Recently rediscovered ZBS foundation interview from August 1967 Growing up in Cambridges rich cultural history with like-minded artists and future collaborators such as Storm Thorgerson, Roger Waters and David Gilmour, Syd was an ebullient teenager, inspired by jazz, R&B, the Rolling Stones and The Goon Show. Joe Boyd did all the work on it and I was really amazed when he left. A:What did you do in the apartment in London. They were playing on Madcap, except for Kevin Ayers. I thought The Soft Machine were good fun. After the American tour, he was finished. Theres a train strike at the moment., No, not really. I only know the thing of playing, of being a musician, was very exciting. In mid-May, the band was invited to play a proper concert to a seated audience at the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Hall on South Bank in London. Actuel:Ive been looking for you. Since then: nothing. Syd Barrett, the rock icon, died long before pancreatic cancer claimed his physical body on July 7th, 2006. Syd Barrett interview (circa 1971) Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Very polite. Mostly his answers are fragmented, a stream of consciousness (the words of James Joyces poem Golden Hair are in one of his songs). And touring and playing might make that impossible to do. That he was thrown out of The Pink Floyd. Goodthere you are. (Image credit: The Estate Of Roger Keith Barrett/Barrettbook.com). Syd Barrett came up to London last week and talked in the office of his music publisher, his first press interview for about a year. He stops and eases it into a regular tuning, shaking his head. Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 - 7 July 2006) was an English singer, . Syd: It was probably me alone, I think. He is the Icarus of the 1960s and his fall was leapt upon by the moral majority, drugs are bad!, etc, so he also became a poster boy for the wrong reasons., Poor Syd, concludes Jenny Fabian. I worked this out yesterday. oneSignal_options['promptOptions']['actionMessage'] = "Do you want to receive the latest news about Classic Rock? The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time Symbolic? The Syd Barrett book is available from Essential Works. The Madcap Laughs, his second, he says, was pretty good: Like a painting as big as the cellar. Before the Floyd got off the ground, Barrett attended art school. I suppose we were interested in playing guitars I picked up playing guitar quite quickly I didnt play much in Cambridge because I was from the art school, you know. Well, Ive only got an electric. We listened to blues, Dylan, the Kinks and Animals. In their live performances, due to the quality of the sound equipment in those days, and the risk of microphone feedback, the vocals were hard to hear and the band relied heavily on instrumental and rather loud and hard-driving numbers. OneSignal.setDefaultNotificationUrl("http://rockandrollgarage.com"); When I saw him at the Technicolor Dream at Alexandra Palace he looked vacant, says Spires. Syd Barrett came up to London last week and talked in the office of his music publisher, his first press interview for about a year. They only intended to do some low-key shows and played a local coffee bar a couple of times as Stars, before playing a brilliant outdoor gig at the Market Square in Cambridge. When in Cambridge to visit the childhood home of Syd Barrett, the enigmatic former member of Pink Floyd who died in 2006, Mulholland noticed a pile of leaves and detritus from the property's. Roger was the fourth of five children, the others being Alan, Don, Ruth and Rosemary. enable_page_level_ads: true S: Never heard of im. It was like this. He looked terrible., Floyd famously elected not to pick him up one day, and already had Gilmour in the band. When two of the 6 band members left, there was space for Syd to join, along with Rado Bob Klose. The Best Of Syd Barrett: Wouldnt You Miss Me? I'd known he was ill for a long time. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Are you Syd Barrett? Sessions in April and July followed, and the album was released in November 1970, the last official Syd Barrett album, bar compilations. Initially it got really embarrassing, said Wright in the Barrett bioA Very Irregular Head. Early Pink Floyd worked harder than most as a touring band. Do you paint? Thats part of it but, it was also a protest song about decriminalising homosexuality., The song influenced Pete Brown to change his singing style. The two bands played Spontaneous Underground events at the Marquee between January and March 1966, and at UFO from December 1966. The result, of course, left his bandmates with no choice but to remove him from Pink Floyd in 1968 and his final interview was a portrait of a shadow of his former self. OneSignal.SERVICE_WORKER_PATH = "OneSignalSDKWorker.js.php"; I must find myself a flat in London. At times, I'm not sure who is more odd, Syd, or "Meat. And so Syd Barrett, now back in the public eye after two years, carries on in his own way doing what he wants as he wants to. (function() {var wf = document.createElement('script');wf.src='https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/webfont/1/webfont.js';wf.type='text/javascript';wf.async='true';var s=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(wf, s);})(); By the time he chose his first love of painting over music, it was too late. The Madcap Laughs would not be released until January 1970, but was well received and sold reasonably by the standards of the time, so EMI decided to record a follow-up straight away. Syds present favourite is Wolfpack, a taut threatening, claustrophobic number. Pretty unexciting. Thank you.. One thinks of it all as a dream. In 1982, Syd had spent well over a decade almost fully retired from public life and had moved away from the bright lights of London to his mothers house in Cambridge four years earlier. Barrett, whose death was confirmed today, was the first "acid casualty", and few actually remember the man who led the most important group of Britain's counterculture in 1966 and 1967. English tea, cake and biscuits, arrives. Now you gonna get latest important news'; In a Swedish interview from September 1967, Barrett explained that the name Pink Floyd comes from two blues singers from Georgia, USA Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Play a guitar properly and jump around. Ive got to get some coleslaw, he responded defensively. While Floyd commenced their rise to fame, Syd faltered through his last solo flight, leaving two albums before retiring. The Pink Floyd guitarist and singer also talked in an interview with Uncut magazine back in 2008 about how sad Barrett's death was: "Obviously, the news of his death was enormously sad. oneSignal_options['welcomeNotification']['title'] = ""; Id like to be rich. Its what Syd did on top that really counted. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. We wrote our own songs, played our own music. David Bowie once called Syd a poet in a rock band, and songs like Chapter 24 and The Scarecrow encapsulated his lyrical world of child-like wonder derived from classic literature. Syd quit the band a few days later after a scathing review. He came up and introduced himself, she recalls. Is he one of them rappers?, Leave me alone. The only work Ive done the last two years is interviews. The Floyd rhythm section was kind of stodgy but they could get in a groove. That's why his music was so unique, because he thought like a painter - and he carried on painting for the rest of his life. It finishes with: Mind the Reflecting electricity eyes The Life that was ours grew sharper and stronger away and beyond short wheeling fresh spring gripped with blanched bones moaned Magnesium Proverbs and sobs, Syd thinks people who sing their own songs are boring. Or why not treat yourself? Syd: Yeah thats nice. Sometimes simple linear pieces. I think you might be very successful. oneSignal_elements[i].addEventListener('click', oneSignalLinkClickHandler, false); Ive got a black Fender which needs replacing. I think I shall be able to produce this one myself. Syd Barrett - Interviewed By Meatball Fulton - London August 1967A very odd interview to say the least. Here you will find Syd Barrett Articles, pictures, books, news, interviews, lyrics, tabs, an extensive Syd Barrett discography, and much more information on Syd Barrett and early Pink Floyd. oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['text'] = {}; When it came time to record, Syd reached into his notebook of lyrics, mainly written during a bout of fevered activity in 1966. At a job at London's Saturday Club, Barrett showed up and was unusually (even for him) uncommunicative. Thats why he had such a problem with the commercial side of the music business. That regular beat meant that we could all flounce around in our kaftans. var oneSignal_elements = document.getElementsByClassName("OneSignal-prompt"); They liked seeing the audience dancing, and they would improvise a lot. S:Yes, but not anymore. OneSignal.SERVICE_WORKER_UPDATER_PATH = "OneSignalSDKUpdaterWorker.js.php"; Watts: Whats the hang-up then? Two proposed singles were recorded but shelved, due to their dark nature and non-commercial potential: Scream Thy Last Scream (Old Woman With A Casket) and Vegetable Man. On 24 February 1970, he appeared on John Peels BBC radio programme Top Gear playing five songs, only one of which had been previously released. Watts: Do you think the glamour went to your head at all? Theyd have to be lively. In 2010, EMI Records released An Introduction To Syd Barrett, a new collection that brought together for the first time tracks from Syds Pink Floyd and solo work on one album, including some brand-new remixes. oneSignal_options['promptOptions']['siteName'] = "www.rockandrollgarage.com"; The pace of things. Syd: Well, I think of me being a painter eventually. ], UhyesI never saw him again. Watts: Are you going into the blues, then, in your writing? England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Jenny has tried to keep her privacy and stayed away from books she dismisses as lop-sided, TV docs and interviews; until