Syd Barrett was an English singer, songwriter, musician and painter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. He was known to be reclusive. [1] [2] [3] Reclusiveness may coincide with mental disorders and some persons may have speculative diagnoses of schizophrenia (see List of people with schizophrenia), but this does not mean that Barrett's songs, and the songs about him, concern reclusion: for example, the instrumental "Interstellar Overdrive" exemplify Pink Floyd's early psychedelic period.
Barrett left Pink Floyd less than a year after the release of their first single, "Arnold Layne". He played with the band only on their first two albums ( The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets ), contributing the song "Jugband Blues" as the closing track on the latter, before recording two albums in 1970 ( The Madcap Laughs and Barrett ), the latter of which failed to chart. In 1975, the Pink Floyd album Wish You Were Here became a popular screed against music business with its theme the loss of Barrett. [a]
With the decline of the record industry [b] and changes in the music business, [c] Barrett's alienation remains relevant. [4] [5] The following list is indicative of Barrett's legacy. [6]
Released | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 [7] | "What's the New Mary Jane" | John Lennon | The Beatles | Aug 1968 outtake, supposedly inspired by Barrett, [8] [9] released in 1996 |
Apr 1999 | "Incarceration of a Flower a Child" | Roger Waters [10] | Marianne Faithfull | 1968 composition supposedly about Barrett, [11] [12] or perhaps a revision of it [13] |
Oct 1970 | "If" | Roger Waters | Pink Floyd | Supposedly about Barrett [14] [15] [16] [17] |
Sep 1978 | "Pink's Song" | Richard Wright | Richard Wright | Visibly about Barrett |
Nov 1972 | "Oh! Wot A Dream" | Kevin Ayers | Kevin Ayers | About Barrett [18] |
Mar 1973 [19] | "Brain Damage" | Roger Waters | Pink Floyd | References Barrett [20] |
Sep 1974 [21] | "Mr. Barrett" | John Steele [22] | Flaming Star | From a self-produced album dedicated to Barrett [22] |
Sep 1975 [23] | "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" | Roger Waters, Richard Wright, David Gilmour | Pink Floyd | About Barrett [24] |
1978 [25] | "Psychedelic Punkeroo" | Twink [26] | Twink And The Fairies | About Barrett [27] |
Jan 1981 [28] | "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" [29] | Dan Treacy | Television Personalities | About Barrett [30] |
Apr 1981 | "The Man Who Invented Himself" [31] | Robyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock | Wrongly supposed to be about Barrett [32] [33] [34] |
May 1984 [35] | "Song For Syd Barrett" | Martin Newell | The Cleaners from Venus | About Barrett [36] [37] |
1986 [38] | "Stolen Letters" | Magic Y, Uncle T [39] | Peter Sellers and the Hollywood Party | About Barrett [40] |
1987 [41] | "Spun Out Of A Mind" | Magic Uncle [42] | Peter Sellers and the Hollywood Party | Barrett lyrics in title (of the 7" single) [43] |
June 1992 [44] | "Song For Randy Newman Etc." | Martin Phillipps [45] | The Chills | Barrett mentioned [46] |
Mar 1994 | "High Hopes" | David Gilmour, Polly Samson | Pink Floyd | Refers to Barrett [47] |
1995 | "Syd's Wine" | Steve Peregrin Took | Steve Peregrin Took | 1972 demo. (Original 1971 song title was "Beautiful Deceiver") Release title refers to Barrett whom, Tony Secunda alleged, performed on the track. [48] |
Feb 1996 [49] | "A Star Too Far (Lullaby for Syd Barrett)" [50] | Genesis P-Orridge, Larry Thrasher | Genesis P-Orridge and Psychic TV [51] | About Barrett [6] [49] |
May 1996 | "My Man Syd" | Anton Newcombe, The BJM [52] | The Brian Jonestown Massacre | About Barrett [53] |
Oct 1998 [54] | "1974" [55] | Robyn Hitchcock | Robyn Hitchcock | Refers to Barrett [56] |
Nov 1998 [57] | "Hyperdrive Reprise" | Dave Brock | Hawkwind | Instrumental for Pink Floyd book, partial cover [58] |
