Syd Barrett Pink Floyd Psychedelic Music Progressive Music

Syd Barrett Bob Dylan Blues Lyrical Analysis

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:12:00 +0000

Syd Barrett Bob Dylan Blues Lyrical Analysis (by Bearmail)

Like "Effervescing Elephant" (recorded for the BBC three days earlier), "Bob Dylan Blues" was most likely written during Syd's teenage years in Cambridge. It's unique in the Barrett canon in that it satirizes an icon of the '60s cultural revolution with which Syd himself is associated. The song's early origins are indicated by its reactions to the album The Freewheeling' Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 when Syd was 17 years old.

The recitation of Dylan's full name twice in the song's opening line pokes fun at the egoism of two titles on Freewheeling': "Bob Dylan's Blues" [not to be confused with Syd's song] and "Bob Dylan's Dream." In fairness to Dylan, eponymous song-titling dates back (at least) to early blues records like "Ma Rainey's Mystery Record" (1924) and Blind Willie McTell's "Mr. McTell Got The Blues" (1927). Steeped in the folk and blues tradition, Dylan probably associated this practice with unimpeachable artists like these (not to mention Woody Guthrie).

In the chorus lyric "the wind you can blow it," Barrett cites the "blowing wind" motif in "Girl From The North Country," "Bob Dylan's Blues" and of course "Blowin' In The Wind." Syd's self-referring rhyme of "dreams" and "seems" occurs in "Talking World War III Blues," while the reference to singing about "war in the cold" comes from "Masters Of War." The "shoes" in Syd's song appear in Dylan's "Down the Highway," while the "hat" appears in both "Bob Dylan's Blues" and "Bob Dylan's Dream," from which Dylan's mention of "a thousand dollars at the drop of a hat" becomes Barrett's jibe at the fan who "buys all my discs and a hat/and when I'm in town go see that" (he did).

Pink Floyd It Would Be So Nice - live fragment

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:40:00 +0000

Fragment of the show Rome Goes Pop! at Palazzo Dello Sport, Roma, Italy.
Dated 1968-05-06.

Pink Floyd It Would Be So Nice lyrics:

It would be so nice to meet sometime

Ev'rybody wakes and in the morning - hot tea
Can't stop yawning
Pass the butter please
Have you ever read the Daily Standard
Reading all about the plane that landed upside down

But no one knows what I did today
There can be no other way
But I would just like to say:
It would be so nice

Everybody cares about the weather
Everybody should know better
What a waste of time
Everybody lives beneath the ceiling
Living out a dream that sends them reeling
To a distant place

But no one knows what I did today
There can be no other way
But I would just like to say:
It would be so nice to meet sometime

Syd Barrett Baby Lemonade Lyric Interpretation

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:06:00 +0000

SYD BARRETT BABY LEMONADE LYRIC INTERPRETATION - BY GEELERFEELER

"In the sad town cold iron hands clap the party of clowns outside"

This is a sad song. It took a while to decide that it was, because the lyrics are thicket like & hard to explain without beeing far fetched

Ready?:

Say You're like a house, but You're so sad You're a "sad town". What then sounds are like terrible noise brought about by iron hands applauding. Imaging that for a tinnitus!!! Outside Your "sad town" every body else are just hunky dory, fine and all & to You they are just like clowns on a party

"rain falls in gray far away"

None of the clowns notice it, but in the horizon rain pours down, could it be the future looks disastrous?

"please please baby lemonade"

First I thought this was just Syd's way of mocking the record business demand for a shallow & chewing gum like refrain. But it can also be; If a boy loves a girl too much, her given name won't fit the image he has of her. He will be her "baby", & she will be his "lemonade"...& henceforth thou shall be: "Baby Lemonade"

"In the evening sun going down when the earth streams in in the morning"

Sounds like a paradox, but It can be true if You shoot the picture from two different angles. So what does it mean? Maybe nothing! Maybe there's always two different aspects to a given situation. You can decide

"send a cage through the post make your name like a ghost"

The same here. It could mean nothing, just a way to put sounds together. If I make some sort of explanation, it will be to express Your sorrow & captivity (the cage) to the outside world by making a song, record it (send it through the post) & by doing that You "make Your name like a ghost". It can be some sort of ritual to chase away the bad spirits (the sorrow & loneliness)

"please please baby lemonade"

By reaching out to the outside world, the poet calls for his lost love (baby lemonade)

"I'm screaming I met you this way you're nice to me like ice"

Ha ha !!! That's funny. Chilled lemonade perhaps???

"in a clock they sent through a washing machine"

Another far fetched theory: Time heals all wounds, washes away the pain like a washing machine through a clock (the time)

"come around make it soon so alone"

Even if the lemonade is cold like ice, the poet still wants to meet her

"please please baby lemonade"

Upgrade of 'Syd on a Tube train' photo

noreply@blogger.com (markjones1970) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:40:00 +0000

This was shown in the 1994 Ominbus TV documentary 'Pink Floyd - The Story'. The version currently doing the rounds is about the fifth of the size of this one and is incomplete. Here is a brand new capture of the pic, a pic that hasn't shown up anywhere else since.

Apples & Oranges

noreply@blogger.com (markjones1970) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:51:00 +0000

(Illustration from 'The Amazing Pudding', Issue 59, June 1993)

"Apples and Oranges" (released 1967) is the third U.K. single by Pink Floyd and the final one written by Syd Barrett. The B-side was "Paint Box" written by Richard Wright. The song is about a girl whom the narrator meets at the supermarket. It is one of a handful of songs by the Pink Floyd which deal directly with love.
The Pink Floyd, along with Barrett, mimed the song on their first US televised performance on American Bandstand. After Barrett was replaced by David Gilmour, the band recorded a promotional film in Belgium in a fruit market with Waters lip synching.

This was the group's first single that failed to break into the U.K. charts, and their U.S. label Tower Records issued a U.S.-only single instead: "Flaming" b/w "The Gnome" (Tower 378). Waters blamed the single's sales performance on Norman Smith: "'Apples and Oranges' was destroyed by the production. It's a fucking good song."

Both sides of the single were mixed in stereo, but the single was issued in mono. The stereo mix of "Paintbox" first appeared on the Relics compilation (1971), and both tracks appeared in stereo on the Masters of Rock compilation (1974). The other four early U.K. singles were issued in mono originally. "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play", "It Would Be So Nice", and "Point Me at the Sky" only exist in mono or false stereo, while "Julia Dream" and possibly "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" were remixed for stereo at a later time, for inclusion on Relics. Mono and stereo mixes of "Apples and Oranges" and the mono mix of "Paintbox" are included in the 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition release of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

Quotes
• "It's a happy song, and it's got a touch of Christmas. It's about a girl who I saw just walking round town, in Richmond." – Syd Barrett

Personnel
• Syd Barrett - Guitar and Vocals
• Richard Wright - Keyboard and Backing vocals
• Roger Waters - Bass and Backing vocals
• Nick Mason - Drums and Percussion

APPLES AND ORANGES

Got a flip-top pack of cigarettes in your pocket
feeling good at the top shopping in shops
she's walking in the sunshine town feeling very cool
at the butchers and the bakers and the supermarket stores
getting everything she wants from the supermarket stores

Apples and oranges apples and oranges

Cornering neatly she trips up sweetly to meet the people
she's on time again and then
I catch it by the eye then I stop and have to think
what a funny thing to do 'cuz I'm feeling very pink

Apples and oranges apples and oranges

I love she she loves me
see you see you see you

Apples and oranges apples and oranges
apples oranges apples oranges apples oranges

Thought you might like to know
I'm her lorry driver man
she's on the run
down by the riverside
feeding ducks in the afternoon tide

Apples and oranges apples and oranges
apples and oranges

photo upgrades from 'The Pink Floyd & Syd Barrett Story' DVD

noreply@blogger.com (markjones1970) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0000

The copies of these floating around are taken from a video CD. These are fresh grabs taken from the DVD, which improves the clarity. The photo of Syd with Libby and the one of him with the cat are pan & scans and are a composite from 3 or more screen grabs (in these cases, the documentary doesn't show the whole photo, the camera scans across it. Again, click on pic for full size versions).

Syd & Floyd 'Amazing Pudding' photo upgrades Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (markjones1970) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:33:00 +0000

For information on where these pic upgrades come from please see Part 1. (Don't forget that you can click on the photo to bring up the full size version).

Syd & Floyd 'Amazing Pudding' photo upgrades Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (markjones1970) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:19:00 +0000

For information on where these pic upgrades come from please see Part 1.

Syd & Floyd 'Amazing Pudding' photo upgrades Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (markjones1970) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:12:00 +0000

When I 1st got on 'tinternet in the late 90s one of the 1st things I did was scan in the RARE & PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED photos that had been printed in early/mid 1990s editions of the Floyd fanzine 'Amazing Pudding'. There was a SERIOUS lack of good Syd Barrett pics on the internet back then, just a few grainy B&W shots that I had in much better quality. While writing the book 'Crazy Diamond' Pete Anderson had been lent many pics by various people that didn't get to go in the book so he chose to let us see them via 'The Amazing Pudding' before handing those precious photos back to their original owners. If you've seen these pics before then chances are they are from my copies and that I scanned them in all those years ago. Well, now I've dug out those said fanzines again and rescanned those images. I was a beginner back then and the images were pretty grotty. Some are STILL pretty grotty, but it's the best we've got. So here I present these still-ultra-rare-pics (as far as I know, these STILL haven't been published anywhere else or are available in better quality. If you know otherwise, enlighten me!) for you all to enjoy. More to follow...

Astronomy Domine - Lyrical Analysis

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:07:00 +0000

By Geelerfeeler. First posted on the LaughingMadcaps, Syd Barrett, group in 2004.

ASTRONOMY DOMINE

Interpretation of the contents:

If you look at the verses technically, it's all playing with words, alliterations & rhymes.
At the same time it's contents describing an acid trip, or similar experience.

"Lime and limpid green a second scene, the fights between the blue you once knew"

The familiar shades of blue (the sky, the sea) fights against dissolvement & looses, altered into different shades of (translucent) green. What was percepted as the world to Our knowledge is metamorphosed into other shapes & colors. That is the second scene. A new world.

"floating down the sound resounds around the icy waters underground"

Sounds & colors become the same & floats down into the frost in the ground, undermining it.. The ground being the platform of Our existence.

"Jupiter and Saturn Oberon Miranda and Titania, Neptune Titan stars can frighten"

A closer look at this new emerged underground scene, the spotty colors become stars
in the space. The stars being isolated units of energy. A panicking sense of giddiness,
of being completely lost, falling between poles miles apart.

"Blinding signs flap, flicker flicker flicker blam pow pow"

Suddenly the self gets aware of a platform, & everything else starts to fall.
The reaction is movement out of control, flashing lights, sounds of explosions.

"stairway scare Dan Dare who's there"

Standing on the verge of another dimension is like looking down a stairway to the
unknown. What is hidden in the basement? Does one dare to even ask who's there?

"Lime and limpid green the sound surrounds the icy waters under
lime and limpid green the sound surrounds the icy waters underground"

Vision, sound & sense are all floating round like a hideous vortex.
The self is lost in an angry trip.

Technical analysis:

Allitterations marked x_
Rhymes marked -x

Trying to mark out all the alliterations & rhymes of this lyric makes it look
like complete gibberish, but it also points out that the content might have come
in second hand in the making of it (or was it a tie?). It's interesting enough.
The meter is mainly trochaic, first & third line ended with a spondee, second with a single stressed syllable. The last lines are spondaic. The fifth line doesn't follow this pattern at all. However, the meter is all very eloquent, though I doubt it follows any known form.

L_ime and l_impid gr-een a s_econd s_c-ene
the fights b_etw-een the b_-lue you once -knew
floating d-own the s_-ound res_-ounds a-round the icy waters under-ground
Jupiter and Saturn Oberon Miranda and Titania
Neptune T-itan stars can fr-ighten

Bl_-inding s-igns fl_ap fl_icker fl_icker fl_icker bl_am p_ow p_ow
s_tairway s_c-are D_an D_-are who's th-ere

L_i(_)me and l_impid gr-een the s_-ound s_urr-ounds the i(_)cy waters under
l_i(_)me and l_impid gr-een the s_-ound s_urr-ounds the i(_)cy waters undergr-ound

Syd Barrett - Have You Got It Yet? HYGIY? Linear Notes: Original Discs 1-10

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:14:00 +0000

Linear notes for the original Have You Got It Yet? Set Discs 1-10.

Track lists and notation for HYGIY disc 1

1. Lucy Leave (Acetate) 2:53
2. King Bee (Acetate) 3:04

Studio recordings dubbed from EMI disc acetates believed to having been recorded at Thompson's Private Recording Company sometime in October of 1966. Another alternative for a recording date is believed to have been in mid-1965, possibly at Regent Sound in London.

The first track is a standard ‘(I'm a) King bee’, very popular in the sixties. Barrett's version, as a matter of fact, is quite similar to that included by the Rolling Stones months later before on their first album. Lucy leave instead is probably the first Syd Barrett penned Pink Floyd recording, at least according to what Nick Mason said to J. Marie Leduc in 1973

"Our first song was Lucy Lea in Blue tight or something like that. We taped it but never published it".

It is interesting to listen to the vocal part, in line with the vocal standards of the beat era, with a clear Jagger-like style.

3. Interstellar Overdrive (San Francisco version) 14:56
Recorded on the 31st of October 1966 at the Thompson Private Recording Studios

This version of "Interstellar Overdrive" is not as listed “a demo” but was used for the 1967 short film "San Francisco" by filmmaker Anthony Stern.

Record Collector notes the film as follows:
“Film director Anthony Stern produced this episodic 15 minute documentary of a day in the life of the Psychedelic City of San Francisco while the Pink Floyd improvised a version of "Interstellar Overdrive" on the soundtrack, apparently the group's first proper recording.”

Another sources notes that the track was recorded in Syd Barrett’s garage but this is not likely.

4. Mike Leonard Interview 2:05

This track come from a BBC documentary aired in early January 1968, segments of which later have been reprised in various Pink Floyd documentaries.

Record collector: "The film was shot at the very end of 1967 and was built around their old landlord, Mike Leonard, who made light machines. The band was present to illustrate the sound/light technique and was seen performing an unknown instrumental reported in the press as being penned by Waters and Mason.”

The track played during the interview remains unidentified but some mean that this might be a very early incarnation of “Set the controls for the heart of the sun”.

5. Interstellar Overdrive (Soundtrack) 9:43
6. Nick's Boogie (Soundtrack) 11:53
7. Interstellar Overdrive, (Soundtrack LP) 3:06

These three tracks derive from the movie “Tonight let’s all make love in London” by Peter Whitehead – A tribute to the swinging London. The film itself included performances by the Pink Floyd. One of these from the UFO club (Early 1967) and the other from the 14 hour Technicolor dream (29th of April 1967).

Colin Miles (of See for Miles) spoke of the find in British Music magazine VOX: “I think the most incredible find must be twenty-four minutes of unreleased Pink Floyd. Peter Whitehead brings his seven-inch tape with all this green mould growing all over it and I thought, Oh dear, what can we do with that? But it was so tightly would, the sound is absolutely superb.”

Rumours have it that The Floyd also cut an early version of Astronomy Domine at this time, but whether it was the product of these or subsequent sessions are unclear.

Track 5 is not found on the soundtrack CD. This is an edit of that performance, and an alternate mix. This is what was actually used within the film.

Track 6 is the performance found on the CD, but here it has, by the compilers, been rendered into stereo digitally. No tracks recorded or presented in the movie have been in stereo.

Track 7 is what appeared on the original soundtrack LP back in the 1960s. (It's interesting mostly for historical purposes. For twenty years, this is all anyone could hear of that version.)

The tracks were recorded at Sound technique Studios in Chelsea on the 11th or 12th of January 1967, alas the musical tracks were dubbed onto film of the band performing.

8. Matilda Mother, (Live at UFO) 2:35

9. Interstellar Overdrive, (Live at UFO) 5:04

Recorded on the 7th of March 1967 for the “SCENE SPECIAL (Alias It’s so far out, It’s straight down!” broadcast on Granada TV.

The burgeoning London underground scene was covered in detail in this excellent documentary (directed by Jo Durden Smith), screened in the Granada region only. Miles, John “Hoppy” Hopkins, Paul McCartney and Allen Ginsberg where among the talking heads while the Floyd were heard playing an early version of “Mathilda Mother” (then known as “Percy the Ratcatcher”). Later in the film they were seen performing “Interstellar Overdrive” at the UFO Club, in footage shot on 20th January 1967.

10. Let's Roll another One (Rehearsal) 1:46

11. Instrumental, (Rehearsal) 1:09

Taped on a home tape recorder at the Floyds rehearsal space in Mike Leonard's house, apparently on 20 Jan 1967.

"Let's Roll Another One" was the original title of "Candy And A Currant Bun." They had to change the words to please the censors, but at this point the song should still have had this title -- and so even though no vocals can be heard, we present it this way.

The "instrumental" is simply that -- the band noodling about for a minute or so while the tape happened to roll. This is sometimes titled "I Get Stoned" or "Stoned Alone" on bootlegs, but is nothing more than a bit of random music.