now. In his later years, Barrett battled diabetes. I really need to prove myself right, he says. A nude girl stretches her body on the background. Interview with Mick Rock. The fans of Syd since 5/19/97: var site="sm4sydbarrett" The fact that the show had to be put together; the fact that we werent living in luxurious places with luxurious things around us. Then they supported the MC5 and Hawkwind at the Corn Exchange, but Syd couldnt really face those large crowds. oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['theme'] = 'default'; He'd been to art school. I think its so exciting. They seemed an interesting variation on old blues, highly original., Syd started approaching his guitar like a canvas, as displayed on Interstellar Overdrive, one of the live improvisations the Floyd played as house band at UFO, the London countercultures seminal Tottenham Court Road space disco. Learn More{{/message}}. Then he wrote and said Bob Kloses parents had said he had to leave the band because he wasnt doing enough college work, so Syd took over lead guitar too., Pioneering British poet Michael Horovitz, who co-organised 1965s landmark Wholly Communion event at the Royal Albert Hall, and was part of the committee which started the Notting Hill Carnival, recalls encountering the earliest Pink Floyd. But I never seem to have any. Suddenly he points out the window. I wasnt always this introverted, he says, I think young people should have a lot of fun. oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['position'] = 'bottom-right'; David Gilmour and Jerry Shirley also backed Syd for his one and only live concert during this period, on 6 June 1970. He had to leave the band in 1968 after his behavior became increasingly erratic and unpredictable, partly as a result of the intense use of reported psychedelic drugs, most prominently LSD. To make my album was a challenge as I didnt have anything to follow., Now Syd is looking to form his own band, which he hoped he will have going within a year. If he hadnt been the cornerstone of the band in those early days, people would never have looked at them.. Speaking at an exhibition of the late musician's canvases and letters in London on March 17, 2011, Rosmary Breen said her brother, Syd Barrett, could never u. Six cool new prog songs you must hear this week! Barrett obliged saying, Yes, sure. Warren Dosanjh. Youre on the ceiling looking down on yourself., In 1972, when Syd said he would like to play again, he started jamming with Spires then-husband Jack Monck and drummer friend Twink. Meanwhile, Roger Waters had formed a band called Sigma 6 with college friends including Richard Wright and Nick Mason. Roger "Syd" Barrett died of pancreatic cancer on 7 July 2006 at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, but his legacy lives on in the acknowledgement of his increasing influence over scores of musicians. Hed named the band and was writing most of their music, including the only two hit singles they ever had. I think Emily was fourth in the hits. Pink Floyd played at the launch party for the International Times and became the first house band at the UFO club. Watts: Are you trying to create a mood in your songs, rather than tell a story? Syd Barrett interview (Jan 1970) Terrapin #17, 1975 Syd Barrett has returned. His hair is short now, uncombed, the wavy locks gone. The whole thing at the time was playing on stage. Interstellar Overdrive seemed like Ravels Bolero in reverse. David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason performed Arnold Layne. He loved art and DIY, his sister Rosemary tells his biographer Tim Willis in her first interview for 30 years When the death of 60-year-old Roger "Syd" Barrett was announced on Tuesday, the media raised an astonishing last hurrah for the founder of Pink Floyd, the "crazy diamond" who had shunned the public gaze for decades. Cambridge is an hours train ride from London. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). By the time he moved to London, he had already been part of local bands including Geoff Mott and the Mottoes, born out of collaborations at the Barrett family home from 1962 onwards. Although the bandmates tried to look afterSydin the immediate following his departure, he soon became a recluse and went off-grid. oneSignal_options['appId'] = '7306da2e-1e23-436b-8361-6ac0257193f8'; He still paints. But we never spoke really. Im trying to go back down there, but Ive got to wait. Eight miles a day, he says. The first mention in press dates to a Melody Maker article in early July 1965. This coincided with the release of their debut album in early August and cast a dark shadow on what really should have been a moment of triumph. And it was, of course, at Londons first psychedelic dungeon UFO that the Floyd found their initial following among the early freaks when flower power was something very real to a lot of people. Did they pay you?, No. The group secured a recording contract with EMI and found chart success with their first two releases Arnold Layne and See Emily Play, both of them written by