Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

was an English singer, songwriter, musician and painter who co-founded the rock band

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

in 1965. He was known to be reclusive. Reclusiveness may coincide with

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

s 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 "Interstellar Overdrive" is an instrumental composition written and performed by 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. The so ...

" exemplify Pink Floyd's early psychedelic period. Barrett left Pink Floyd less than a year after the release of their first single, "

Arnold Layne "Arnold Layne" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. Released on 10 March 1967, it was the band's first single release. It was written by Syd Barrett. Lyrics The song's title character is a transvestite whose strange hobby is stealing wo ...

". He played with the band only on their first album ''(

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 5 August 1967 by EMI Columbia. It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founding member Syd Barrett (lead vocals, g ...

)'', 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 Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

'' became a popular screed against music business with its theme the loss of Barrett. With the decline of the

record industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

and changes in the music business, Barrett's alienation remains relevant. The following list is indicative of Barrett's legacy.

Songs

Other songs

The above list may be incomplete, and subtle references may be found in songs not included above, especially Pink Floyd songs such as "

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

", which would be more explicit in "

Brain Damage Neurotrauma, brain damage or brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating t ...

" and songs in ''The Wall'' such as " Hey You" and " Nobody Home". Some claimed Barrett references turn out to be spurious.

The Shamen The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter St ...

credit their song "It's All Around" to Barrett and some bands, like Jennifer Gentle, are named after Barrett songs (in this case, from a line in "

Lucifer Sam "Lucifer Sam" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, featured on the band's debut album '' The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' (1967). Music and lyrics The song is built around a descending riff, with the dominant instrument being composer Syd ...

"); two bands are known as Baby Lemonade. Italian band Birdy Hop is named after a Syd Barrett song; the title of their debut album, ''Welcome To The Insanity Ride'', recalls a line from "

Octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

" and producer and singer-songwriter Amerigo Verardi has been compared to Barrett.

Los Prisioneros Los Prisioneros ("The Prisoners") were a Chilean rock/pop band formed in San Miguel, Santiago, in 1983. They are considered one of the most important Chilean bands, and arguably the strongest musical influences that Chile has made to Latin Ame ...

'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. Edgar Froese and Tangerine Dream recorded a tribute album to Syd Barrett, Madcap's Flaming Duty in 2007.

Cover versions of Barrett songs

Of the many cover versions of Syd Barrett songs, the best-known are

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's 1973 "See Emily Play",

The Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid. After signing to independent label Creation Records, they re ...

's 1984 "Vegetable Man", R.E.M.'s 1989 "Dark Globe" and

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...

' 1991 "Terrapin".

Internet songs

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, the 2000 instrumental MP3 "A Tribute to Syd" by The Worms on disc 18 of ''Have You Got It Yet?'', a 2007 video of "There's A Man In Cambridge (Song for Syd Barrett)" by "Alec" on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

, and a 2007 parody cover video ("Pink Floyd – Paying The Piper") by "Pauldullson", also on YouTube.

Notes

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.

References

Where not otherwise specified, the retrieved dates in the reference section are assumed to be 28 March 2014.