12. Arnold Layne, (Acetate) 2:37

13. Candy And A Currant Bun (Acetate) 2:02
Recorded at London, Sound Techniques Studios, January 23-25, 1967

Arnold Layne, here presented on a EMI Disc Acetate differs from the finished version by the *
fade-in 2 seconds after the actual start and a strange edit which skips the organ solo.

Candy and a Currant bun is here presented in an early from with the lyrics:
“…I’m high don’t try to spoil my fun – don’t cry we’ll have another one!”. These lyrics were most likely cut on the later release due to pressure from EMI. Also CAACB boasts a different verse structure with no organ nor guitar solos.

J.Palacios notes: "Candy and a Currant Bun” had begun as "Let's Roll Another One", an unsubtle ode to the joys of smoking dope, but EMI balked. Once gain, the Floyd were forced to acquiesce. "We had to change all the lyrics," said Waters, "because it was about rolling joints. ... it had lines in it like, 'Tastes good if you eat it right...' No they did not like it at all." When told to change the words to "Let's Roll Another One", a mischievous (and rather annoyed) Syd snuck the word 'fuck' into the rewritten version..

14. Interstellar Overdrive (EP mix) 5:14

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, March 14-15, 1967 later mixed for EP use on March 22, 1967.
A unique version of Interstellar Overdrive. This mix only, available only on the French EP for Arnold Layne, Candy And A Currant Bun and Interstellar Overdrive (ESRF 1857)
contains the basic track, without overdubs and fades out before the actual end of the song cutting the whole outro.

15. Pow R Toc H (BBC TV) 1:49

16. Astronomy Domine (BBC TV) 3:57

From BBC2 “Look of the Week” 14th of May 1967.

Record Collector: “Pink Floyd opened the program with a brief “Pow R. Toc H” and popped up later in a classic piece of television farce, when they were patronized by Dr. Hans Keller. After a live “Astronomy Domine”, he engaged Waters and Barrett in an unintentionally hilarious discussion. Both songs and part of the interview have been repeated over the years, most notably on BBC-2s “Sound of the Seventies”.

17. See Emily Play (Stereo Enhanced) 2:52

This track was digitally processed from the original mono mix. It is not the "fake stereo" version found on the Relics album, but a fan-created mix.

The track was recorded at Sound Techniques Studios, London on May 18 & 21, 1967

Track lists and notation for HYGIY disc 2

1. Arnold Layne (Stereo enhanced) 2 :51

2. Candy And A Currant Bun (Stereo enhanced) 2 :44
Possibly Recorded on the 27th of February 1967 at Sound Techniques Studios.
Alternatively on the 23rd -25th of January 1967

A note for the tapes appear in “Making Madcap Laughs” as “Not issued”. There is no tape number in the files.

Without definite information it is impossible to state categorically which of the above tapes are different takes of the same title or simply continued progress on the same basic recording. I have refrained from guessing!

This track was digitally processed from the original mono mix. It is not the "fake stereo" version found on the “Masters of Rock” album, this is a fan-created mix.

3. Remember A Day (Mono) 4 :23
Recorded on the 9th of May 1967 at Sound Techniques Studios.
This mono version is from an acetate mixed in mono possibly intended for use on “Piper at the Gates of Dawn“.

4. See Emily Play (Acetate) 2 :53
Recorded on the 21st of May 1967 at Sound Techniques Studios

This version is very close to the one release on single, there are only slight changes in the mix (vocals are undermixed, organ is more in the front...) and the very end is uncut with a audible guitar.

5. Flaming (US. Mono single mix) 2 :45
Recorded on the 29th of June 1967 at Abbey Road Studios
"Flaming" was not on the first US release of "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" album, and was then released as a single. This version is different from the regular mix: background noises are mixed much louder.

6. Instrumental (aka “Sunshine”) 1 :36 Recorded on the 4th of September 1967 at Abbey Road Studios

Originally listed as begin recorded on the 9th of April 1967 but there is some disputes concerning the real recording dates. This untitled outtake was probably recorded around the same time "Jugband Blues" and "Vegetable Man" were recorded.

On a lot of circulating copies, the title of this outtake is "Sunshine", but it's wrong ("Sunshine" was a working title for something that was later included in "Matilda Mother", and no outtake ever surfaced for this track).

But it is most likely "Untitled" -- labeled as such on the studio reel, and never was assigned a title. It has not been confirmed, but by process of elimination has been assigned the date of 4 Sept 1967. (This is an edit of a longer piece, it went on for three or four minutes.)

On thing can though be said about it – This is not “Beechwoods”

For more information read “SYD BARRETT, SILAS LANG & “SUNSHINE” OR: THE PROS AND CONS OF NIT PICKING” published in the Late Night fanzine.

7. Set The Controls for the heart of the (Syd's part) 0 :32
Recorded on the 7th of August 1967 at Abbey Road Studios

David Gilmour: Syd's on three or four tracks on 'A Saucerful of Secrets', including 'Remember a Day' and 'Jugband Blues'. He's also on a tiny bit of 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun.' (Editor's note: according to various sources, Syd may have also played on 'Corporal Clegg' and 'See Saw')

Malcolm Jones: Syd Barrett does not appear on many of the above titles, although his original contributions may have been replaced. He certainly appears on Jug Band Blues and Remember A Day. He has been variously credited with playing on 'Let There Be More Light', 'Corporal Clegg' (both of which seem unlikely), Set The Controls, (recorded originally shortly after the release of 'Piper' and there is no trace in the files of a later multi-track tape to replace the original). This latter track seems most likely, looking at the date of its first recording, to have featured Syd, although aurally it seems unlikely. Rick Sanders also states that Syd is on See Saw, which is, at least, in the style of Syd's early Floyd material.

8. Scream Thy Last Scream (Peter Jenner 1974 mix) 4:41
Recorded on the 7th of August 1967 at Abbey Road Studios

The vocals a clearly mixed and balanced towards the music on the Jenner ’74 mix.
This may be the most widespread version of “Scream thy last Scream”. This mix most likely from the period just before or after the 1974 session which Syd didn’t complete. There was talk of releasing Syd's outtakes as early as 1974. Jenner believed he might be able to use them for the "third album," and so he mixed them for this purpose.

It so seems that once the recording sessions collapsed (See disc 4 tracks 28-36) Jenner started to look through the archives in hope to produce a compilation of Syd Barrett tracks (Not unlike the 1988 release “Opel”) but that too failed. With no other options at hand EMI re-released “The Madcap Laughs” and “Barrett” as “Syd Barrett” (Harvest SHDW 404).

9. Scream thy last scream (coda) 0 :18
Unknown recording date

This 18 second tape loop leaves anyone slightly baffled. Bleeps and the sound of a tape rewinding mixed low in the background. When it’s noted that the authenticity is dubious then it is most likely a correct note. The segment is nowhere to be found on any of the released

10. Vegetable Man (Peter Jenner 1974 mix) 2 :30 Recorded 5-6th of September 1967 at Sound Techinques Studio
See track 8 & 18-19

9. Scream thy last scream (coda)
10. Vegetable Man (Peter Jenner 1974 mix)
11. Flaming (BBC Top Gear) 2 :41
12. Scarecrow (BBC Top Gear) 2:05
13. The Gnome (BBC Top Gear) 2 :14
14. Matilda Mother (BBC Top Gear) 3 :26
15. Reaction In G (Top Gear) 0 :35
16. Set The Controls for the heart of the sun (Top Gear) 3 :14
Recorded at the BBC Playhouse Theatre, London, England on the 25th of September 1967
BBC notes it to having been premiered on October 1st 1967

The Floyd taped four songs from Piper at the Gates of Dawn, as well as ‘Apples and Oranges’, the latter is the same recording as the single release. Versions of ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’ and ‘Reaction in G’ were also recorded during this session but not broadcast.

17. Jugband Blues (Mono) 2 :58
Recorded 24th of October 1967 at Abbey Road

Malcolm Jones: 9/5/68 The following session possibly took place outside Abbey Road, probably at Sound Techniques. My reasons for this assumption are as follows. The 4 track masters are on 1/2 inch tape, which EMI did not use. Secondly, Jug Band Blues was filed in mono on 24/10/67, although there was no previous record in the files of a 4 track tape. It is likely, therefore, that the mono mix was received at EMI (originally for single release) and that the 4 track followed later on this master reel the following May. There was similarly no 4 track for 'Remember a Day', although,
if this was re-titled from the original title of 'Sunshine', there was a 4 track.

But then again it’s also likely that the take presented here is from the final mix session (the one intended for the Mono Release of the “Saucerful of Secrets” album. That date has been set to the 9th of May 1968.

Jugband Blues was intended as the follow-up to Pink Floyd's second single, See Emily Play. This is the only track with notable differences between the stereo and mono versions-the latter having more guitar and vocals. It exists in three official versions- UK stereo, the UK mono, and the stereo mix from the Canadian A Nice Pair. The Canadian version of Jugband included a different stereo mix, unknown elsewhere. Whether or not Syd was truly aware of his own slide into the abyss, may not ever be known, but, lines like 'I’m most obliged to you for making it clear that I'm not here/And I'm wondering who could be writing this song'...could safely be described as the ultimate self-diagnosis on a state of schizophrenia. "Syd knew exactly what was happening to him, but was powerless to stop it. He knew he was going wrong inside." [Andrew King]

18. Scream Thy Last Scream, (Malcolm Jones 1987 mix) 4 :40
Recorded 7th of August 1967 at Abbey Road Studios

19. Vegetable Man, (Malcolm Jones 1987 mix) 2 :37
Recorded 5-6th of September 1967 at Sound Technique Studio

It can once again only be assumed that there were greater plans to include these two tracks on the, then forthcoming, Syd Barrett compilation “Opel”. Once again we’re dealing with two very clean mixes of these lost tracks. Note that the vocals and voices on Vegetable man are much louder mixed and it features a long outro, not echoed madly like the Jenner 74 mix.

When work commenced for “Opel”, Malcolm Jones came in and did a couple of test mixes. However, his failing health prevented him from accomplishing much; I believe he put in just one day's work. The "Vegetable Man" mix sounds as if he was merely testing the levels and trying to determine what was on the tape -- this could not have been intended for any commercial release. Gareth Cousins was eventually given the job of mixing the bonus tracks included in the Crazy Diamond box set following the work he’d done on “Opel”.

There are obviously three different sets of mixes for “the lost single”. 2 Mono mixes and one Fake Stereo mix. The Jenner 1974 mixes are the partially fake Stereo mixes where as the later 1988 Malcolm Jones Mixes are the real mono ones (Note that the 1974 VM is a true Stereo track). – Why Jones would mix VM and STLS in Mono for a possible inclusion on “Opal” is not so hard to understand. But then again Jones gives no indication towards a actual Stereo recording session for these tracks. As for Scream thy last scream the instruments and vocals are mainly mono. However, some stereo effects can be heard, especially on the background noises (high pitched voices). This may be a later enhancement. Much of the stereo effects on Scream thy last Scream seem to be contributed to the tape being echoes with a stereo delay.

20. Apples And Oranges (Stereo) 3 :04
Recorded 15th (See below) of November 1967 at Abbey Road
A real Stereo mix of Apples and Oranges released on the 2 Compilations “Best of..” and “Masters of Rock” in 1970 respectively 1973. (See additional notes at the end of the track list for disc 2.)

21. Paint Box (Stereo) 3 :29
Recorded 12th??? of November 1967 at Abbey Road

This might be the wrong date for all I can see in the Malcolm Jones list. There a recording dates on the 2nd of November (66563-4T) and on the again on the 15th (66771), the latter which is labelled Stereo – Thus It’s fair to assume that the recording date was on the 15th of November together with “Apples and Oranges” (See Track 20).

22. Vegetable Man (Top Gear) 3 :15
23. Pow R Toc H (Top Gear) 2:53
24. Scream Thy Last Scream (Top Gear) 3 :39
25. Jugband Blues (Top Gear) 3 :49
Recorded on the 20th of December 1967 at Maida Vale Studio 4, London for BBC ‘Top Gear’
This BBC session is especially crucial because it’s one of the very last appearances Barrett made with the band (he played his last show with the following January). ‘Vegetable Man’ includes a very short instrumental section and the chaotic feeling of the original studio recording is recreated perfectly, while the fade-out in ‘Pow R Toc H’ probably happened during the radio broadcast itself. ‘Scream thy Last Scream’ is also similar to the studio version and ‘Jugband Blues’ has a spaced-out middle section in place of the "Jugband" playing on the album recording—this final song is fittingly the last echo of the Syd Barrett era.

26. Julia Dream (Stereo Enhanced) 2 :32
Recorded 13th of February 1968 at Abbey Road Studios
Julia Dream underwent a mixing session of the mono tapes with included the track getting echoed vocals, and a louder backing track – Julia Dream was later released in true Stereo on Relics. The session for this version of Julia Dream is one of the more curious sessions logged in the list presented in the Malcolm Jones book.

13/2/68 Doreen's Dream ( " " " " )
Corporal Clegg 67375-4T

13/2/68 The Boppin' Sound 67374 (4 track to mono)
It Should be So Nice
Doreen Dream (re-titled Julia's Dream)

Tt’s faily obvious that both finished versions of of Julia dream come from the “Doreen’s Dream” sessions on the 13th. First the track was recorded as 4Track Stereo (67375-5t) then it was mixed down in Mono. Julia Dream first appears by name 10 days later on the 23rd of February a date which most likely is a mixing/mastering session. It also seems that the

27. It Would Be So Nice (Stereo enhanced) 3 :40
Recorded 21st of March 1968 – Possibly at Sound Techniques Studio
This stereo enhanced version of “It would be so nice” seem to derive from the afore mentioned compilations “Best of…” and “Masters of Rock”. It might also be one of the last tracks on which Syd featured (if he does feature on it) – Both Julia Dream and It would be so nice are logged in the period where David Gilmour were being coaxed into Pink Floyd thus giving Barrett minimal space to appear. (See additional note at the end of the tracklist for disc 2)

28. Julia Dream (Stereo) 2 :37
Recorded 13th of February 1968 at Abbey Road Studios
See track 26 for more details

Additional notes for tracks 20, 26 & 27:
”Fake Stereo” is done by someone to recreate the effect of stereo by electronically re-channeling (as was often done in the late 60s). Thus every instrument, every sound, was present on both sides of the stereo, but eq-tweaking had subtly given the impression that the instruments were distributed across the stereo pan. This is though not a genuine Stereo mix.

For Disc 3:

"It all comes straight out of our heads and it's not too far out to understand. If we play well on stage I think most people understand that what we play isn't just a noise. Most audiences respond to a good set."

Track list for HYGIY Disc 3.

1. Reaction In G 06:19
2. Arnold Layne 03:15
3. One In A Million 06:03
4. Matilda Mother 06:03
5. Scream Thy Last Scream 05:21
6. Astronomy Domine 07:29

Live at Star Club, Copenhagen, September 13 1967

The Pink Floyd spent 5 days in Denmark from the 9th to the 13th of September 1967 meeting the press, performing three times at Star Club in Copenhagen and allegedly a venue in Boom, Aarhus on the 10th before moving on to Sweden. What makes the Star Club recording so very special is that it is the first fully preserved gig from 1967.

”Star Club was situated on Aaboulevarden, in central Copenhagen and housed a 3-story discotheque. It also hosted live music on the ground floor for a period (mostly for the up and coming bands amongst which were The Move, Jethro Tull og John Mayall). The building in which Star Club lay have since been demolished and the ground now holds a house of apartments.”

A rare early concert tape and an interesting set list - Unfortunately the band’s P.A. is lousy and the vocals are very difficult to hear. ‘Reaction in G’ (actually in E) was the typical opening number at this time and this rare ‘Arnold Layne’ makes the tape worth getting alone. Also featured is the strange ‘One in a Million,’ a longer version of ‘Matilda Mother,’ and another lesser-known Barrett track, ‘Scream thy Last Scream’ (recorded later in the year), which they continued to play into 1968. This concert shows a heavier side than the Piper album, but overall their live sound here isn’t terribly impressive. ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ is also surprisingly absent, if the recording is complete.

"Today the new pop groups not only want to give the audience a concert, they want to give the audience a total experience in pictures and sound effects. Pink Floyd has reached very far in this effort. The material was instrumental, and one of the few songs you could recognize was "Set the controls for the Heart of the Sun"" (from BT, September 12, 1967).

On a curious note, there is a persistent rumor about a fourth show sometime during that week in 1967. Namely at Rolf- Hallen on Fyn ca. 20 km out of Odense but this has never been possible to confirm.

7. Reaction In G 04:12
8. Pow R Toc H 11:37
9. Scream Thy Last Scream 04:44
10. Set the Controls for the heart of the Sun 09:02
11. Interstellar Overdrive 14:21

Hippy Happy Fair, Oude Ahoy Hall, Rotterdam, November 13, 1967

The correct name is Ahoy hal (not ´halle´, that’s German not Dutch). Rotterdam is divided in a northern and southern part by the river ´maas´. Ahoy is located in the southern part. It’s a sporting venue with several halls and rooms and some outdoor fields. The main ´Ahoy´ hall itself is a large venue, designed for Cycling and athletics sports (its oval shaped).As long as I can remember, the main hall has been a venue for concerts as well. Despite the lousy sound you get in the hall, almost all major acts have (or will) performed there.

