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Barrett in concert (Larger image)
Barrett (More recent image) (Larger image)
He was originally the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter but since he remained a member for only a short period, he is remembered primarily for his contributions to the band's first album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), and the hit singles "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne", plus two solo albums.
Although his activity in pop music was short, his influence on 60s artists (and those of successive generations) has been profound.
As Pink Floyd's popularity grew and his alleged consumption of psychotropic drugs (chiefly LSD) increased, Syd's appearance became unpredictable and his behavior a hinderance to the success of the band. After recording some parts for Pink Floyd's second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968), Barrett 'left' the group. That is to say, the other members just discontinued picking him up to go to concerts and jams. Syd increasingly withdrew from the world of music, releasing a couple of idiosyncratic solo albums The Madcap Laughs (1970) and Barrett (1970) en route. On these albums he worked together with former Pink Floyd band-mates Roger Waters and David Gilmour and members of The Soft Machine. Sessions for a third album were unfruitful.
The Pink Floyd album Wish You Were Here (1975) was a thematic tribute to Syd; the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", which opens and closes the album, has been acknowledged by Floyd members to be explicitly about their former frontman. The Television Personalities track "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" is another well-known tribute. Roger Waters supposedly used Syd's departure and condition as inspiration on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Waters also based much of the the behavior and personality of Pink, his main character from The Wall, on real-life Barrett.
In 1988, Capitol Records released Opel, an album of Barrett's studio outtakes and previously unreleased material recorded in 1970. Capitol also released The Best of Syd Barrett - Wouldn't You Miss Me? in Great Britain on April 16, 2001, and in the United States on September 11, 2001.
Discography
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