion of an assembly line ). Who would you rather listen to?

Of course, I think Roy Wood and Ray Davies were both better songwriters than Lennon or McCartney, and I wasn't born until well after the creative peaks of all four, so what the hell do I know?

[bling bling]

58. I honestly thought you were joking.

Sorry about that. I see now that you're someone who appreciates the less mainstream, less popular pieces of music (judging by the fact you singled out Dark Globe and the Final Cut). I agree with you on Gilmour's songwriting, although I really like High Hopes from the Division Bell. Personally, I think the best out of Pink Floyd was Echoes. The lyrics are masterful, the music is incredible, it's musical perfection, IMO.

[Jets2Brazil]

59. Well, now I feel guilty for bashing David Gilmour...

Okay...Ibiza Bar from the More soundtrack rocked! I'm pretty sure that was a Gilmour tune. And so did "Have a Cigar"!

And, as much as I prefer Syd's solo stuff to the "proper" Waters/Gilmour/Mason/Wright PF catalog, one of my formative experiences was my dad sitting me down at age 11, when my mom had gone out for the day, and playing Dark Side of the Moon at full blast for me, which absolutely blew my mind.

Of course, he also played Alice Cooper's Killer for me, which probably warped my still developing mind inordinately.

[The_Casual_Observer]

53. Somehow, I thought that Syd Barrett would always be alive

His music was always full of life and could always make me smile even during the worst of times. It will be just a little different now, not as nice.

[VolcanoJen]

56. Shine on.

Really nothing more appropriate to say.

[Pachamama]

57. A Musical Genius is gone....

...his music lives and he'll never be forgotten! Pink Floyd and Barrett's contribution to music are unforgettable....


:hug:

[bunkerbuster1]

60. Wonderful tribute I found.

Thanks to Bernard Perusse, The Gazette, cited here:

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=890c56c3-9ebf-4809-86bf-4336e7140155&k=32257

...

Is there a more heart-wrenching image than Barrett waiting for his bandmates to pick him up for a gig in Southampton in 1968, unaware that they had decided to do the show without him because his presence on stage had become too high a risk?

...

Dark Globe, the disc's most harrowing track, provides as good an epitaph as any. Listening to it now, Barrett's voice is unbearably fragile. He was asking for help. And already saying goodbye.

My head kissed the ground
I was half the way down
Treading the sand
Please, please, please lift a hand
I'm only a person with Eskimo chain
I tattooed my brain all the way
Won't you miss me?
Wouldn't you miss me at all

Those who love rock's restless heart know there's only one answer.