The ´oude Ahoy hal´ refers to the older building that once stood at the same place. (´oude´ is dutch for ´old´). That sports hall was reconstructed heavily in the mid seventies. I believe, Floyd was one of the first acts in 1977 to play in the renewed building. ”Ahoy” can be explained as follows: “It’s an old fashioned greeting used in the sailing world."Ship Ahoy" was a way of saying "Hello" to another vessel in the immediate surrounding. Nowadays as brief version is ´Hoi´ and still used in the Dutch language as ´hello´. (I always start my mail with ´hoi´ which indeed derives from ´Ahoy´). I don’t know why the venue was named like that, but I can imagine that it is a sort of salute to Rotterdam, which is the largest harbor in the world.

Nowadays, still large concerts are held there, just recently Bruce Springsteen played there. Seating is around 10,000 people, so it’s not a big hall in US standards.

Floyd played in the (old) hall in 1967 as part of a ´teens and twens´ event called the ´Hippy Happy Fair´. It was a ´fair´ for modern youths in the ´summer of love´ period. All kinds of different ´beat groups´ played there (some locally famous).

The show from Oude Ahoy Hall in Rotterdam is a sub-par recording, but definitely a great document considering the time period. This show occurred the day after their disastrous first U. S. tour ended, but Barrett seems to be playing well enough here after seriously flaking out in America. Both ‘Pow R Toc H’ and ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ are much longer than the studio versions, and this early ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’ is a raw, heavier rendition than the more developed version on A Saucerful of Secrets.

Track list - Have You Got It Yet? Disc 4

1. In The Beechwoods backing track ‘67 (from 3/69 Mason interview) 04:49
2. Vegetable Man 1967 (from 3/69 Mason interview) 02:35
3. Vegetable Man 1967 rehearsal (from 3/69 Mason interview) 02:47
digitally enhanced versions
(For the original unprocessed version of these tracks see HYGIY Disc 6 tracks 23 – 25)

A member of LaughingMadcaps (who wishes to remain anonymous) was delighted with what we were doing, and when he saw the initial song lists for HYGIY he realized he owned a few tracks that had not been heard. Rather than press up a new bootleg CD, he generously donated his tracks to the HYGIY project -- in this way, it would be distributed to thousands of fans all over the world, for free. We are all in his debt.

While in high school, he interviewed Nick Mason in early 1969 (probably March as Nick was on his way to the first of the 'More' sessions at the time) for the student newspaper. In the course of that interview, Nick played him a few selections from a private reel. They were captured by the student's tape deck and preserved for us in this way. It's an ambient recording of several Pink Floyd songs playing in the room, while Nick comments occasionally. (Fortunately, Nick plays them loud!)

The original complete interview tape was stolen not long after the interview, but the music segment had been copied by a friend of the interviewer and is the source of these recordings. Quality is a bit ropey, but listenable enough. 'Beechwood' runs for almost five minutes and is obviously a backing track, but has some classic Syd tempo/chord changes. Rick Wright is very much to the fore. The instrumental 'Vegetable Man' is rather loose in style, but has some evil leady sort of rhythm guitar playing from Syd. The whole tape runs for about 11 minutes.

These songs very nearly didn't survive. The source tape is a cassette dubbed from the master reel. (It was a cheap cassette, too, with some leakage coming through from the other side of the tape.) For the sake of convenience he dubbed copies of just the songs--and it's a good thing too, because his interview tapes were stolen a year or two later. And so, this is all we have. However, there can be no doubts of its authenticity: that is Nick Mason's voice, after all!

The 1967 mix of "Vegetable Man" is different from the later ones--you can hear the band laughing at the end, longer than they do on the common 1974 mix. (This can also be heard on the 1987 mix of the track.)

The other "Vegetable Man" track appears to be a rehearsal, and instrumental run-through. It's unique among Floyd RoIOs (one almost never hears them in rehearsal). This begs the question of what else is waiting in the archives.

For this - the anonymous benefactor deserves all credit.

4. Silas Lang (Backing track) 02:52
Recorded: June 5th 1968

Toward the end of the 1974 sessions, Jenner had a dub of this 1968 recording made, thinking perhaps something further could be done with it. This reel was leaked to a fan at a later date; of the several hours of 1974 sessions, everything in circulation comes from the mix downs on that one 20-minute reel, and the 1968 "Swan Lee" instrumental as well. The "banjo" and "sax" parts came from a mellotron (one of the rhythm-tracks settings), as well as the odd "piano" notes at the beginning.

Much dispute has arisen about this track. So much that a very extensive article was written by Jon Allan in which he tracks down the origins of the track. It is thought quite obvious when play alongside tracks 7 and 8 on this CD that the track evolved into the intro for Swan Lee.

Here follows a note from the Late Night article:
‘Opel” and ‘Crazy Diamond’ co-compiler Phil Smee believes the Banjo and Saxophone part to be the result of copying the unmixed track onto a poorly wiped (erased) master tape, but I disagree. Here’s why: In 1973 Roger Waters told Zig Zag magazine that towards the end of his time with Pink Floyd, Syd had “a great plan...to expand the group, get in two geezers, some two freaks that he’d met someplace or other. One of them played banjo and the other played saxophone. We weren’t into that at all, and it was obvious that the crunch had finally come”.

5. Lanky Part II (aka Rhamadan) 01:37
Recorded: May 14th 1968
Once again Malcolm Jones’ “The Making of Madcap Laughs” comes to the rescue.
It’s obvious been hard for the followers and the makers of Syd Barretts music to keep track of the differences between “Lanky II” and “Rhamadan” and that is simply because they were recorded on the same date: May 14th 1968.

From “The Making of Madcap Laughs”
14/5/68
Rhamadan : not issued
Lanky Part 1. not issued
Lanky Part 2. not issued
Golden Hair version 1. not issued
Produced by Peter Jenner

This is the only time Lanky pt.1 & 2 appear in the recording logs where as Rhamadan pops back up again on the 23rd of April 1969 for the infamous Motorcycle dubbing session.

'Lanky' and 'Rhamadan' were very long and rambling percussion instrumentals. Engineer Peter Brown's announcement on the tape of 'Lanky Part One' is, rather wearily, "Five minutes of drums!". It wasn't very good! "Rhamadan" lasted for almost twenty minutes, and in its unfinished state was also pretty boring. Syd too was not satisfied with it (he'd overdubbed several conga drums in random improvisation) and we agreed to abandon that. (Malcolm Jones)

”Syd was carrying a small, portable cassette player, which I assumed he was bringing so that we could make him a copy of 'Rhamadan'. I was very wrong. 'I'd like to overdub some motorbike sounds onto 'Rhamadan'', he said, 'so I've been out on the back of a friend's bike with the cassette player. They are all ready to put onto the 'Rhamadan' four track.' When Syd played the cassette of the sound effects, it was terrible! Not only was it poor quality for casual listening, it was certainly no good for professional recording.”

Purely speculating I’d say that its possible that “Lanky” and “Rhamadan” merely is takes of the same track but named differently. Anyway it seems that the one and half minute long segment presented here is enough to settle any idea of what the track “Rhamadan” might be like!

6. Golden Hair (instrumental Cousins mix 1988) 01:58
Recorded: May 28th 1968

A continued session on Golden Hair (Take 1) first recorded on the 14th of May 1968. This was later mixed by Gareth Cousins in hope that It would make the cut, as a bonus track, for the 1993 release “Crazy Diamond” – In the end both Cousins and Malcolm Jones, who produced the album, settled for the first recorded version from the 14th. That version is by the way 11 seconds shorter than this.

7. Swan Lee (Backing track, Jones alt mix) 00:56
Recorded: June 8th 1968
8. Swan Lee (backing track) 02:44
Recorded: June 20th 1968

Both of these tracks are backing sessions for Swan Lee based on the session heard on track 4.

Malcolm Jones:
”As I was unfamiliar with Peter Jenner's productions of the previous year, I asked Syd to play me tapes he had of rough mixes of a song called Silas Lang (re-titled 'Swan Lee') *(2) "Silas Lang" is the original title on the EMI files, and this was later changed to "Swan Lee". Syd never referred to it as Silas Lang, and this may be a mistake on the part of the engineer on the original session. Part of the lyric goes 'the land in silence stands', which sounds, in part, rather like 'Silas Lang'…'Silas Lang' or 'Swan Lee' was a long and rambling tale about an Indian maiden, reminiscent in many ways of the story of Hiawatha. It had no vocal when I heard it, but had promise.”

9. Clowns and Jugglers (take I) 02:46
Alternative mix with studio chatter
Recorded: July 20th 1968

This version of “Clowns and Jugglers” doesn’t at all vary all that much from the version finally being released on “Opel” in 1988 and again with the “Crazy Diamond” box (1993). Both versions available are from the very first recording session and are very similar to each other. It can be assumed that this version of the track most like was mixed by Gareth Cousins.

10. Swan Lee (Fragment) 00:45
Recorded: April 10th 1969

Syd and I spent the first session alone (7p.m. to 12.30) investigating the old tapes made a year earlier to see if anything was usable. We first overdubbed guitar and vocal tracks onto 'Silas Lang' ('Swan Lee') and experimented with ideas for 'Clowns and Jugglers'. Neither of these was eventually used (Clowns and Jugglers, re-recorded as 'Octopus', was used in another version), and we both agreed that the new songs were far better than the old tracks. But at least we had checked each other out and we returned to Earls Court ready to start afresh the next evening. See also Tracks 4,7,8.

11. Opel (Studio chatter) 00:27
12. Love You (Take 2) 01:21
Recorded: April 11th 1969

The first we made (the engineer was Peter Mew) was 'Opel', at Syd's request. We both felt at the time that it was one of his best new songs. I was very sad that 'Opel' was left out (off the album), especially in the light of what I thought to be lesser songs being included. I assume it was Syd's decision. It took Syd nine runs at it to get a complete take, and even that was not perfect. Nevertheless it had a stark attraction to it, and most of the early takes were merely false starts.

13. Clowns and Jugglers (take 2 - keyboard mix) 01:35
Recorded: May 3rd 1969

On May 3rd Mike Ratledge and Robert Wyatt of the Soft Machine overdubbed various parts onto the 8 track copies made the previous session. In contrast to their own recordings, Syd's tracks were very erratic and unpredictable. Although Syd booked them he wasn't very good at explaining to them what he wanted.

This was the version I had worked on with Syd, originally, on our first session together on 10/4/69, when we had overdubbed guitar and voice onto a rough guitar backing Syd had made alone the year previously. It was in a higher key (than the issued one) and Syd had to sing really forcefully to make it work, but it still rates as one of my favourite unissued Syd recordings, after 'Opel'.

14. Long Gone (take II) 01:50
Recorded: 7/26/69

15. Dark Globe (Choral version - Jenner 1974 Echo Mix) 02:59
Recorded: 7/27/69

16. Dark Globe (Choral version - Jones 1987 clean mix) 02:58
Recorded: 7/27/69

These two tracks (15 & 16) may be mislabeled as Malcolm Jones notes that the 26th of July 1969 was the last recording session with Syd for the album. It could off course be that these tracks are mix tracks based on previously recorded material – but there seem to be no indication of a recoding session on the 27th of July.

17. Maisie (take I) 00:24
false start
Recorded: 2/26/70

18. Maisie (take II) 03:00
Alternative mix with extra vocals
Recorded: 2/26/70

Malcolm Jones: “All in all, the initial sales and reaction were sufficient to justify sanctioning a second solo album. The first session took place as early as 26th Feb., and the following day Syd made four songs as demos only, in stereo only, not multi track. They were 'Wolfpack', 'Waving My Arms In The Air', 'Living Alone' and a track that has since been the subject of much speculation 'Dylan Blues' (ed. But where is Maisie??)

19. Rats (take I) 01:08
False start with studio chatter
Recorded: 6/5/70

20. Wined and Dined (takes I & II) 01:40
Edit with studio chatter
Recorded: 6/5/70

An extract from an article by Michael West talking to a EMI Clerk on the phone, published in the Fanzine Opel:
’And when was the last session before ’74?’

’In 1970…Just hold on, there it is. “Milky way”, “She was a millionaire”, “Rats”: All seventh of June 1970.

´’”She was a millionaire”? June 1970? Can you read me out the rest of the sessions? From the beginning?’

’”Wolfpack”, “Milky Way”, “She was a millionaire”, “Rats”, “Love Song”, “Untitled”, “It is obvious”, “Effervescent Elephant”…“Dolly Rocker”, “Dominoes”, “Let’s Split”…”Wined and Dined”….

Alas “Rats Take 1” and “Wined and Dined” are from the last coherent sessions conducted by Syd at Abbey Road.

LIVE AT OLYMPIA 1970
21. Terrapin (Live 1970) 04:09
22. Gigolo Aunt (Live 1970) 05:19
23. Effervescing Elephant (Live 1970) 01:17
4. Octopus (Live 1970) 05:13
Recorded: June 6th 1970 at Olympia London

Extravaganza '70 - Music and Art Fashion Festival, The grand hall, Olympia Exhibition Hall, Olympia London. With David Gilmour on bass and Jerry Shirley on drums.

Syd's only post-Floyd solo show was once again marred by a bad p.a. and resultant low vocals,
but it still features some inspired guitar work and is fun to listen to. The P.A. Problems are mostly sorted out by the final song, so we're treated a freakin' amazing version of Octopus.

”He was going to do it, he wasn't going to do it, it was on and off, so finally we said, 'Look, Syd, come on, man - you can do it!' We got up, I played drums, David Gilmour played bass and he managed to get through a few songs. It got good, and then after about the fourth song Syd said, 'Oh great; thanks very much' and walked off! We tried, you know” (Jerry Shirley)

6.6.70 Extravaganza 70 – Music and Fashion Festival, The Grand Hall, Olympia Exhibition Hall, Olympia, London, England. With Colosseum, Mungo Jerry, The Move, Mike Raven, The Pretty Things, Rare Bird, Steamhammer, Jackson Heights with Lee Jackson and Fairfield Parlour.
Barrett’s first major appearance was a late addition at the last evening of this four-day festival (3-6.6.70). He was joined on stage by David Gilmour (bass guitar) and Jerry Shirley (drums) and played a rushed set that included ‘Gigolo Aunt’, ‘Effervescing Elephant’ and ‘Octopus’ . His vocals were barely audible throughout and even before the last track was finished he left the stage to scattered applause. (Povey/Russell – In the Flesh)

BBC TOP GEAR 1971
25. Baby Lemonade (BBC) 02:15
26. Dominoes (BBC) 02:51
27. Love Song (BBC) 01:29
Recorded: February 16th 1971

16.2.71 BBC Transcription Service studios, Kensington House, Shepherd’s Bush, London, England.

Barrett’s second and final session for BBC radio one in which he performed ‘Baby Lemonade’, ´Dominoes’ and ‘Love song’. It was broadcast on Bob Harris – Sound of the Seventies on 1.3.71 at 6.00pm. (Povey/Russell – In the Flesh)

Barrett did complete a session for Radio 1's 'Sounds of the Seventies', but where on 'Top Gear' he chose to unveil new material, here he offered 'Baby Lemonade', 'Dominoes' and 'Love Song'.

THE 1974 SESSIONS
…’Oh, I’m sorry: It doesn’t say. It just says “Various bits and pieces – details inside tape box”. Sorry!’…

28. "Boogie" 01:32
29. If You Go, Don't Be Slow 02:34
30. "Ballad incomplete" 00:24
31. fragment 00:05
Recorded: August 13th 1974

32. "Slow Boogie" 02:59
33. John Lee Hooker 03:53
34. "Fast Boogie" 01:21
Recorded: August 12th 1974

35. "Boogie #2 (More Echo) 00:20
From Darryl Read EP
Recorded: August 13th 1974

36. Was That OK? 00:04

Towards the end of 1974 Peter Jenner again managed to get Syd into Abbey Road for the purpose of cutting a new album. By all accounts the sessions, which lasted for three or four days, were pretty dire. For one thing, Syd showed up with no material prepared and no strings on his guitar. He also was prone to wander away, not returning, and may even have bit an Abbey Road employee! The end result was three reels of mostly unfinished, untitled instrumentals, the most complete of which featured bass and drum overdubs done by Syd himself. When these tapes were reviewed during the making of the ‘Crazy Diamond’ box set, they were found to contain no vocal tracks apart from the odd bit of studio chatter.

Over the years this four-day session has been the subject of debate, and indeed the original notes to "Opel" cast doubt on its existence as, at that point, neither tapes nor paperwork seemed to have survived. They have subsequently surfaced, although the results bear little relation to work gracing "Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett". Instead Syd spent the time working on ill-focused blues' licks and chord sequences, only one of which bore a title: 'If You Go'. The process was abandoned before any vocal tracks were attempted.

”It was an abortion. He just kept over-dubbing guitar part on guitar part until it was just a total chaotic mess. He also wouldn't show anyone his lyrics - I fear actually because he hadn't written any” (Peter Barnes).

