Syd Barrett, the former leader of Pink Floyd and one of the key figures of the 1960s, has died at the Cambridgeshire, England home to which he retreated as a recluse from the music scene more than 30 years ago.
The singer, 60, who suffered from a psychedelic drug-induced breakdown at the peak of his career, died on Friday from cancer. He had had diabetes for many years.
His brother Alan confirmed his death on Tuesday, saying only: “He died peacefully at home. There will be a private family funeral in the next few days.”
PHOTO: AP
The surviving members of Pink Floyd — David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright — released a statement after the news of Barrett's death was broke Tuesday lunchtime. “The band are naturally very upset and sad to learn of Syd Barrett's death,” they said. “Syd was the guiding light of the early band line-up and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire.”
Born Roger Keith Barrett in Cambridge in 1946, he acquired the nickname Syd at the age of 15 copying a local drummer who was also called Sid Barrett. He founded Pink Floyd with classmate Waters in 1965 and wrote many of the band's early songs, pioneering 1960s psychedelia. But in 1968, following increasingly erratic behavior, he quit the band just as it was about to achieve worldwide recognition. He went on to record two solo albums.
After some years holed up in a flat in Earls Court, London, he moved into the basement of his mother Winifred's house in Cambridge where he boarded up the windows to keep out the eyes of the press and fans. He remained there after her death in 1991, telling his biographer, Tim Willis, he was “just looking after this place for the moment” and he was not going to stay there forever. He had reverted to the name Roger and his family said he liked gardening and painting.
Waters, who is currently on tour and beams an image of Barrett on to the stage when he plays Shine on You Crazy Diamond, said: “It's very sad. Syd was a lovely guy and a unique talent. He leaves behind a body of work that is both very touching and very deep, and which will shine on for ever.”
Barrett's use of drugs, particularly LSD, in the 1960s, was well-documented and he was often described as the original acid casualty.
Gilmour, the Pink Floyd guitarist drafted into the band during a period in which Barrett was behaving bizarrely, said in an interview this year that he thought Barrett's breakdown would have happened anyway. He said: “It was a deep-rooted thing. But I'll say the psychedelic experience might well have acted as a catalyst. Still, I just don't think he could deal with the vision of success and all the things that went with it.”
In a statement released Tuesday night David Bowie said Barrett had been a major inspiration. “The few times I saw him perform in London at UFO and the Marquee clubs during the 60s will for ever be etched in my mind. He was so charismatic and such a startlingly original songwriter,” he said.
“Also, along with Anthony Newley, he was the first guy I'd heard to sing pop or rock with a British accent. His impact on my thinking was enormous. A major regret is that I never got to know him. A diamond indeed.”
The former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, who cites Barrett as one of the greatest influences on his career, said: “Lost him again ... for bang on 20 years Syd led me to better places. From my agape 17- year-old first listen to Bike to, just the other day, Jugband Blues ... Syd, dear man, what now? The music is there ... a door he left unlocked ... spend time there ... it's good.”
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