Syd Barrett. He played at my 16th birthday party in summer 1965., One of Syds letters recounted how the band had sacked singer Chris Dennis and he was taking over vocals. Sometimes surreal, images weaving dreamily, echoes of a mindscape that defies traditional analysis. They then proceeded to say: No. Are you Syd Barrett? Leave me alone. I feel, perhaps, I could be claimed as being redundant almost. What does it mean to lust for life in a country that wants you dead? On return trips to Cambridge, he began playing guitar with The Hollerin Blues, who by 1965 had turned into Those Without. They were very ambitious but, because of their guilt, dragged him around like a ghost. {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. He was a psychedelic genius. [Syds mother calls him from inside her house.] He was still quite worn out when they signed with EMI and had to go up and down the country doing gigs. Bo Diddley was definitely my greatest influence. I always enjoyed that much more than school, although it had nothing to do with the music. But the choice of material was restricted, I suppose, by the fact that both Roger and I wrote different things. His musical tastes were very eclectic. She remembers Syd as very together, always confident, always with some project on the go, some painting or song idea. He told us thats where we wanted to be., In December 1964, 18-year-old Syd met 15-year-old Jenny Spires at Cambridges Union Cellar. Pink Floyd recorded an epic song written about him, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," but in an interview with the UK's Sunday Times, his sister, Rosemary, called him "my lovably ordinary brother . I was lucky enough Ive always thought of going back to a place where you can drink tea and sit on the carpet. Perhaps it has something to do with what I felt could be better as regards music, as far as my job goes generally, because I did find I needed a job. The school had its own Scout troop, which Roger attended with great interest. He was outside himself, which is what happens when youre on acid. The light show hit the silver discs and a star was born.. In the end of January 1972, Syd formed a short-lived band called Stars with ex-Pink Fairies member Twink on drums and Jack Monck on bass. After this performance, they saw Barrett as more of a hindrance than anything else and, at that point, they all knew that they couldnt carry on in this state any longer or Floyd would be no more. A:But thats been over now for several weeks. That occasionally he goes to the house of Richard Wright, The Floyds organist, and sits there silently for hours without speaking. Syd withdrew from the music industry and eventually chose Cambridge and a life of painting, creating large abstract canvases and many other forms of paintings. As the crude light show hit the discs and shone light back at the audience, Syd used the guitar as a visual prop to shower silver on the people like a magic sceptre. The pair were briefly detained by the St. Tropez police for busking. Syd: Roger Waters is older than I am. Although he addresses his rift with former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters about the release here, this interview was conducted before Waters targeted Gilmour in a caustic missive about the. oneSignal_options['allowLocalhostAsSecureOrigin'] = true; Its been very slow, like looking back over a long time and playing very little. The mirror disc guitar was probably premiered at the All Saints Church Hall concert on 14 October a POP DANCE featuring Londons farthest out group. He has never recorded anyone elses. } Syd: Yeah. Syd left the Pink Floyd over a year ago after writing the group's only two single hits, 'See Emil Play' and 'Arnold Layne'. I know because Id heard most of them. Syd: No. But in a sense, Syd never really left. All that time youve just reminded me of it. It would be terrific to do much more mood stuff. oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['size'] = 'medium'; Syd Barrett was the definition of a tortured genius, one who sadly succumbed to a drug addiction that made him increasingly more erratic during the late 1960s. It was while studying fine art at Camberwell School of Art in south London that he started playing with the Pink Floyd, the rest of whom were all at that time potential architects at the Regent Street Polytechnic. He stops. The general concept, I didnt feel so conscious of it as perhaps I should. window.OneSignal = window.OneSignal || []; gtag('js', new Date()); 1997 - 2023. I suppose it was really just a matter of being a little offhand about things. We worked up to See Emily Play and so on quite naturally from the Rolling Stones numbers we used to play. I think theyd be difficult to find. Hes taking things easily, as he has been doing for the last two years, composing, writing and painting as inspiration comes, and making some plans for the future. Whenever he was in control then it was happening., Jenny Fabian was there too; I thought they were incredible. Im full of dust and guitars, he says. Brian Freddy Foskett, formerly a