Track list - Have You Got It Yet? Disc 5

"Sound Opinions," WXRT-FM, Chicago”
January 3, 2001 Length: 78:52 (condensed from a 2-hour program)
Radio show / discussion devoted to Syd Barrett: A retrospective of his career, tracing his influence on Pink Floyd through all eras of the band's history. To our knowledge, the first-ever radio program on commercial American airwaves, devoted solely to Syd (and Pink Floyd in relation to Syd).
Hosted by Jim DeRogatis (author of "Kaleidoscope Eyes," the definitive history of psychedelic rock from 1960s through 1990s, and "Let It Blurt," pioneering biography of Lester Bangs), and Greg Kot. Includes previously unheard interviews with Gilmour and Mason.

Track list - Have You Got It Yet? Disc 6

1. Pink Floyd interview (CBC) 2/67 10:35
This radio broadcast interview from February 1967 has previously appeared on several bootlegs.
2. Barrett/Waters interviewed by Hans Keller (Look of the Week) 03:42
Recorded for BBC TV on the 14th of May 1967
From the TV show “look of the week” on which the Pink Floyd performed “Pow R. Toc H.” and “Astronomy Domine”
(See tracks 15 & 16 on Disc 1).

3. Syd, unknown studio chatter 1969 00:06

4. Waters interview, Stockholm (Swedish Radio) 02:56
Recorded by Swedish Radio P3 in early September 1967
Most of you should by all logic not be able to understand the first 20 seconds of this broadcast because of the Swedish speaker, this is why I’ve translated the opening lines for you:

”They only did one appearance on their Sunday visit at Gyllene Cirkeln/Golden Circle where their light show caused arose some attention. I met with the bass player after the show and asked him to present himself and the other members…upon which Roger talks about the band and the music.

5. John Peel, Waters, Jenner interviews (1970s FM) 04:02
6. Jenner interview, one channel of Piper underneath (1970s FM) 06:08
7. Jenner, Mason, Gilmour interviews (1970s FM) 06:29

8. Pink Floyd interview Blackpool, UK 03/21/69 04:58
Previously available on the semi-official Interview disc “The Conversation Series” on which it also appears in full length.

9. Pink Floyd interview NYC 09/28/70 05:57
Discussing the name of the band, Ummagumma and several other issues.

10. Waters interviews Roger The Hat (for "Dark Side" background voices)1972 07:36
Possibly the most memorable interview used on “The Dark side of the Moon”. This is the roadie Roger the Hat answering questions by Roger Waters. (On the album, you can hear his voice during "On the Run" ("Live for today, gone tomorrow, that's me, hahaha…") and during "Us And Them" ("Short, sharp shock …").
The interview was broadcast on the Capitol Radio documentary broadcast ("Pink Floyd Story") in December 1976 and January 1977

11. Paul Breen interview (BBC) 10/27/88 05:18

12. Octopus rough mix (Malcolm Jones fragment) 6/13/69 00:25

'OCTOPUS' (also known as 'Clowns and Jugglers' in its early versions). Syd made this song on two separate occasions.
Syd produced the original backing track to the first version (20/7/68) which I overdubbed with the Soft Machine (3/5/69). This version was never issued and the version made on this session (12/6/69), produced by Dave Gilmour, is the issued one. In fact, Octopus was attempted twice on this session. The first producing two complete takes, was abandoned, and after 'Golden Hair' was successfully completed, Syd had another go at 'Octopus', this time making the successful version that was issued on the album. In all, then, there were four completed versions of the song! Syd started one which I completed (vocals, and later, the Soft Machine), and Dave Gilmour made two versions (three takes), making four in all. Too be specific - this is “13/6/69 Octopus version 3 contd.” This version also corresponds to the the one used on “The Madcap Laughs” according to Malcolm Jones’ notes:

1. OCTOPUS
June 12th '69 take 11. Guitar and voice
June 13th '69 elec. gtr., bass, drums overdubbed (Shirley,
Gilmour, Syd,)

13. ytpmE sescapS (Hidden msg on "The Wall") 00:20
This may be one of the most recognizable nods from the Floyd toward Syd. From the track Empty Spaces on “The Wall” (1979) the message as follows: “Congratulations, you have just discovered the secret message, please send your answer to old Pink, care of the funny farm, Chalfont. (Interruption) Roger, Carolyn on the phone! Okay.”
Needless to say it is considered that “Old Pink” is Syd!

14. eltiT oN (excerpt) 9/4/67 01:16
15. eeL nawS (excerpt) 6/8/68 00:31
16. seonimoD (solo) 7/14/70 03:35

These three tracks was reversed in order to show the certain parts that were recorded reversed.
Track 14 is the track also mentioned as “Sunshine” (See disc 2 track 6) this reversed except enables us to hear the arpeggio guitar played by Syd.

The excerpt on Track 15 is from Swan Lee and shows what most likely is the opening 30 seconds. and finally there is the track “Dominoes” off which David Gilmour spoke in the 2001 BBC documentary “Crazy Diamond” and the VH1 counterpart “Legends – Syd Barrett”

17. sampling loop #1 ("One In A Million") 00:06
18. sampling loop #2 ("Pow R Toc H") 00:36
19. sampling loop #3 ("King Bee") 00:04

The sampling loops were included for your amusement. We recommend that you rip the loop and place it in a continuous loop and crank up the amplifier. Who knows you may be the next Syd Barrett!!

20. Scream Thy Last Scream (16rpm excerpt) 01:21

This is a segment from STLS which has been sped down to show the second vocals Syd did for the song, the so called “chipmunk” lyrics. The second line of lyrics was recorded at slow speed causing it to speed up considerably when the song was played back at the correct speed!

21. My Little Red Book excerpt. (Love, 1966) 00:15
22. Steptoe & Son theme except. 01:09

Jim Derogatis' Kaleidoscope Eyes, states that the riff for this song came after Waters hummed the riff of a Ten Years After song to Syd Barrett who tried to follow it on guitar but the riff that Syd is trying to reproduce in Interstellar Overdrive is not from 10 Years After, but from the song "My little red book" by Love, sung to him by manager Peter Jenner (who had heard it on a recent trip to the States).

Apart from all this it should be noted that “My little red book” more-so is a Burt Bacharach song covered by Love.

Another suggested source for the Interstellar Overdrive riff is the theme to the BBC-TV series “Steptoe and Son”. There seem thought to be an inconsistency in this compared to the Love theory. The reason for this would be that Steptoe and Son wasn’t airing at the time Interstellar Overdrive was conceived. From the “Steptoe and Son” Appreciation Society:

The series started with a Comedy Playhouse production titled "The Offer" in January 1962, and the first of the regular series started in June 1962. It was on BBC-TV for four seasons, up to 1965. These shows were broadcast in black & white. But that is off course pure speculation!

23. In the Beechwoods (Unprocessed) 04:49
24. Vegetable Man 1967 mix (Unprocessed) 02:57
25. Vegetable Man 1967 rehearsal (Unprocessed) 03:26

Turn your attention to the notes for Disc 4 for more information on these tracks. The tracks have been added to this disc in their original quality due to pressure from the members of Laughing Madcaps!

On a curious note - The opening part of Saucerful of Secrets can be heard in the background in the gap between the 2 versions of Vegetable man, this might be contributed to the other side of the tape leaking.

Track list - Have You Got It Yet? Disc 7

1. Nick Mason interview (1995) for the book, "Kaleidoscope Eyes" 47:51
2. David Gilmour interview (1991) promoting the "Shine On" box set 27:32
3. Nick Mason interview (1986) excerpt 01:31

Track list - Have You Got It Yet? Disc 8 "Esoterica"

1. Corporal Clegg (Belgian Video mix) 2:53
2. Paintbox (Belgian Video mix) 3:29
3. Set the Controls for the heart of the sun (Belgian Video mix) 4:53
Recorded on the 31st of January 1968/18th of February 1968 for BRT-TV Belgium

Record Collector notes:
Early 1968: Belgian TV (BRT – TV) Shortly after Barrett’s departure (although some insists it was before), the group flew to Belgium for a series of gigs with new guitarist Dave Gilmour (either permanently replacing and/or deputizing for an ailing Syd, depending on whom you believe) A series of short films was produced for broadcast there, each showing Roger Waters handling Barrett’s vocals.

In circulation are “See Emily Play” (Shot in a field), “Apples and Oranges” (in a green-grocer’s, “Scarecrow” (filmed around an ancient baths, adjacent to the ‘Emily’ field!) and “Astronomy Domine” (in the studio, complete with liquid light show) A One-minute segment of “Set the controls for the heart of the sun” is also in circulation.

More filmed clips of the Floyd performing in front of the Belgian Camera have been seen from the 18th of February of 1968 when they filmed for Radio & T-1 Belge. This may or may not be from the same session as the previous promos. Both “Corporal Clegg” and “Paintbox” appear on the latter.

Most remarkable of the Video mixes is the version of Corporal Clegg which includes a completely different ending as opposed to the album version.

4. It Would Be So Nice (Promo edit) 3:15
Recorded on February 12-13 & March 5-12-21, 1968 att Abbey Road Studios.
For the UK Promo single released on the 12th of April 1968.
Minor variations in the structure of the song. Some cuts in Verse and Chorus alongside the mono mix

5. Julia Dream (echo mix) 2:32
Recorded on the 13th of February 1968
For more information see Disc 2 Track 26.

6. Let There Be More Light (Promo edit) 3:01

7. Remember A Day (Promo edit) 2:42
Recorded on the 5th and 6th of October 1967 at London, Sound Techniques Studios
For the US Promo single released on the 19th of August 1967.
This mix is in mono which fades before the final verse in the song.

8. Vegetable Man (Mono mix) 2:32
Recorded on the 11th of October 1967

9. It Would Be So Nice (stereo enhanced) 3:41

10. Relics LP, radio ad #1 1:03
11. Relics LP, radio ad #2 1:03
Radio ads most likely from American radio late spring 1971 in time for the US release of the album on the 15th of July 1971.

12. No Man's Land (spoken, semi-audible) 17Apr69 1:06
Recorded on the 17th of April 1969

13. Octopus (Malcolm Jones fragment) 0:25
Recorded on the 13th of June 1969

14. Octopus (Left channel mix) 3:45
Left Channel only

15. Love You (Right channel mix) 2:28
Right Channel only with synth

16. Rats (Right channel mix) 2:57
Right Channel Only with more guitars

17. Gigolo Aunt (Left channel mix, more guitar) 5:47
Left Channel only with more guitars

18. Wined And Dined (Left channel mix) 2:59
Left Channel Only unplugged

19. Wolfpack (Right channel mix) 3:45
Right Channel only with more guitars

20. Let's Split (Edit) 1:37
Recorded on the 14th of July 1970

21. soesimoD (Solo) 3:35
22. eltiT oN (Excerpt) 1:17
23. eeL nawS (Excerpt) 0:32
24. secapS ytpmE (Hidden msg on "The Wall") 0:21
See tracks 13-16 on disc 16 for more information

25. My Little Red Book riff (Love, 1966) 0:15
See Disc 6 track 21 for more information

26. Steptoe & Son/Old Ned (Theme) 2:29
A longer edit of track 22 on Disc 6

27. Interstellar Overdrive (Soundtrack) 9:43
An edit/mix from the 12th of January 1967
See tracks 5-7 on disc 1 for more information

28. Scream Thy Last Scream (16rpm excerpt) 1:28
See disc 6 track 20 for more information

29. AMMusic - Later During A Flaming Riviera Sunset (edit, AMM Jun66) 3:56

Track list - Have You Got It Yet? Disc 9 & 10
"Distorted View" & "OOPS I Did It Again!"

Disc 9:
1. Astronomy Domine 4:12
2. Lucifer Sam 3:07
3. Matilda Mother 3:08
4. Flaming 2:46
5. Pow R Toc H 4:26
6. Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk 3:07
7. Interstellar Overdrive 9:42
8. The Gnome 2:13
9. Chapter 24 3:42
10. Scarecrow 2:11
11. Bike 3:22
12. Scream Thy Last Scream (1974 mix) 4:41
13. Vegetable Man (1974 mix) 2:31
14. Paint Box 3:29
15. No Title (September 4, 1967) 1:36
16. Apples and Oranges 3:06
17. Remember A Day 4:33
18. Set The Controls 5:28
19. Corporal Clegg 4:13
20. Scarecrow (Left channel, not OOPS) 2:08
21. Astronomy Domine (Left channel, not OOPS) 4:05

Disc 10:
01. Late Night, take 2 (slide guitar) 3:14
02. Swan Lee (backing track) 2:44
03. Golden Hair, take 5 2:18
04. Clowns And Jugglers 3:28
05. No Good Trying 3:26
06. Love You 2:30
07. No Man's Land 3:03
08. Dark Globe (choral version) 2:58
09. Here I Go 3:12
10. Octopus 3:48
11. Golden Hair 2:00
12. Late Night 3:11
13. Swan Lee 3:14
14. Rats (Left Channel, not OOPS) 2:57
15. Gigolo Aunt, take 9 3:48
16. Baby Lemonade 4:12
17. Dominoes 4:10
18. It Is Obvious 3:00
19. Rats 3:02
20. Maisie, alt mix 3:00
21. Gigolo Aunt 5:48
22. Wind And Dined 2:59
23. Wolfpack 3:41
24. Effervescing Elephant 1:55
25. Golden Hair (instrumental) 1:56

Notes written by HYGIY? Compilers:
Syd / Pink Floyd OOPS (Out Of Phase Stereo) Mixes- These are fan-created remixes. These are NOT session outtakes. OOPS is a process by which a home user can remix a stereo track, thus revealing musical details that were less evident in the commercial mix. Depending on how the original track was put together, the differences may be subtle or dramatic, varying from song to song and in different parts of the song.

This CD (9) consists of nearly every available stereo Pink Floyd track Syd is either on or ever been rumored to be on. We left off "See Saw" and "Jugband Blues" because they wouldn't hold up to repeated listening. ("Jugband" whispers for most of the track, except for some of the Salvation Army band when the volume spikes. "See Saw" fades in and out with vocal and mellotron.)

This is the best of the Barrett solo material, as rendered into out-of-phase More tracks could be included, but the OOPS process didn't yield a particularly interesting mix, and considerations of space won out.

It goes without saying that acoustic songs could not be used. With nothing to work with beyond a guitar and a vocal, OOPS is beside the point. By necessity, this disc features Syd with a band, or at least some overdubs.

(CDs 9-10 feature a few single-channel mixes left over from CD8, noted as such. These are not OOPS mixes, but feature one channel of the original panned to stereo. A few of these tracks are good enough to stand alone as such, and so we present them this way.)

Every OOPS and mono track in HYGIY 8-10 has been rendered as a dual-signal expansion: one channel is a mirror image of the other. For the listener, this means a richer sound field and a more natural ambience than could be expected from pure mono, yet without any obvious attempt at a stereo result from a mono source.

What is OOPS?

OOPS stands for Out Of Phase Stereo. It is a simple technique used to process the two channels of modern stereo recordings into a "new", third channel, enabling us uncover "hidden" sounds in stereo recordings. The resulting OOPS:ed signal is a single channel, mono signal.
This process is also known as "Left Minus Right". When Quadraphonic recording was the rage in the seventies, OOPS or left Minus Right was used as a cheap way of creating a new, third channel to increase the stereo listening experience.

Why OOPS Works?

The speakers (or headphones) of your stereo system convert an electrical signal into sound, by moving the speaker cone in relation to the positive and negative waves in the signal.

In a simple example of a pure tone, the electrical signal makes the speaker "oscillate" (move back and forth rapidly) by moving one way, outwards for example, on the positive (+) halves of the electrical waves, and move back the other way on the negative halves. The speaker cone movement makes the air in front of it move, and this frequently oscillating air reaches your ears as sound. This single wave is a "frequency" (how frequently the sound moves back and forth) and you hear it as a tone.

Recorded sound is made up of many of these electrical waves in various combinations relating to the frequencies in the sounds being recorded. Now, imagine two signals that are identical, except they are "out of phase" with each other, that is, that when one signal is having a positive wave peak, the other is having an identical negative peak.

If these signals are mixed together, they will cancel each other out. The positive peak of the first signal tries to make the speaker move out, but as it does, it is counteracted by the equal but opposite negative peak from the second signal, which tries to pull the speaker cone back in, so no sound results.

In a stereo recording, some of the sounds are recorded on the left channel, and some are recorded on the right channel. However, because of the mixing done during the recording process, some sounds are on BOTH channels. It is very common in modern stereo recordings, for example, for the instruments to be in stereo (different) on both sides, and the vocal to be "in the middle", by having it mixed into both channels.

Now, if you took one of the channels of the above example and combined it OUT OF PHASE (plus to minus and minus to plus) with the other channel, whatever was THE SAME in both channels would cancel out, and you would hear only what was DIFFERENT in both channels. In our example, you would cancel the vocal, and hear only the instrumental accompaniment

Editors note:
As Editor of this track list I have consciously decided not to comment on any of the tracks on Disc 9 or 10. This is because they are fan-based and that I only could fill in the original recording dates and information on the tracks as previously posted in this track list. Each track will in itself reveal the purpose of the OOPS mix and there is therefore no reason for me to fill anything in – Enjoy / Ed.