2000 [59] | "Anyday-Anyway (Encore)" [60] | Kevin Coyne, Achim Goettert [61] | Kevin Coyne | From a self-distributed live album about Barrett [62] [63] |
Dec 2000 [64] | "Ya znayu, gde zhivet Syd Barrett" | Umka & Bro [65] | Umka & Bro | Russian version of "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" [64] |
June 2004 [66] [67] | "Syd Barrett Blues" | Rod Webber | Rod Webber | About Barrett [68] |
Oct 2005 [69] [70] | "Gente de Barrett" | Sidonie | Sidonie | About Barrett [71] |
Feb 2006 [72] | "Syd Barrett" | Alain Pire [73] | Michel Drucker Experience | About Barrett [74] |
Sep 2006 [75] | "Scarecrows In The Rain" [76] | Mystery Jets | Mystery Jets | About Barrett [77] |
Oct 2008 [78] | "Oranges and Apples" | The Trash Can Sinatras [79] | The Trash Can Sinatras | About Barrett [78] |
Nov 2008 | "Dark Asteroid" [80] | The Damned [81] | The Damned | Dedicated to Barrett [82] [83] |
Dec 2008 [84] | "Nobody Home" | Phil Judd, Rod Leith | Phil Judd | Refers to Barrett [85] |
2009 | "We Know Where Mr. Barrett Lives" [86] | Michael Svidén [87] [88] | Michael Swidén | Revision of a July 2006 MP3 about Barrett, [89] released in 2010 [90] |
Sep 2010 [91] | "Morts-Vivants" | Katerine [92] | Katerine | Mentions Barrett (in French) [93] |
Mar 2012 [94] | "When Your Garden's Overgrown" [95] | Paul Weller, Simon Dine [96] | Paul Weller | About Barrett [97] |
Oct 2012 | "Agnus Dei" | Fred Fortin | Gros Mené | Mentions Barrett (in French) [98] |
The above list may be incomplete, and subtle references may be found in songs not included above, especially Pink Floyd songs such as "Fearless", [12] which would be more explicit in "Brain Damage" [20] and songs in The Wall such as "Hey You" and "Nobody Home". [99] Some claimed Barrett references turn out to be spurious. [100] [101] The Shamen credit their song "It's All Around" to Barrett [102] and some bands, like Jennifer Gentle, are named after Barrett songs (in this case, from a line in "Lucifer Sam"); [103] two bands are known as Baby Lemonade. Italian band Birdy Hop is named after a Syd Barrett song; [104] the title of their debut album, Welcome To The Insanity Ride, recalls a line from "Octopus" [105] [106] and producer and singer-songwriter Amerigo Verardi [107] has been compared to Barrett. [108] Los Prisioneros's "Concepción" mentions Barrett in the chorus, referencing the rumors about him living in Chiguayante, and how supposedly the 2 cities he ever made a concert in were London and Concepción. [109]
Of the many cover versions of Syd Barrett songs, [13] [110] the best-known are David Bowie's 1973 "See Emily Play", [111] The Jesus and Mary Chain's 1984 "Vegetable Man", [112] R.E.M.'s 1989 "Dark Globe" and the Smashing Pumpkins' 1991 "Terrapin". [113]
Sharing and streaming over the Internet has resulted in a number of unreleased Barrett tributes, including the 1999 mp3 "Elephant" by Rex Tangle on his website, [114] the 2000 instrumental MP3 "A Tribute to Syd" by The Worms on disc 18 of Have You Got It Yet?, [13] a 2007 video of "There's A Man In Cambridge (Song for Syd Barrett)" by "Alec" on YouTube, [115] and a 2007 parody cover video ("Pink Floyd – Paying The Piper") by "Pauldullson", also on YouTube. [116]
The following are references cited in order to link to explanatory information. The references not cited in specific parts of the article are in the External links section at the bottom of the page. The other sources are in the next section.
A Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 June 1968 by EMI Columbia in the UK and in the US by Tower Records. The mental health of the singer and guitarist Syd Barrett deteriorated during recording, so David Gilmour was recruited; Barrett left the band before the album's completion.
Opel is a 1988 album compiled from recordings made by former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett between 1968 and 1970. The album is a compilation of unreleased material and alternative takes of recordings from sessions for Barrett's solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett.
