Syd Barrett biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Roger Keith Barrett, better known as Syd Barrett, was born in Cambridge, England on January 6, 1946. Barrett was the third of five children born to Max and Winifred Barrett, who encouraged his interest in music. He played the piano, ukulele, banjo and guitar as a kid. He also spent time writing and drawing, and he won awards for his poetry in high school.

Several stories exist as to how Barrett acquired his nickname, "Syd." Some sources say that he was given the nickname around the age of 14, and that it refers to a local bass player named Sid Barrett. Others say he was given the nickname as a kid at scout camp.

As a teenager, Syd Barrett formed a band, Geoff Mott and the Mottoes. In 1962, the band broke up, and Barrett began playing Beatles covers at parties and picnics. The following year, he began writing his own songs. In 1964, he moved to London to study painting at the Camberwell College of Arts.

Pink Floyd

Barrett knew Roger Waters from his school days in Cambridge, and he reconnected with him when he moved to London. Waters had formed a band with Richard Wright and Nick Mason—first called The Sigma 6, and later The Tea Set— and when one of the members left, Barrett joined. The band went through additional member and name changes, but in the summer of 1965, they began using the name Pink Floyd, a homage to two U.S. blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Later that year, the band took to the studio for the first time, recording Beatles covers along with three of Barrett's songs: "Double O Bo," "Butterfly" and "Lucy Leave." Barrett also had his first acid trip.

In 1966, Pink Floyd found a management team and transitioned to being a full-time band, and in 1967 the band recorded and released their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. However, by the middle of that year, Barrett's behavior became more unusual, and many attributed it to a psychotic break induced by LSD. In one concert he slowly detuned his guitar on stage; in others, he strummed one chord the entire show or didn't play at all. In television appearances, he gave one-word answers to interviewers' questions or simply stared blankly and remained mute. During their 1967 tour with Jimi Hendrix, the band had to bring in a substitute guitarist when Barrett didn't show up or couldn't perform, and by the end of the year, they hired David Gilmour as a second guitarist to cover for Barrett. On April 6, 1968, Pink Floyd announced that Barrett was no longer a member of the band.

Pink Floyd later sang a number of tributes to Barrett, including "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," a nine-part composition recorded on their Wish You Were Here album.