List of reference:

Syd In bed quote / Roger Waters for New Indian Express, Bangalore, April 2002

Disc 1:
Disc 1 Tracks 1 & 2 taken from "A Fish out of water" (p.115)
Disc 1 Track 3,5,6,7,8,9,15,16 taken from Record Collector #187, March 1995 Page.17
Disc 1 Tracks 4 taken from Record Collector #187, March 1995 Page.18
Disc 1 Tracks 5,6,7,10 & 11 written by S. Czapla
Disc 1 Tracks 12 & 13 taken from http://www.winntia.com/graphics/atfos/html/CD01.html
and J. Palacios, Lost in the Woods, p. 128.
Disc 1 Track 14 taken from http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PFArchives/DFr45.htm and http://www.winntia.com/graphics/atfos/html/CD01.html
Disc 1 track 17 - Notes on Fake Stereo from http://www.procolharum.com/west_fake.htm
Page 10 Article: “Hits? – The Floyd couldn’t care less” By Alan Walsh (Melody Maker, December 9, 1967 p. 9)

Disc 2:
Disc 2 Tracks 11-16 and 22-25 taken from http://www.geocities.com/cgwhitman2/pf/pf1967.html
Disc 2 Track 7 (Quote: Gilmour) from J. Palacios, Lost in the Woods

Disc 3:
Information about Star Club donated by Niels Nielsen and Jan Aaskov.
Review of September 11 gig from BT, September 12 1967
Comments on the recording from http://www.geocities.com/cgwhitman2/pf/pf1967.html
Information about Ahoy hall written by André Terhorst

Disc 4
Track 1-4 note by Steve C.
Comments on tracks 10 -13 are extracts from “Making the Madcap Laughs” by Malcolm Jones.
Comments on tracks 25-36 are extracts from "What colour is sound" by Brian Hogg, January 1993
Extravaganza information from Late Night nr.3
Quotes (Shirley, Barnes) from J. Palacios, “Lost in the Woods”
Comments on tracks 4, 28 -36 taken from SYD BARRETT, SILAS LANG & “SUNSHINE” OR: THE PROS AND CONS OF NIT PICKING by Jon Allan, Publisher of Late Night Magazine
Quotes:”And when was the last session…” and ”Oh, I’m sorry: It doesn’t say…” (Michael West for Opel Magazine May
1985) republished in “Pink Floyd – Through the eyes of…” Editor: Bruno MacDonald.

Disc 5:
Notes directly from the sleeve notes written compilers of HYGIY.

Disc 6:
Track 10 notes from http://www.winntia.com/graphics/atfos/html/CD03.html
Track 12 notes are extracts from “Making the Madcap Laughs” by Malcolm Jones.
Track 22 notes from “A Steptoe and Son Homepage” online at: http://home.achilles.net/~howardm/steptoe/steptoe.shtml

Disc 8:
Tracks 1-3 from Record Collector #187, March 1995

Disc 9/10:
Comments from HYGIY Compilers and
OOPS mixing from http://www.beatletracks.com/btoops.html

Image material:
Pages 5 – 10 (Images of Syd and Pink Floyd) http://www.syd-barrett.it/
Page 8 (Arnold Layne record add), Page 9 and 10 (Drawing) taken from “A fish out of water” by Luca Ferrari and Annie Marie Roulin.
Page 9 and 10 (45” Covers) www.ebay.com
Pictures of venues from http://www.pinkfloyds.com/

Visit the Cambridge Corn Exchange online: http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/cornex/cornex.htm

Visit the Ahoy Hall, Rotterdam online: http://www.ahoy.nl/

”The author” would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to: Laughing Madcaps and all their contributors for making “Have You Got It Yet?, Steve Czapla, Jan Aaskov, Niels Nielsen, John Goddard, André Terhorst, Harold Barrel, Simon Wimpenny, David Haddock, C.G. Whitman, writers and contributors to Terrapin Magazine, “Fish out of Water”, all the authors whos books I’ve quoted, all you who’ve provided extensive material on your websites and off course R.K. (whatever you be!)

HAVE YOU GOT IT YET? If you haven't, then you really should have it - These Discs are a fruition of several years of collective &; personal collecting OF UNRELEASED MATERIAL. The Unreleased Material has been stripped down after several years of, "doing the rounds" and re-mastered, de hissed, speed equalized and carefully transferred to Ten Discs (SO FAR!). J. Goddard

Disc 1: 1965-1967 (Early Floyd and Piper At the Gates of Dawn)
Disc 2: 1967-1968 (Singles, Piper at the gates of dawn & Saucerful of Secrets)
Disc 3: 1967 (The historical Live shows)
Disc 4: 1967 – 1974 (Last Pink Floyd Rarities and the encompassed solo career)
Disc 5: Interview Disc 1
Disc 6: Interview Disc 2 and assorted curious
Disc 7: Interview Disc 3
Disc 8: More curious
Disc 9: Oops 1
Disc 10: Oops 2
Disc 11: Images
Disc 12: Images

Syd Barrett - Old Shoes

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:55:00 +0000

Something written by the Laughing Madcaps' own Jean-Grégoire Royer waaaaay back in 2000!

At least once in a lifetime you wake up and think now is the time: you are going to do something forever. Some get married, others stop smoking, and a very limited number of people actually have a real idea of their own. Among them, some create while others somehow create meaning out of the former’s creation; they try to make sense out of it. It is, of course, much more gratifying, as far as the historical record is concerned, to be part of the first group than of the second.

However, overall, it is also much less risky and tiring to belong to the second. No surgeon ever suffered as much as a mother giving birth did. The same thing applies to the critic. Furthermore, that second group is where the power lies. Creation is always too violent in itself. We need to be protected from it and what keeps us safe is the sense we make of it. Moreover, most of the time, the sense we make does not come directly from us but from the critics. They act like shields.

When I first came into contact with Syd Barrett, I had never heard such a thing before. It was strong, undiluted and dangerous. Moreover, whether because I needed a shield to be protected from that danger or because I was a daredevil and wanted to go further, I started looking for more about Syd Barrett. And as there is not much actually in the way of music, I had to make do with words or pictures.

All I know then is what I have been told, what I have read or seen. There are precious few interviews of Syd Barrett, some articles, one or two biographies, and a chapter at the beginning of each of the numerous books that have been written about the Pink Floyd. There are now quite a number of web sites, some offering copies or excerpts from the former, some boasting exclusive documents (there’s one interview of his nephew!). There have been bootlegs, pictures, T-shirts, badges. At one point you could even buy a box set with his first solo album, plus a beautiful collection of photographs, plus a yellow satin shirt like the one he wore on the rear cover of that very album. They have even gone so far as to release a best of ! Some day, somewhere, there may also be a Pink Floyd anthology, a statue and a museum and a Syd Barrett church or temple, who knows?

For the time being what I have at my disposal is a bunch of songs and some (not all) of the items quoted above. And what do you think I know that I did not know or could not have imagined the first time I listened to him? Well, there is Lindsay Korner. And the Mandrax incident. And the lost year. Stars. The bleeding finger. The cellar incident. And the Chelsea cloisters. The dust and guitars. The 1978 photo of a balding beer-bellied Roger. If you put it all together chronologically, it points out to a most extraordinary story. I mean what is more endearing than a fallen angel ? It is both utterly good and so evil. It is all so human after all.

I can remember a time when I was definitely obsessed with this story. Like any of us, I would sometimes dream about it. There was a mysterious record shop where they had all the unreleased tracks. And I bought everything, spent hours simply watching the sleeves, reading the notes (some pieces were part of the home-made demos!) before I listened to the songs themselves and that was far above anything you would imagine. Or was that, really? When I woke up there would be nothing left of course.

This dream was recurrent. It actually lasted until I went to Cambridge. What happened in fact is that I was in charge of a group of students on a holiday camp in the Fens. And there was this visit to Cambridge : punting, a picnic in a park, the visit of an art museum and about two hours of free time. The latter was all I had been waiting for. It started pretty well : there was a record fair on Marketsquare (imagine that, on Marketsquare !!!). Unfortunately, most of what you could find was legal recordings and, what’s more, mostly hits of the period (late 80’s, Sting, Phil Collins, that sort of thing…). There was only just one stall where they had " 60’s " stuff.

I browsed and browsed and found nothing of real interest. Kind of upset (I was losing precious time) I asked the guy if he had any recording by Syd Barrett (I’m French, it was the first time I had come to England and my English was still rather basic, so I pronounced Syd Beret). He looked at me like I had just arrived from outer space. " Pardon ?", he said. "Syd Beret", I insisted, "former member of Pink Floyd" ! And then the guy turned green, well light green actually, and upped it a bit so that everybody around stopped talking and looked at me : "Syd Barrett", he said, "he’s fallen off his trolley man, leave him alone". And that was it. He then he simply refused to listen to me.

I was as good as dead : cold sweat, blushing so hard as I stumbled my way out of the crowd. Next thing I realized I only had an hour and a half left. I walked past a post office, had second thoughts, made a U-turn and entered the office. Opened a directory. Barrett. There were like 40 people called Barrett in Cambridge. None of them Roger. Then I looked for "Andy’s records". I had heard that Syd was always welcome when he went there. It took me some time to locate it on a map but I finally found it and walked out of the office hurriedly, thinking things like "I’m treading the backward path" or "I’m going far further than you could possibly go". Imagine Syd Barrett walking up and down these very streets, high heeled boots, bell bottoms, an alligator leather coat, cropped hair. Then he enters the shop. Two floors. Lots and lots of records.

But forget it ! There is no Barrett record there. Not even the legal ones. So, I go out of the shop and I realize I have less than an hour left. And then there is this huge bookshop. I get in. There is a board telling you that there is a music and fanzine department on the lower ground floor. I browse again, hoping to come across an issue of Terrapin or Dark Globe or something. But there is nothing. So, I go to the counter and ask my question again, this time paying real attention to my accent. "Syd Barrett ? uh", the guy says, "Oh, I see ! Well, I’m afraid we do not have anything worthy of note here, but go to the hifi department and ask for Mark Richardson, he might have something". Thank you very much indeed, says I, thinking to myself that I have been undergoing some sort of test all the way. This is it now, I have passed the final test, I am going to be handed the pearl !

It so happens that the hifi department is not within the same building. It is another shop altogether, and not very far from Andy’s records, am I told! It is now a matter of minutes before I have to go back to my group of students. I start to run. I see the shop, I come in. Breathless. Mark Richardson please. Wait a minute please, he is not available right now. Then I hear someone flushing the toilet. Here comes my man. I tell him the whole story. The guy’s about Syd Barrett’s age I believe, kind of stiff upper lip. He remains silent for a few second and says, "I have a pamphlet at home. I could send it to you if you like. What is your address? ".

I offered to give him some stamps or some money. He bluntly refused. We shook hands and I raced back to my group and bus and Fens. A few weeks later, back home, I received a huge envelope through the mail. And this is what I found : the Making of the Madcap Laughs, by Malcolm Jones, two newspaper clippings from the early seventies covering the release of "Barrett " (one, headlined: "profile", appears inside the 1974 double album edition), and a badge with an octopus on it. Plus a short handwritten letter. It sort of boiled down to what I had been told at the record stall: “Leave him alone".

I immediately wrote back to Mark Richardson. A long letter. I wanted more. Actually, I wanted to understand why so many people in Cambridge had seemed reluctant to simply talk about Syd Barrett. Was there a sort of secret police in charge of his protection?

Mark Richardson never answered. And I thank him again, not only for sending me this “pamphlet” (back in 1989 you couldn’t find such a thing so easily), but primarily for keeping silent.

Silence does not mean consent. Silence makes good room for music. If you like Syd Barrett, listen to him. You need nothing and no one else. So I played the Madcap Laughs as I read Malcolm Jones’s account of its making. And everything it taught me was already there. Or almost. All this frenzied search for something else from or about Syd Barrett suddenly proved pointless. I should have stayed home and listened more carefully.

Still, something from Jones’s pamphlet caught my attention. He had added a few notes at the end of his text. The Pink Floyd recording sheet and the gig sheet to be precise. It is there that I learned there was quite a lot of unreleased Floyd material “still languishing in the vaults ". It dawned on me while peering at those sheets that no sooner had Piper been released than the Floyd began to rehearse new numbers with Syd, probably with a view to making another album. And this came as a shock. The common idea is that “if he had stayed with the Floyd, they’d have died an ignominious death” (1). You know what that means : Syd was supposedly unable to write new material, he couldn’t or wouldn’t play on stage but stood there staring blankly at the audience, refused to lip-synch Emily on American Bandstand, would spend hours dazed and confused, would sometimes have fits of anger… They had to get rid of him or simply disappear with him. But why talk of death or disappearance when a group is still booking studio time to rehearse and record new songs?

We have all heard some of these songs (One in a million, Scream thy Last Scream, Vegetable Man…). We like them, we cherish them but it is also very difficult, indeed almost impossible “to divorce them from their creator’s personal trauma ", as Brian Hogg put it as a conclusion to the liner notes accompanying the “Crazy Diamond " box set. In other words, these unreleased recordings, as well as those resulting from former and further sessions, have always been associated, consciously or not, with the notion of failure, owing especially and first of all to the Floyd’s repeated refusal to release them. The rumour has it that the last thing Syd’s Floyd rehearsed was a tune entitled " Have you got it yet ?" which Syd kept changing, supposedly so as to make it impossible for the rest of the band to follow him. Then the chorus would go (Syd) “Have you got it yet?” (the others) “No! No! No".

Whatever happened during this last rehearsal we will never know. And it is the critic’s duty to stick to the facts. The critic is not expected to start commenting other people’s comments. The time has come to ignore the rumour and pay closer attention to the bulk of unreleased material recorded by Syd Barrett. From that viewpoint, the initiative of the Laughing-Madcaps is probably the greatest Syd-related thing that has ever happened since he last walked out of a studio. For the first time we will have at our disposal a documented series of recordings covering the whole span of his career. It is most likely that this will come as a shock if only we listen to this music without prejudice.

Chronologically speaking, it all started without a doubt when the Pink Floyd recorded "Lucy Leave" and "King Bee" in 1965. Typical British Beat from that era, you would think, and yet most promising. Musically, the latter is very much akin to the Rolling Stones’ version, cut two years earlier, but also hints at a rather more mature, almost ambient approach to music. The former is an original number, reminiscent of the Pretty Things. It could easily have been featured on Pebbles vol.5, along with recordings by the Fairies for instance. At the same time, what immediately stands out at first hearing are the lyrics: as soon as Syd starts singing you realize something new is taking shape. Things are on the move.

Then we have the "Tonight Let’s all Make Love in London" soundtrack Two long instrumentals that do more than keep the promise of the 1965 recordings. The R&B patterns have given way to something unheard of at the time : free form ambient rock. It has often been underlined that the Floyd were not the first to develop that musical style. Some even said that those two instrumentals are directly influenced by an obscure underground group known as Amm. Amm were actually much closer to the French electronic avant-garde of the late 50’s (Pierre Henry…) than to the Rock scene. The early Pink Floyd sound actually bears more resemblance to mainstream sounds. Mick Farren, singer with the Deviants and Rock critic, once described it as an extended version of a middle section from a song by the Who. But anybody can also trace the origin of that sound back to the 1950’s and the Shadows. Syd’s guitar playing is as pure as Hank Marvin’s, only it is free from any rule.

At the same recording session, the Pink Floyd also cut " Arnold Layne " and "Let’s Roll another one". Both are close in content to the 1965 recordings. It is still a very basic R&B sound or Pop sound but it is as though that sound was living a life of its own, bridging a gap between the present and the future. And, once again, what stands out is the lyrics. Anybody who has tried to play these songs has no doubt realized the importance of the lyrics. If you do not sing along, the music does not seem to make much sense. I remember my guitar teacher’s reaction when I asked him to show me how to play "Astronomy Domine" and the rest of the Floyd’s early material. He would go like " Wow ! That is a riff ", and then "What does that mean ? There is one bar too many!".

It is striking that we never pay real attention to Syd Barrett’s songwriting. Throughout his short career, he remained a lyricist rather than a musician. It is true that his lyrics are for the greatest part so abstruse, as it were, that you will inevitably tend to take no heed of them, indeed sometimes ignore them. But from the creative viewpoint, they are the moving force behind his work. It is blatant with any song from the Piper. Even on Waters’ "Stethoscope ", his playing is modeled on the main melodic line and develops as a variation to it.

The Floyd spent the first half of 1967 recording that album and their second single. For some of their early fans, among which you could count Pete Townsend, the result was a definite anticlimax. Most of what had made them famous on the underground circuit now boiled down to very short instrumental sections ornamenting powerful pop songs. It stood as the clear evidence of a move on their part towards novelty. One of the last songs they recorded during the Piper sessions is "One in a million" a.k.a. "She was a millionaire" (18.4.67). It has supposedly been erased, but a live version from September 1967 (Star Club, Copenhagen) clearly indicates that at the very moment they were completing their first album, they were already making another move towards a new sound. Change returns success.

During the summer of 1967 their music got slower and heavier, still merging R&B patterns and free form improvisations, but somehow turning them into something akin to what would then become the trademark of the New Yardbirds (listen to their early versions of "Dazed and Confused") and then Led Zeppelin. Other examples of such a move can be found on "Stoned Again" or "Reaction in G".