The Madcap Laughs is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a lengthy recording history, with work beginning in May 1968, but the bulk of the sessions taking place between April and July 1969, for which five different producers were credited − including Barrett, Peter Jenner, Malcolm Jones, and fellow Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters. Among the guest musicians are Willie Wilson from Gilmour's old band Jokers Wild and several members of Soft Machine.
Barrett is the second and final studio album of new material released by former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett. Recording began at Abbey Road Studios on 26 February 1970, and lasted for 15 sessions until 21 July. The album was produced by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Richard Wright, who also contributed on bass and keyboards respectively, along with previous Madcap contributor Jerry Shirley on drums.
"Interstellar Overdrive" is an instrumental composition written and performed by the English rock band Pink Floyd. The song was written in 1966 and is on their 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, clocking in at almost ten minutes in length. It features long sections of free-form instrumental improvisation reflective of the group's live performances.
Crazy Diamond is a 1993 triple-CD boxed set of Syd Barrett's two 1970 albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, and Opel, an out-takes compilation from 1988. All discs are further augmented by various alternate takes.
"Our main plan was to find Syd's acoustic takes, before the other musicians were drafted in to overdub them. But we stumbled across some fascinating material that sheds new light on Syd's working methods." — Phil Smee
Stars were a short-lived British supergroup that played a small number of live concerts in Cambridge in February 1972. Its members were Syd Barrett on guitar, Twink on drums, and Jack Monck on bass.
"Octopus" is a song by Syd Barrett, released as his debut solo single in November 1969. In January 1970, it appeared on his first solo album The Madcap Laughs.
"Remember a Day" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, written and sung by their keyboardist Richard Wright, appearing on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). It was performed by Pink Floyd only once, as an encore in May 1968; it was subsequently performed by David Gilmour in September 2008 in memory of Wright, who had recently died of cancer, on Later... with Jools Holland, and by Nick Mason during his Saucerful of Secrets tour. The dreamy, poetic lyrics are about nostalgia for the lost paradise of early childhood.
"Arnold Layne" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. Released on 10 March 1967, it was the band's first single and was written by Syd Barrett.
"Lucifer Sam" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, featured on the band's debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967).
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, known for his whimsical style of psychedelia, English-accented singing, and stream-of-consciousness writing style. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for employing effects such as dissonance, distortion, echo and feedback.
"Dark Globe" is a song by Syd Barrett, released on his first solo album The Madcap Laughs.
"Vegetable Man" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, written by the frontman, Syd Barrett, and recorded in 1967. It was considered for a release as a single or for inclusion on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, but went unreleased. Bootlegged for decades, the song did not have an official release until 2016, when it was included on the box set The Early Years 1965–1972.
"Scream Thy Last Scream" is a song by Pink Floyd, written by frontman Syd Barrett and scheduled to be the band's next single after "See Emily Play".
"Terrapin" is the opening song on Syd Barrett's first solo album The Madcap Laughs. Its arrangement is sparse, like much of the album, and features only acoustic and electric guitar accompaniment to the vocals. This song, along with "Maisie" and "Bob Dylan Blues"; reflected Barrett's early interest in the blues. Iggy the Eskimo, one of Barrett's acquaintances, had called the song "quite catchy".
Syd Barrett (1946–2006) was an English rock musician who was best known as the original frontman and primary songwriter of Pink Floyd. With the band, he recorded and wrote the majority of songs for their first album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and was credited for one song on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets. To this day, his Pink Floyd songs are used frequently on the band's various compilations.
"Baby Lemonade" is the opening track to Syd Barrett's second studio album, Barrett. "Baby Lemonade", and another song, "Gigolo Aunt", were recorded by Barrett playing and singing over a prerecorded backing track. The solo was performed by Barrett, not David Gilmour as is often noted. The intro was actually Barrett simply warming-up on guitar, that Gilmour had managed to record and placed it at the start of the album, making it seem like an intro to the song. It was included on the multi-artist Harvest compilation, A Breath of Fresh Air – A Harvest Records Anthology 1969–1974 in 2007.
Where not otherwise specified, the retrieved dates in the reference section are assumed to be 28 March 2014.
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