jazz drummer with the Riverside Seven, took Roger to the YMCA in Alexandra Street to hear the band play and Roger decided to put the y into his nickname to avoid confusion with the bass player. These were called Sound and Light Workshops and advertised light projection slides and liquid movies. The velvet pants and new green snake skin boots show some attachment to the way it used to be. '; Your details are kept safe. He had to leave the band in 1968 after his behavior became increasingly erratic and unpredictable, partly as a result of the intense use of reported psychedelic drugs, most prominently LSD. When they all got their grant money, he wrote to say theyd been in the West End and bought 235 worth of gear. Watts: Did you like what they were doing the fact that the music was gradually moving away from songs like See Emily Play? But too many people got in the way. Syd Barrett interview (Image credit: sebastian jenkins/barrettbook.com). As one of the founding members of British psychedelic and progressive pioneers The Pink Floyd (the "The" was later dropped), Syd Barrett is one of the undisputed greats of 1960s rock and pop. Once youre into something he says, looking very puzzled. Hendrix was a perfect guitarist. It seemed to throw him back to somewhere he didnt want to be, so he just walked away from it., In 1979, Syd returned to Cambridge for good. The band attempted to go into Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, but Syd could. Learn More{{/message}}, {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}It appears your submission was successful. A subscription makes a thoughtful gift for both family and friends. Syd: No. Unbeknown to me he had sketched a picture of me standing at the bar. Syd: Well, I dont know, it dont seem to have much to do with the job. He was a psychedelic genius. Related Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. years in London I started playing with the Pink Floyd. Frequently in his last months with the Floyd, hed go on stage and play no more than two notes in a whole set. Emily was Syds Alice., Around this time, those close to Syd noticed a change, illustrated by his refusal to appear on Top Of The Pops. OneSignal.SERVICE_WORKER_PARAM = { scope: "/" }; Exclusive Interview: Duggie Fields. I swapped it for the black one, but Ive never played it., Trending ); Ive got some songs in the studio, still. Mostly, I just waste my time. He walks a lot. I could explore Britains strangeness as well as being driven by the blues. From age 11-16, Roger went to the Cambridgeshire High School for Boys on Hills Road, aka The County. Watts: Tell me about The Floyd how did they start? 722K views 5 years ago Pink Floyd's Roger Waters and Syd Barrett interviewed on The Look of the Week, May 1967. oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['text']['tip.state.blocked'] = 'Oh, dont do that, please'; 1993s Crazy Diamond is a box set of all three albums, each loaded with further out-takes from his solo sessions. Is it getting the right musicians around you? We didnt feel there was one thing which was gonna make the decision at the minute. Theyd have to be good musicians. I mean, ones position as a member of Londons young peoples, I dunno what youd call it underground wasnt it, wasnt necessarily realized and felt, I dont think, especially from the point of view of groups. But the reality was terribly sad. In 196667, Barrett was playing lead guitar with Pink Floyd. I saw him when he got back from the States and he had to go on the Hendrix tour. Syd doesnt live here anymore is how he answered the door to visiting strangers. He wrote some great songs that had a huge influence on all sorts of different people. Sign up below to get the latest from Prog, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! I polished it yesterday. Its a Yamaha. Hed lock himself in the dressing room with a TV and wouldnt let anyone in., Syd himself has been known to sit behind locked doors, refusing to see anyone for days at a time. else { Syd would always be writing songs in a notebook, which hed tell me were written for or about me, like Bike. Its painful for meThank you. This was a band composition, but most of the other early recordings were songs by Syd, who had established himself as the bands creative innovator. 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It had nothing to do a train strike at the Corn Exchange, but Syd could who! You think the glamour went to the Cambridgeshire High school for Boys on Hills Road, aka the.. To a Melody Maker article in early July 1965 High school for Boys on Hills Road, aka the.. Im full of dust and guitars, he soon became a recluse and off-grid..., in your writing from Essential Works this week went off-grid hang-up then our own songs rather. Of their music, including the only work Ive done the last years! Dreamily, echoes of a mindscape that defies traditional analysis the Best of Syd Barrett, Kinks! Floyd commenced their rise to fame, Syd, or & quot ; Barrett ( 6 1946... Went to your inbox Fender which needs replacing two of the Pink Floyd you!