The question is, was this move a reaction indeed, or the first sign of Syd Barrett’s incapacity to cope with stardom and work the seam that had made his group famous? The answer, once more, is in the recordings. What we have next is a bunch of songs cut at the end of the summer of 1967, and then in late October of the same year. At that time the group had taken a break from their exhausting schedule and then made their first attempt in the USA. These events have been detailed elsewhere and there is no need to go back to them. So the first thing the Floyd came up with after the Piper was "Scream thy Last Scream". What is striking with this song, according to me, is that it stands as a turning point. The song itself is a whimsical ditty, somehow reminiscent of (or should I say heralding) the Beatles’ "What’s the new Maryjane" : if you compare the 3rd and 4th bars of Syd’s song to the recurrent melody of the latter, you will realize they are almost identical (and I am perfectly aware that this is going to start a new series of squabbles over Syd’s possibly taking part in the recording of "Maryjane" !). The arrangement on the other hand is closer to heavy metal than anything else the original Floyd ever recorded. At that point then the group seems to be torn apart.

Next come the Fall sessions, and the desperate search for a third single. Both "Millionaire" and "Old Woman with a Casket" (the original title for "Scream", it seems) had been mentioned as the possible A-side for that single. Why the group chose neither will remain a mystery. Nevertheless they went back to the studio and recorded "Apples and Oranges", once more a move away from the past. This one is a pearl. Everything about it is just about perfect. Only it is definitely not the sort of song you would choose for a single. Is this a mistake on the group’s part ? I would tend to think it is Syd Barrett’s" declaration of independence ", or rather a first draft of it.

At that time Syd was supposed to be totally zonked out of his brains. It has been reported that on the Jimi Hendrix package tour of December 1967, his collaboration to the group had virtually boiled down to nothing. On occasions, he was replaced by Nice lead guitarist David O’List. Still his playing on both sides of the third single as well as on the December Top Gear sessions is nothing less than powerful and purposeful. Or was this just a lull before his final collapse?
Well, then there’s the real "declaration of independence". "Vegetable man", to begin with. Definitely the song that paved the way for his future output: words, nothing but words, and music as a background. From then on indeed, his music would definitely tend towards a soundtrack. This song is impossible to play. It is as close as you can get to the spoken word without entirely crossing the barrier. And what message! "I ‘ve been looking all over the place for a place for me, but it isn’t anywhere, it just isn’t anywhere". Was this a way to announce that the band should split? Or simply asking for a break? Apparently the group then recorded more stuff: "Remember a Day", "John Latham", the soundtrack to the " Committee " (I am not absolutely sure whether Syd recorded it anyway) . There may have been no plan on Syd’s part to ruin things, perhaps only a desire to make it clear to the rest of the group that they needed to agree on which course to follow next.

But then there is the conspiracy. The three others were not going to let go of the goose that lays the golden eggs. They were neither patient enough to wait for Syd to recover. So they hired David Gilmour (Mason told him "things are on the move", but he should have known they had always been…) and one day simply forgot to pick Syd up on their way to the studio. Just like Brian Jones during the Beggar’s Banquet sessions six months later.

Only, Syd had left a message. In his so called "ultimate self diagnosis on a state of schizophrenia" (2), he sings: "I’m grateful to you that you threw away my old shoes and brought me here instead dressed in red". It has been reported that at the time he wrote these lines (October 1967), he was totally unable to look after himself and had to be taken care of by the Floyd. And maybe it was true or partially true. But why should he have written a song to tell the world that that was it, he was through with the band, for the latter is sake? This does not make sense. Instead what is intriguing is the details in Syd’s descriptions of the situation in "Jugband Blues". The band is a "Jugband", to begin with, something rather old fashioned, you would think, and above all ludicrous. And the singer and songwriter waves them goodbye, improvising a blues song of his own making. He has been dressed in red for this final performance. Red is just a colour. But it also happens to be the one that used to be associated with madness in the days of yore (the days when you would listen to jugband music for want of anything worthier of note). In other words, the band makes him out to be mad. And they take care of throwing away his old shoes.

Whadayamean? Maybe there were holes in his (yellow) shoes? Of course not! Every one of us remembers this: Syd used to wear sneakers as a sign of protest against the frivolousness of stardom (read " Groupie " again if you don’t recall this detail or simply watch the photos from 1967). He was no shallow person. Throwing away his shoes meant dishonest compromise. Meant he could not walk straight any longer but just "careen through life".

So he was ousted. And then "his band", for better or for worse, tried to make up for lost time. And they eventually managed to do it. It did not keep Syd from carrying on. The 1968 recordings saw him start work again with a bunch of songs he had supposedly written during the Floyd days. I’ve always wondered if "Clowns and Jugglers " is not actually an early rendition of the mysterious "In the Beechwoods": while the fair is going full swing (the music at that fair is not swing by the way but most probably jugband music…), while the clowns make faces and the jugglers blow hot air, it is definitely more pleasant to go away and hide. "Isn’t it good to be lost in the (beech) woods"?

Lost he was, or may have been, but he found his way back, back to the studio with Malcolm Jones. Jones lays the stress on Syd’s being totally "together" in 1969, even if still whimsical and a bit "offhand" (as Syd later put it himself) about things. His two official albums as well as Opel and the Crazy Diamond box set do not reveal him slowly "falling into an abyss" (3) but still carrying on with his search for a perfect balance between new words and new music. Syd once declared that he was absolutely satisfied with "Wolfpack", and with hindsight there is no denying that this is a masterpiece: mingling jet and statuesque. But he went one step further with "Word Song", and maybe one too far. If "Scream" was a turning point, then "Word Song" is a point of no return. It is his ultimate statement on the pointlessness of his search. Words are unrelated to each other. Meaning is a fraud. It is a truth, which no music whatsoever can hide.

Maybe he felt at that time that he was going nowhere. Then he went back home to Cambridge, got engaged, considered becoming a doctor, broke the engagement, owing to a dog, went back to London, and back to Cambridge, made several ill-starred attempts at a come back, and fell off his trolley.

Isn’t it sort of scary to think that the last thing he recorded with a name on it was entitled "If You Go, Don’t be Slow"?

What the Laughing Madcaps propose is the key to a mystery. What the Laughing Madcaps propose is what I have been dreaming about for so long I don’t even remember. What the Laughing Madcaps propose is a boon. That is why I am honoured to be one of the Laughing Madcaps. From a legal viewpoint this may not be allowable. But who pays for the lawyers apart from those who are responsible for the waste of Syd Barrett’s talent? What do the lawyers do apart from receiving stolen goods? What do they do apart from keeping Syd Barrett’s old shoes locked in a box since the Fall of 1967?

What the Laughing Madcaps propose is to tear open the box. Take the shoes, they are made for walking, put them on and walk on up the road to Syd Barrettdom. To everything there is a season. Today is the beginning of a new one: after the Fall, let it be the Rise.

Jean-Grégoire Royer, La Flèche , France, 12.21.2000

(1)David Gilmour in " Crazy diamond ".
(2)Mike Watkinson in " Crazy Diamond ".
(3)Julian Cope in " Crazy Diamond ".

Syd Barrett Stars - Everything (So Far)

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:05:00 +0000

SYD BARRETT STARS

It’s so long ago now and the actual details are intermeshed with four decades of rumor & fiction into an, oh-so-slow, shifting tapestry of the cumulative memories of those who were there and those who wish they were. Below is what I could collect about Stars.

Stars were Syd Barrett’s final band (1972). Its members were Syd Barrett on guitar, Twink on drums, and Jack Monck (of Delivery) on bass. They played a few live concerts in Cambridge before Barrett left the group, thus (essentially) ending it. Shortly thereafter Syd Barrett left music altogether and began a life in seclusion, and his work with Stars is sometimes seen as the so called “straw that broke the camel's back”.

Stars:
(Syd Barrett, Jack Monck, and Twink)

Gigs:
Pre Stars: 1-26-72, King's College Cellars -- Barrett, Monck and Twink play a short set (also: Eddie "Guitar" Burns)
1-27-72, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, England -- Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band (also: Hawkwind, Pink Fairies)

February
2-5-72 the Dandelion Coffee Bar, Cambridge, England
2-?-72, Petty Cury (near Market Square) -- Stars
2-?-72, the Dandelion Coffee Bar, Cambridge, England
2-24-72, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge, England (also: MC5 / Skin Alley)
2-26-72, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge, England (also: Nektar)

Post Stars: 1973, unidentified location, Cambridge -- Syd performs with Jack Bruce
(also: Pete Brown poetry reading.)

Drummer - Twink, then with the psychedelic band Tomorrow, met Barrett in '67 when Pink Floyd played a European festival. The band brought gifts with them; Twink's, from Syd, was a hash pipe. Though they remained friendly afterwards, it wasn't until 1972 that they got together musically. "I didn't know him closely for that long," but I was in the same space and I could understand exactly where he was at. I thought he was very together, you know. As a friend it was a very warm relationship; no bad vibes at all. We didn't have any crazy scenes."

Stars was originally brought together by bass player Jack Monk's wife Ginny, who took Barrett down to a Cambridge pub to jam with Twink and some others. A few days later a more permanent arrangement coalesced, and Stars began rehearsing for their first gig, an open air May Day celebration in Market Square. Their material, mostly Syd's, included some for the Pink Floyd days; Barrett recorded practice sessions and one coffee bar gig, and seemed genuinely interested in working again when a promoter friend of Twink's booked Stars into the Corn Exchange.

At that gig everything that could possibly go wrong did: the PA sabotaged Syd's vocals, Monk's amp acted up and somehow Barrett cut his finger open. Added to Syd's memory blanks and hesitant playing, the result was bad press and immediate depression for Syd.

“We just weren't ready for it,” Twink concedes. "It was a disastrous gig, the reviews were really bad, and Syd was really hung up about it; so the band folded. He came 'round to my house and said he didn't want to play anymore. He didn't explain; he just left. I was really amazed working with him, at his actual ability as a guitar player."

Recordings and photographs of their performances remain lost, though it has been attested that the Stars performances contained songs like "Baby Lemonade" and "Effervescing Elephant" from the solo LPs, plus "Lucifer Sam" and a couple of 12-bar blues. It is widely believed that many rehearsals and performances were taped. Twink stated in an interview that a relative of the composer Leonard Bernstein recorded some of the concerts.

Below are some recollections by two people, in-the-know, about possible pre-Stars and Stars recordings:

Hawkwind, Last Minute Put-Together Boogie Band (Pre Stars) & Pink Fairies Live at Cambridge, Corn Exchange 1/27/72

From: Mike Kemp, Engineer:

“The recording of the concert was organised at the last minute and the equipment was poor as all that was available was a rather poor mixer so we just stuck a stereo mic pair across the stage for drums/backline and mixed in some PA mix for front. We were positioned on the top of a sort of cloakroom arrangement in a corner near the stage (in about an inch of thick dust) but had a bad view of the stage from the equipment area due to columns in the building. I spent most of my time with headphones at the troublesome mixer so saw little.

The whole affair was a shambles with a fight breaking out around the stage at one point destroying at least one of the mics. I was pretty naive at the time and can not say I saw Syd Barrett but everyone was saying he was there. There were a number of rambling untogether acts and I am pretty convinced that the Syd Barrett All Stars was mentioned at the time, as well as "The last minute put together boogie band".

Recording was onto a 1/4track Revox at 7&1/2 ips (all we had then) and I do recall listening to it after the gig over the next months. Because we changed all our recording equipment quickly to 1/2track (standard professional format) the old 1/4 track tapes couldn't then be listened to. I recall vaguely that it existed for some time but later attempts to find it failed, e.g. when Robyn Hitchcock spent a day (around 1980) checking all the tapes in our library at Victoria Street.

It is possible that the tape was placed with a whole collection of 1/4 track tapes that Gary Lucas had at the time (it was his Revox) and I am trying to find out if he has any knowledge of these. I've lost touch with him in the last few years since he moved away from Cambridge but I think I can track him down again.”

Here's Syd's introduction from that gig:

A question about the Corn Exchange gig was forwarded to Mark Graham, Spaceward Studio Manager in 1985-86. Below is his reply:

Hi Jeff,

I think it was during the Summer of 1985 when we were clearing out the space above the Control Room roof that I came across the Syd Barrett All Stars tape. It was just one among hundreds that were languishing there, pretty much forgotten that Owen Morris and I were sorting through - our task was to phone the bands or record labels concerned and get them either to collect their tapes or allow us to wipe them.

I admit that it was with a trembling hand that I descended the ladder clutching the tape and then threaded it on the Revox. We listened to it once, all the way through, and, though it pains me to say so, it was an absolute load of old shite.

It was awful. Truly. The sound itself was poor and the onstage tuning was non-existent. It was painful to listen to. Stoned, out-of-key noodlings - remarkable only for how dreadful it was. If I remember correctly parts of the Pink Fairies and Hawkwind sets were also on the tape.

What my response would have been had the recording been brilliant, or even good, of course we'll never know (might I have stolen a copy?) but it was clear to me that this could only ever be of historical (or forensic) interest - you'd NEVER want to actually listen to it - so, not having Syd's phone number to hand, I rang EMI.

The very next day a big car swished into the yard and out stepped a suit. I don't remember the gentleman's name - only his suit. He was from EMI and he'd come to listen to the Syd Barrett tape. I explained the history to him, made him coffee and then played him the tape.

He said nothing until the end.

"This recording can add nothing to Syd's legend - it can only detract from it. It must never be made public".

He took the tape away in his big car and, as far as I know, no copies exist.

So the master was taken away by the EMI suit; a copy was kept by a Spaceward employee (or it may be the other way round) and has since been rediscovered. It is known that Silver Machine (not featuring Syd) from Hawkwind's set, and a bit of an instrumental jam from the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band's set, on which a bit of bluesy noodling from Syd does appear to be audible are on that tape.

Supposedly, some Stars gigs were recorded and, in the Laughing Madcaps group (May, 2000), the following was posted by Joly (Stars Roadie and occasional Bass):

Kiloh Smith wrote:
"I’ve heard that Stars recorded many of their practice sessions and that the ill-fated Cambridge Corn Exchange gig might have been recorded?"

Joly wrote:
"Stars played a number of times at a hippie-community cafe called ‘The Dandelion’ and then one Saturday in the outdoor in the main square in Cambridge and then two shows at the (huge, cavernous) Corn Exchange on a Thursday (with Nektar) and Saturday, two days later, with the MC5.

Nektar, being prog, had state of the art audio—two WEM Audiomasters out front and monitors. I mixed the band. Another roadie was Nigel, who took care of the stage. I think it was a friend of his that taped the show. I was lent the tape by Nigel some months later and it sounded good; I gave it back without copying. I later heard he lost it. I believe that. If it were around, it would have surfaced by now.

The MC5 show was not recorded and was not a good show, mainly due to their being zero monitors—just a big PA amp with one volume knob (the MC5 naturally kept it up all the way) backstage, plus Nigel spread the band too far apart onstage. I was reduced to running back and forwards from front stage to back trying to judge if there was feedback. Syd battled thru but any man would have had problems. The team chalked it up as a good try. You can’t win them all.

The promoter of these shows—Steve Brink—had promised that there would be no press; however he did invite a guy from the Melody Maker, Roy Hollingworth, who had some sort of nervous breakdown at the show (he later ended up in the bin). He wrote a piece that came out the next Wednesday detailing a wave of absolute alienation he sensed at the show, and used Syd as a metaphor for it.

Syd read that piece, was upset, and resigned from the band. I’ve never heard of him playing live since.

There was an eccentric character called Victor who followed the band around. Usually accompanied by his pre-teen son, Victor was a bearded American somewhat reminiscent of Peter Ustinov, always dressed in tweed suits. He was apparently a nephew of Leonard Bernstein, and once took Twink to one of his uncle’s gigs (The Royal Albert Hall). Another time he brought Aaron Copeland to one of the weekly jam sessions in Cambridge. Victor attended most if not all Stars appearances and he always carried a Nagra in his bag. He taped everything. I suspect that those tapes might exist, because his family is more sensitive to the value of archived music than most.

When Syd first started playing with the band I had no idea who he was—I used to sleep over the rehearsal room and Syd would come over early when I was still abed. I listened for a couple of days, and I remember hearing him on the first day and thinking “this doesn’t make sense” and then on the second day “now I am beginning to get it” and by the third “I like it.” I’d asked Twink his name. “Oh that’s, um, Syd,” had said Twink without elaboration.

Syd was no more peculiar than a lot of people around, used to enjoy a cup of tea after the session. You had to be on your mental toes to keep up with odd tangents he would hit in conversation, and this served to make one aware of the regimented mundanity of one’s normal musings.

It was a shame the band didn’t continue. Jack Monck is a great musician in his own right. He and Twink were playing easy skiffle-jazz rhythms and giving Syd lots of room to play."

Other possible recordings of Stars are:

1) Nektar gig at the Corn Exchange. Joly, who worked with Stars, insists that the second Corn Exchange gig as support to Nektar was much better than the previous MC5 gig (as reviewed in Melody Maker by Roy Hollingworth to Syd's exasperation, signaling the end of the venture). Being prog state of the art instrumentalists, Nektar had a great sound system and mixing desk. Joly believes the Stars set was taped.

This is corroborated by Twink and Alan Lee Shaw. Twink says he heard the tape at the time and thought it was OK; Shaw says he has a mental image of the guy sitting by the side of the stage with his reel to reel machine. No one knows the whereabouts of the man or the tape.

2) Stars in the Petty Cury marketplace. Rumoured audience recording. Rumour went cold quickly.

3) Various rehearsals in Syd's cellar and at the Dandelion Cafe. Supposedly taped by Syd himself (among the box of tapes lost by a Chelsea Cloisters employee?) and more professionally by a relative of Leonard Bernstein!

4) Rehearsals taped at home by Syd. Clearly we're not going to hear these.

5) Dandelion Cafe performances taped by Victor Kraft, a former lover of Aaron Copland and friend (not relative) of Bernstein. Kraft, who died in 1976, was also a professional photographer and as such I suspect he may have taken pictures of the Stars performances.

Pictures of Stars definitely exist somewhere. Not only is it an absurd notion that nobody took a photograph of Syd Barrett, a well-known public figure, between 1972 and 1974, but I know of three sets of photos that were definitely taken. These are:

1. A set of pictures of Stars playing an outdoor gig in Cambridge Market Square in February (?) 1972, taken by an unknown Australian photographer. These were briefly circulated shortly after the performance and both Twink and Jack Monck (independently) remember them being excellent quality.

2. Pictures taken by the American photographer Victor Kraft. Victor Kraft was a professional photographer who had previously worked with Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland before settling in Cambridge in the early 1970s. He attended most of Stars' performances, and would have taken photographs and made tape recordings of the band. Unfortunately, he died in 1976 and his wife said that any possessions that were left in his Cambridge flat were taken (with her permission) by his landlords. Whether these include the Stars material, and what became of it if so, is unknown.

3. Pictures of the Market Square gig taken by Cambridge Evening News (and no, the paper doesn't have them). One picture of the band onstage (minus Syd, who was just out of shot) was published at the time, but more must have been taken.

Articles / Interviews about Stars:

STARS: Syd's Final Performance , Terrapin magazine, January 1973

STARS: At Cambridge, SYD CAME ON, PLAYED HIS SONGS AND THEN LEFT. I could end there, but as it was Syd's first stage appearance for four years, detail becomes sacred necessity. He did versions of 'Octopus' and 'No Man's Land from the Madcap album: 'Waving my arms in the Air' and 'Baby Lemonade' from Barrett: and 'Lucifer Sam' from the legendary first Floyd album.

Twink played drums and Jack Monke played bass until his amp decided it couldn't cope with Syd's musical journey and went dead! The lyrics were, for the most part, inaudible due to the terrible P.A., and Syd did no talking between the numbers, which were sadly under- rehearsed. But that was a genius on stage and he did show odd flashes of brilliance, but after about an hour Syd decided he had had enough, so he slowly unplugged and went home.

Personally I think the band set Syd back considerably. I understand he was pushed into it at very short notice and this was reflected in the music. If Syd is going to do anything worthwhile it must be done when he is ready: and if we have too wait five years for an album as good as "The Madcap Laughs" it will be worth it. Underneath all the mystique bullshit there is an ordinary young English musician who bleeds real blood when he cuts his finger during the final number, and smiles a really warm smile when you thank him afterwards. As he said in the Rolling Stone interview, "You know man, I'm totally together. I even think I should be."

Ivor Trueman discussed Stars with Twink – extracted from Opel #11, 5 December 1985:

Ivor Trueman: After the Pink Fairies you next played in Stars. How did that all happen?
Twink: I was living in Cambridge; after I'd left the Pink Fairies I went back to London for a while & then moved to Cambridge. And while in Cambridge I met Jack Monck & some local musicians, though we didn't do anything serious.

Ivor Trueman: You hadn't known Jack Monck before then?

Twink: No. I met him through Jenny, Jenny Spires who was an ex-girlfriend of mine, and she was also an ex-girlfriend of Syd's. It was Jenny & Jack who brought Syd down to the Eddie Guitar Burns gig at Kings College Cellar. And Syd had a jam that night. And I think, I'm not sure if it's the next day, but within the next day or two Jenny & Jack came round to my house in Cambridge & we were talking & someone said "wouldn't it be great to get Syd playing again." It wasn't just me who said that, it was everyone. So Jenny said 'Oh I'll fix up a meeting with him, we'll go & see Syd & ask him if he wants to play with you & Jack.' So that's what we did. We went round to his house & I think his Mum answered the door & then Syd came to the door & Jenny said, 'This is Twink & Jack, they want to know if you want to form a band, just the three of you.' So he said 'yeh, alright, come in'. And that was that. We started rehearsing down in the basement of his house, that's how it started. I think I'm right.

Ivor Trueman: Did you do much rehearsal?

Twink: Not really, we did about two weeks & then we had this gig come up at the Corn Exchange.

Ivor Trueman: Who arranged those gigs?

Twink: A guy called Steve Brink. And I'm sure Steve's intentions were good but he was just as crazy as everybody else, y'know. If we'd had some sort of management direction then we wouldn't have done any gigs for six months or maybe a year or something, but we went straight into it. He came in & said 'I've got this gig with MC5, I'm going to put you top of the bill.' We said yes & he printed the tickets. This is very important to me actually, the tickets said "Stars - Twink's new band", and it looks as though, from that, that people think that I actually got the bands name on the ticket like that because I was more 'together' than Syd. But that's not true & I'd like it to go on record that it wasn't anything to do with me-it was the promoter trying to be over helpful to me & I'd never seen the tickets before they came out or anything.

Ivor Trueman: I think the gigs attracted more attention than they should've done, as Syd hadn't been in the limelight for quite some time.

Twink: Yeh.

Ivor Trueman: But you did some gigs in Cambridge apart from the Corn Exchange.

Twink: Yeh well some of the gigs were great, some of them were really good but the Corn Exchange gigs were awful. The one that I remember best of all was the one that I enjoyed-the one in the Market Square in Cambridge, in the open air that was great. And we did as few in the Dandelion Coffee Bar, I think we did two there & they were also good.

Ivor Trueman: That was all around the same time.

Twink: Yes, all around the same time, 'cos the band didn't stay together very long. Straight after that gig the bad press that we got, I think it was Roy Hollingworth-Melody Maker, he did a piece & he killed the band in fact, with that review. 'Cos Syd came round with it in his hand the next day, he saw it & says 'I don't want to play anymore'. So that was it. I mean I expected that, I thought that that was a possibility that something like that might happen, but it was a shame that it did.

Ivor Trueman: What about the recording of the earlier gigs?

Twink: Well I don't know where the tapes are.

Ivor Trueman: Which gigs were recorded?

Twink: I think all of them were.

Ivor Trueman: And the rehearsals?

Twink: Syd recorded the rehearsals.

Ivor Trueman: On a portable cassette?

Twink: As far as I remember, yes, just on a cassette. And the other one's were recorded on a really professional set up by a guy from America that was based in Cambridge. He was related in someway to Leonard Bernstein & his name's Victor but I can't remember anything else.

Ivor Trueman: Did you realise that the Eddie Guitar Burns gig was also recorded - a guy in Cambridge has a professional quality tape.

Twink: No, I did have once one of the Stars gigs, between me & Jolly, who was a friend I was working with at the time. He used to make badges. He had a tape but I don't know what happened to it. The tapes were good-they were all Syd's songs, Floyd material. I don't think we had any new stuff, but I can't remember.

Ivor Trueman: So Syd wasn't still writing anything at the time?

Twink: I can't remember. I know he was painting at the time, he was a beautiful artist, he did oil paintings, fantastic abstract paintings. I guess most of those are still at his house, Jenny's got one of them.

Ivor Trueman: Are you still in touch with Jenny?

Twink: No. I don't know if Jack is. They were married but I think they're divorced or separated now.

Ivor Trueman: Have you seen Syd recently?

Twink: No. Well yeh-I bumped into him a few years ago in Harrods. I was going down the escalator & he was going up. But I haven't seen him for a while.

Ivor Trueman: One of the guys writing a book on the Floyd has been to see him recently - Mike Watkinson. [Note, this is my mistake, Mike hasn't been to see Syd yet.]

Twink: Yeh, he's been in touch with me but we haven't got together yet.

Ivor Trueman: How long were the sets that STARS performed? The gig list for the Corn Exchange gig was supposed to have been: Octopus, Dark Globe, Gigolo Aunt, Baby Lemonade, Waving My Arms In The Air, Lucifer Sam and a couple of 12- bar blues

Twink: I can't remember exactly, how long the sets were but I think it was about 40-45 minutes. It's quite amazing actually, when you think about it, that he was keen at the time to do this and y'know he was really 'there'. He's a great guitarist & a great musician.

Ivor Trueman: Did Fred Frith ever play in the Stars line-up? We got a letter from him in New York saying that he played once on stage with Syd.

Twink: He didn't play in Stars but I don't know whether he did play with Syd, it might have even been the Eddie Guitar Burns gig.

Ivor Trueman: Was there somebody else there then?

Twink: I honestly can't remember. It could well have been that though.

Ivor Trueman: There's a rumour that Stars also did See Emily Play in rehearsal.

Twink: Yeh, I think that's right, but I'm not sure.

Ivor Trueman: What happened to the proposed gig at Essex University?

Twink: We tried to do that without Syd, because Syd had said that he didn't want to play anymore-but we had that booked so we all went down there with the intention of playing, I'd brought another couple of musicians in to cover for Syd. But in fact the promoter didn't want us to play 'cos Syd wasn't there-so it was a bit of a disaster.

Ivor Trueman: Were you still going to play Syd's material?

Twink: No. It was going to be other stuff. But it was the wrong thing to do we should've pulled out. But we decided to go down there and it didn't work out.

Extract from (Twink (John Alder ) /Bevis Frond (Nick Saloman) Interview – May, 1989

Bevis: What was next musical thing you did after that?

Twink: I moved to Cambridge when I came back, and I worked initially with the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band. The lead vocalist was a guy from San Francisco called Bruce Payne, who was the lead singer in the original American version of Hair. We just put this kind of rock band together, had lots of fun.

The Honk was playing bass with us (from Junior's Eyes) and we did a few shows, then I was playing with some other guys - we called the name of the band ZZZ; it was Alan Lee Shaw and Rod Latter who eventually became the Rings, at a later stage like about 6 years down the road, but anyway we had this little thing going in Cambridge called ZZZ. We did a few shows and then that's when Syd Barrett appears on the scene.

Bevis: Did you know Syd?

Twink: I Knew Syd from the Floyd and from Tomorrow days, because we used to do a lot of shows together in Europe and in the UK.

Bevis: So it wasn't a big surprise that you should get together – if Syd was planning to come out of the shadows again, it's not a kind of unlikely combination?

Twink: Not really because we were acquaintances - I wouldn't say we were mates, but we knew each other. One evening I was playing with the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band, backing a guitarist called Eddie Guitar Burns - an American Blues guitarist. Jack Monk was playing bass with the Put Together Boogie Band at that time. Jack's wife Jenny used to be a girlfriend of mine and was also a former girlfriend of Syd's, so she knew us all. She invited Syd down that evening to the session, I think it was in the basement of Kings College or one of the Colleges anyway and Syd came down and brought his guitar along and jammed with us.

Bevis: That must have been nice!

Twink: It was great, it was wonderful just to see Syd there, after all the stuff that had been written about him. I had seen Syd perform on stage and actually do nothing, but I'd also seen Yoko Ono do some of her stuff on stage and for me what Syd did was absolutely pure art. I loved it when the Floyd were standing there and Syd was at the front of the stage with his guitar strapped around his neck just looking at the audience for an hour, I thought that was wonderful.

It was a day or two later that Jenny suggested that we go and see Syd, myself and Jack, and we should suggest to Syd that we form a band together. We all thought it was a great idea - I was particularly excited because Syd seemed to be coming out of something, and I always like to help some way if I can. So this sounded like a good idea and off we went to Syd's, three of us, Jenny, Jack and myself went round to Syd's house and knocked on his door. I think his mum came to the door and she said, "Syd there's someone at the door for you."

He came to the door and Jenny said, you know Twink and Jack, they want to form a band with you. Syd invited us in and asked if we'd like a cup of tea, and we had a cup of tea and some cakes and stuff and talked about putting a band together.

We started rehearsing in Syd's basement in his house the next day, took all my drums round there and just started jamming. Eventually we needed a bigger rehearsal place so we started rehearsing in my room in Cambridge - I was living at the back of a shop, it was big enough for rehearsals and we were knocking some of Syd's songs into shape.

Bevis: What kind of material were you doing?

Twink: We were doing all of Syd's stuff, old material like "Lucifer Sam".

Bevis: He hadn't written a batch of new songs or something?

Twink: Not that I'm aware of, although he was working on new stuff and painting a lot as well - he was a great artist you know, oil painting. He was standing there one day, I think it was the first day that we went down to his studio, and he had all these oil paintings that he'd done. There was this one big one and I was looking at it thinking how beautiful it was, and Jenny said "I think that's lovely, Syd" and he said "that's for you Jenny", he just gave it to her. All the time that I was working with him, it was a pleasure, it really was.

Nick: So you actually got The Stars, as they were called, together?

Twink: How the name came about was we'd all had the same idea, we'd all thought of the same name without discussing it at the same point in time. Jack Monk wanted to call it Jack Monk's Stars, I wanted to call it Twink's Stars and Syd wanted to call it Syd Barrett Stars, so we all agreed on Stars.

Bevis: It's easier than being called Twink, Syd and Jack Stars! So anyway, you actually did some gigs?

Twink: Yes, we did about half a dozen gigs. I think it was a pretty tight set but some of the gigs were kind of loose because we didn't have road managers, we just had people helping out and stuff. We played all around the Cambridge area, didn't go out of Cambridge, just places like coffee bars - and we played the Market Square on May Day with a huge audience, that was the most memorable gig. It was a good gig, it was really brilliant.

Bevis: A lot of fruit stall holders had a good time?!?

Twink: I think it was cleared that day for the May Day celebrations, but God there was such a crowd - it was unbelievable. Bevis: I've read somewhere that these gigs were actually recorded by someone?

Twink: Yes they were, they were definitely, there's no doubt about that, we know who it was but we don't know if he still has the tapes.

Bevis: I read it was something to do with Leonard Bernstein?

Twink: Yes, Leonard Bernstein's cousin Victor, he used to come around to the gigs, with a really professional machine recording all the shows - but I lost touch with him. He introduced me to Leonard Bernstein and all this other stuff, so I know the connection is real.

Bevis: The tapes must be somewhere around, one would think, unless he kind of wiped them out and put the Archers over it? I've never seen bootleg versions of them, so they obviously haven't materialised, because they'd be prime bootleg stuff?

Twink: They've never appeared, so obviously if they still exist they're untouched.

Bevis: Have you ever seen Syd again?

Twink: I've seen him, you know just bumping into him. I would like to just drop by and see him when I'm up in Cambridge. It would be nice to put The Stars together again. I've got Jack's number. Jack Monk is still around, but I don't know what he's doing now.

Bevis: So it all came to a rather abrupt end?

Twink: Yes, one of the shows we did at Cambridge Corn Exchange was very, very poor, everything went wrong for us that night, and there was somebody there from one of the music papers reviewing the show and they put a really bad review in, I think the NME or something. Syd saw the review, came round to my house the next day and said he didn't want to play any more - and that was it.

Pink Floyd Cheetah Club 1967 - Rare Flyer/Handbill

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:41:00 +0000

This is the front and back of a handbill for one of Pink Floyd’s first concerts in the United States. This was a single night at the Cheetah Club in Venice, California on November 5th, 1967. The previous set of dates was November 2nd – 4th. This was Pink Floyd supporting Big Brother and the Holding Company at Winterland.

See, Pink Floyd missed the first week of the US Tour because if “work permit” problems. They returned to the Britain and did one off-gig as long as they were waiting around: 10-28-67 at Dunelm House, Durham University, Durham, Co. Durham, England.

This Cheetah show was the gig where Syd smeared the Mandies and Brylcream over his head and (reportedly) played a single chord. At the Cheetah, after a lengthy wait, the rest of Pink Floyd decided to take the stage except for Syd Barrett, who was left in the dressing room, manically trying to organize his, badly permed at Vidal Sassoon, hairstyle of the time. As the rest were tuning up, Syd, more out of desperation than anything, emptied the contents of a jar of Mandrax, broke the pills into tiny pieces and mixed the crumbs in with a full jar of Brylcream. He then poured the whole coagulated mass onto his head, picked up his Telecaster, and walked on stage.

As he was playing, the Mandrax/Brylcream combination started to run amok under the intense heat of the stage-lighting and dribbled down from his scalp so that it looked like his face was melting into a distorted wax effigy of flesh. Audience members supposedly screamed in horror. Needless to say, there was a wildly positive review in the LA Free Press newspaper. The reporter states that this gig was the only area appearance for Pink Floyd.

According Dr. Sam Hutt, peripatetic physician to the Underground, people were always looking for new ways to take acid. One of those methods was to mix acid with gel (grease, hair wax or whatever) and to put it in your hair. The acid would then enter your brain by sweating, stage lighting, etc... Another one was to put liquid LSD on the inside of your eyelid. Syd Barrett did that, according to Dr. Sam Hutt, with acid and gel on several occasions.

Dr. Hutt also tells that later on Syd tried it with Mandrax, (the famous Brylcream incident), on more than one occasion. According to Dr. Hutt, "I remember near the end with Syd him coming up and somebody had given him a bottle of Mandies. Mandies were the big bouncing around drug, dodgy indeed, and probably a good idea that they took them off the market. Barbiturates are just plain bastards, but Mandies have this awful seductiveness about them. Syd appeared on-stage with this jar of Brylcream, having crushed the Mandies into little pieces, mixing them up with the Brylcream and putting this mixture of Brylcream and broken Mandy tablets all over his hair. So when he went out on-stage the heat of the lights melted the Brylcream and it all started to drip down his face with these bits of Mandrax."

Tony Secunda (manager of the Move), stated he ran into Barrett on the loading dock of the Roundhouse at the last big UFO fest in September or 1967, and Syd had bits of Mandies stuck in his hair.

Supposedly, after showing up for a gig with his hair streaked with crushed Mandrax tablets, Syd was fired from the band that he had founded and was replaced by David Gilmour.

So, Syd Barrett had been fucking around, mixing LSD with Brylcream, for some time. He graduated to mixing Brylcream with crushed Mandrax tablets. The “Mandies” incident wasn’t an isolated event but a behavioral pattern of his drug abuse.

Syd Barrett Article - You Shone Like the Sun

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:58:00 +0000

You Shone Like the Sun - Sunday October 6, 2002, The Observer

Syd Barrett was the prodigiously talented founder of Pink Floyd, but after just two years at the centre of the 60s psychedelic scene, he suffered a massive breakdown and has lived as a recluse ever since. In this extract from his candid new book, Tim Willis tracks him down and pieces together the story of rock's lost icon

Remember when you were young, You shone like the sun. Shine on you crazy diamond. Now there's a look in your eyes, Like black holes in the sky. Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pink Floyd's tribute to Syd Barrett on Wish You Were Here, 1975

The received wisdom is that you don't disturb him.The last interview he gave was in 1971, and from then until now, there are only about 20 recorded encounters of any kind. His family says it upsets him to discuss the days when he was the spirit of psychedelia, beautiful Syd Barrett, the leader of Pink Floyd. He doesn't recognise himself as the shambling visionary who, during an extended nervous breakdown exacerbated by his drug intake, made two solos LPs, Madcap and Barrett , which are as eternally eloquent as Van Gogh's cornfields. He doesn't answer to his 60s nickname now. He's called Roger Barrett, as he was born in 1946.

On a blistering hot day, pacing the cracked tarmac pavement in this suburban Cambridge street, I wonder if I can act honourably by him. When the DJ Nicky Horne doorstepped him in the 80s, Barrett said, 'Syd can't talk to you now.' Perhaps, in his own way, he was telling the truth. But I could talk to him as Roger; ask him if he was still painting, as reported. I could pass on regards from friends he knew before he became Syd.

Two housewives in the street say he ignores their 'Good mornings' when he goes out to buy his Daily Mail and changing brands of fags. Apart from his sister, they don't think he has any visitors - not even workmen. But they don't see why I shouldn't take my chances. It's been a few years since backpackers camped by his gate. 'He didn't open the door for them, and he probably won't for you.'

So I walk up the concrete path of his grey pebble-dashed semi, try the bell and discover that it's disconnected. At the front of the house, all the curtains are open. The side passage is closed to prying eyes by a high gate. I knock on the front door and, after a minute or two, look through the downstairs bay window. Where you might expect a television and a three-piece suite, Barrett has constructed a bare, white-walled workshop. Pushed against the window is a tattered pink sofa. On the hardboard tops, toolboxes are neatly stacked, flexes coiled, pens put away in a white mug.

Then, a sound in the hall. Has he come in from the back garden? Perhaps it needs mowing, like the front lawn - although, judging by the mound of weeds by the path, he's been tidying the beds today.

I knock again, and hear three heavy steps. The door flies open and he's standing there. He's stark naked except for a small, tight pair of bright-blue Y-fronts; bouncing, like the books say he always did, on the balls of his feet.

He bars the doorway with one hand on the jamb, the other on the catch. His resemblance to Aleister Crowley in his Cefalu period is uncanny; his stare about as welcoming...

In 1988, the News of the World quoted the writer Jonathan Meades who, 20 years before had visited a South Kensington flat that Barrett shared with a bright, druggie clique from his home town of Cambridge. 'This rather weird, exotic and mildly famous creature was living in this flat with these people who to some extent were pimping off him, both professionally and privately,' said Meades. 'There was this terrible noise. It sounded like the heating pipes shaking. I said, "What's that?" and [they] sort of giggled and said, "That's Syd having a bad trip. We put him in the linen cupboard."'

It's a common motif in the Barrett legend: the genius mistreated, forced to endure unspeakable mental anguish for the fun of his fairweather friends. But it's not necessarily true. There are some terrible tales from that flat in Egerton Court. But on this occasion, as flatmate Aubrey 'Po' Powell remembers it, 'Pete Townshend used to come there, and Mick and Marianne. It was an incredibly cool scene. Jonty Meades was a hanger-on, a straight cat just out of school. I'm sure we told him that version of events - but only to wind him up.'

Similarly, Barrett's lover and flatmate at the time, Lindsay Corner, denies the stories that he locked her in her room for three days, feeding her biscuits under the door, then smashed a guitar over her head. This time, however, three other residents swear he did: 'I remember pulling Syd off her,' says Po. And that's the trouble with the whole Barrett business. There are witness accounts by people who weren't there, those who were there disagree - half of them, being as totally off their faces as Barrett was, must have a question mark over their evidence. If you can remember the 60s, as they say...

By October 1966, Barrett was already well on the way to stardom. Pink Floyd supported the Soft Machine's experimental jazz-rock at the IT magazine launch party, a 2,000-strong happening in the disused Roundhouse theatre, featuring acid aplenty, Marianne Faithfull dressed as a nun in a pussy-pelmet, and Paul McCartney disguised as an Arab. There was a giant jelly and a Pop Art-painted Cadillac, a mini-cinema and a performance piece by Yoko Ono.

'All apparently very psychedelic,' sniffed The Sunday Times of the Floyd, thus encouraging hundreds of difficult teenagers to check out their new residency at the All Saints Hall in Ladbroke Grove.

Now once- or twice-weekly, the shows took time to take off. Barrett's friend Juliet Wright remembers an occasion when there were so few punters that Barrett movingly recited Hamlet's 'To be or not to be' soliloquy onstage. But soon ravers were crossing London for the lights and the weirdness, titillated by music-press adverts using Timothy Leary's phrase of 'Turn on, Tune in, Drop out'. With Barrett's nursery-rhyme freak-outs lasting 40 minutes each, the Floyd become known as Britain's first 'psychedelic' band.

Apart from playing a packed live schedule, the Floyd were in pursuit of a recording contract, rehearsing and making rough demos. Floyd gig promoter Joe Boyd, who had production experience, took them into a studio in late January. Barrett had written 'Arnold Layne' by then, and perfected the relentless riff of 'Interstellar Overdrive'. EMI - the same label as the Beatles - signed them up on the basis of these demos, nominating 'Arnold' as the first single. Barrett was delighted. 'We want to be pop stars,' he said, gladly grinning for cheesy publicity shots of the band high-kicking on the street. However, by the beginning of April, he was already railing in the music papers against record-company executives who were pressing him for more commercial material.

He was even less cheery by the end of the month. Six weeks before, 'Arnold Layne' had been released. This jolly tale of Barrett's childhood pal and later Pink Floyd member Roger Waters's mum's washing-line raider was helped up the charts by a ban from Radio London, due to its lyrics about transvestism. But Barrett had grown to hate playing note-perfect, three-minute renditions on stage. On 22 April it reached number 20, its highest position. On 29 April, Barrett was still playing it, at Joe Boyd's UFO club at dawn and on a TV show in Holland that evening. The band then drove back to London to headline at 3am in Britain's biggest happening ever, the '14 Hour Technicolor Dream' at the cavernous Alexandra Palace.

It was a druggy affair. Floyd's co-manager Peter Jenner was certainly tripping that night, and Barrett is said to have been. John Lennon, Brian Jones and Jimi Hendrix were among those who played to a 10,000-strong audience. There were 40 bands, dancers in strobe shows, a helter-skelter and a noticeboard made of lightbulbs which displayed messages like 'Vietnam Is A Sad Trip'. The Floyd came on as the sun's pink fingers touched the huge eastern window. Barry Miles, the 60s chronicler, reported: 'Syd's eyes blazed as his notes soared up into the strengthening light, as the dawn was reflected in his famous mirror-disc Telecaster [or rather, Esquire].' The truth was less rosy. Barrett was tired, so terribly tired.

There's a horrible ring of truth to Barrett's old college friend Sue Kingsford's contention that, in 1967, Barrett would regularly visit her in Beaufort Street, to score from a heavy acid dealer in the basement called 'Captain Bob'. It certainly sounds more likely than the rumours that Barrett's camp-followers were lacing his tea with LSD. Kingsford's boyfriend Jock says: 'Spiking was a heinous crime. You just wouldn't do it. There was a ritual to acid-taking those days - a peaceful scene, good sounds.'

Cambridge pal and future Floyd member David Gilmour reckons: 'Syd didn't need encouraging. If drugs were going, he'd take them by the shovelful.' Gilmour tends to agree with something fellow Camridgian and Floyd's bassist Waters once said that 'Syd was being fed acid.' But Sue Kingsford giggles: 'We were all feeding it to each other... It was a crazy time.' Despite her attachment to Jock, she had a one-night stand with Barrett. 'We were tripping,' she explains.

Ah, but what does she mean by tripping? Another of Barrett's Cambridge friends, Andrew Rawlinson, comments: 'Acid in those days was five times stronger than today's stuff. On a proper trip, you might take 250 micrograms. But a faction believed in taking 50mcg every day. [There was even a popular hippy-handbook on the subject.] On that, you could function - you might even appear normal - but you couldn't initiate much.'

Perhaps that was Barrett's way. But if he had actually taken a proper dose of acid at the Technicolor Dream then it was a fairly rare event. He simply didn't have the time for anything stronger than dope - which he did smoke in copious quantities. And maybe for a few Mandrax, the hypnotic tranquillisers which, if one can ride the first wave of tiredness, induced an opiate-like buzz when swallowed with alcohol. In legend, 'Mandies make you randy.' They may have appealed to Barrett because they were fashionable in the late 60s - or because they stopped his mind from spinning.

The band weren't worried by his behaviour, yet Syd was Syd. And if, by the end of May, people who hadn't seen Barrett for a while thought he had changed, his month had started well. On 12 May 1967 the band played the 'Games for May' concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Barrett wrote an early version of 'See Emily Play' for the event, which was essentially a normal concert bookended by some pretentious bits. The Floyd introduced a rudimentary quad sound-system, played taped noises from nature and had a liquid red light show. Mason was amplified sawing a log. Waters threw potatoes at a gong. The roadies pumped out thousands of soap bubbles and one of them, dressed as an admiral, threw daffodils into the stalls. The mess earnt the Floyd a ban from the hall and a favourable review from The Financial Times.

On 2 June, the Floyd played Joe Boyd's UFO after a two-month absence. Though the other band members were friendly, Boyd said Barrett 'just looked at me. I looked right in his eye and there was no twinkle, no glint... you know, nobody home.' Visiting London from France, David Gilmour dropped in on the recording of 'Emily': 'Syd didn't seem to recognise me and he just stared back,' he says. 'He was a different person from the one I'd last seen in October.' Was he on drugs, though? 'I'd done plenty of acid and dope - often with Syd - and that was different from how he had become.'

Touring the provinces in July, like the rest of the band, Barrett resented the beery mob baying for 'Arnold' and 'Emily'. The Floyd even wrote a white-noise number called 'Reaction in G' to express their feelings. But Barrett's inner reaction was harder to fathom. With his echo-machines on full tilt, he might detune his Fender until its strings were flapping, and hit one note all night. He might stand with his arms by his side, the guitar hanging from his neck, staring straight ahead, while the others performed as a three-piece.

Perhaps Barrett was making a statement. Perhaps he was pushing his experimental notions of 'music-of-the-moment' to new boundaries. Whatever else, he was now seriously mentally ill. And almost certainly he suspected it himself.

After a couple of further concert debacles, Jenner and his partner Andrew King were forced to act. Though their debut LP Piper at the Gates of Dawn was released on 4 August, Blackhill cancelled the next three weeks' gigs and arranged a holiday for Barrett and Corner on the Balearic island of Formentera. Hutt and Rick Wright would be chaperones, accompanied by their partners and Hutt's baby son. Waters and his wife would be in Ibiza. When Melody Maker learnt of this, their front-page splash read: 'Pink Floyd Flake Out'.

2 November 1967, US mini-tour. Pink Floyd were not prepared for the American way. They had expected the San Francisco scene to be similar to Britain's. Instead, they found themselves in humungous venues like the Winterland, supporting such blues bands as Big Brother and the Holding Company (led by Janis Joplin). The three nights they played with Joplin, they borrowed her lighting because their own seemed too weedy. The crowd weren't into feedback or English whimsy - acid-inspired or not. Barrett was off the map, and when he did play, it was to a different tune.

At the beginning of the week his hair had been badly permed at Vidal Sassoon, and he was distraught. The greased-up 'punk' style with which he'd been experimenting would be better. Waters remembers that in the dressing-room at the Cheetah Club in Santa Monica, Barrett suddenly called for a tin of Brylcreem and tipped the whole lot on his head. As the gunk melted, it slipped down his face until Barrett resembled 'a gutted candle'. Producing a bottle of Mandrax, he crushed them into the mess before taking the stage. David Gilmour says he 'still can't believe that Syd would waste good Mandies'. But a lighting man called John Marsh, who was also there, confirms the story. Girls in the front row, seeing his lips and nostrils bubbling with Brylcreem, screamed. He looked like he was decomposing onstage. Faced with this farce, some of the band and crew abandoned themselves to drink, drugs, groupies and the sights. When they arrived in Los Angeles, Barrett had forgotten his guitar, which caused much cost and fuss. 'It's great to be in Las Vegas,' he said to a record company man in Hollywood. He fell into a swimming-pool and left his wet clothes behind.

The Floyd survived the tour by the skin of their teeth. On TV's Pat Boone Show, where they did 'Apples and Oranges', Barrett was happy to mime in rehearsals - but live he ignored the call to 'Action' four or five times, leaving Waters to fill in. Asked what he liked in the after-show chat, Barrett replied... after a dreadful pause... 'America!', which made the audience whoop. On American Bandstand and the Perry Como Show, he did not move his lips, to speak or mime.
Finishing their commitments on the West Coast, the band began thinking of how to replace or augment him. The next day, they were in Holland, handing Barrett notes in the hope that he would talk to them. The day after, they were bus-bound on a British package tour with Hendrix, the Move, Amen Corner, the Nice and others, playing two 17-minute sets a night for three weeks, with three days off in middle.Though he had worked harder, the schedule was too much for Barrett. Onstage, he was unable to function. Sometimes he failed to show up and the Nice's Dave O'List stood in for him. Once, Jenner had to stop him escaping by train.

Barrett did play occasional blinders through out the autumn of 1967, but these instances were as unpredictable as spring showers, and the band's hopes that he might 'return' dimmed. The Floyd stumbled through to Christmas, while the three other band members hatched a plan: they would ask David Gilmour to join the group to cover lead guitar and vocals while their sick colleague could do what he wanted, so long as he stood onstage.

Barrett couldn't care less, and Gilmour, broke, bandless and driving a van for a living - was known to be not only a terrific guitarist but also a wonderful mimic of musical parts. Drummer Nick Mason had already sounded him out when they ran into each other at a gig in Soho. On 3 January 1968, Gilmour accepted a try-out. The band had a week booked in a north London rehearsal hall before going back on the road.

Four gigs followed in the next fortnight, with Barrett contributing little. He looks happy enough in a cine-clip from the time, joining in with the lads for a tap-dance in a dressing-room. 'But in reality,' says Gilmour, 'he was rather pathetic.' On the day of the fifth gig the others were driving south from a business meeting in central London. As they drove, one of them - no one remembers who - asked, 'Shall we pick up Syd?' 'Fuck it,' said the others. 'Let's not bother.' Barrett, who probably didn't notice that night, would never work again with the band that he had crafted in his image. And they never quite put him out of their minds.

Not that their minds were made up. Though the Floyd would go on to huge fame and fortune, at the time they believed they probably had a few months left of milking psychedelia before ignominious disbandment. Barrett, as Waters says, was the 'goose that had laid the golden egg'. Now their frontman had become such a liability on tour, they would rather appear without their main attraction than risk his involvement.

However, Barrett still had the band's schedule. Waters remembers him turning up with his guitar at 'an Imperial College gig, I think, and he had to be very firmly told that he wasn't coming on stage with us'. At the Middle Earth, wearing all his Chelsea threads, he positioned himself in front of the low stage and stared at Gilmour throughout his performance. Now he had to watch his old college friend playing his licks. Undoubtedly, he felt hurt by this treatment.

Though the money from Piper came rolling in, Barrett's work went completely to pot. Jenner took him into the Abbey Road studios several times between May and July 1968, bringing various musicians and musical friends to help out, but achieved next to nothing.

Barrett was all over the place - forgetting to bring his guitar to sessions, breaking equipment to EMI's displeasure. Sometimes he couldn't even hold his plectrum. He was in a state, and had little new material. Jenner had the experience neither as a person not as a producer to coax anything out of him. By August, he and King were having less and less to do with Barrett - which could equally be said of the other lodgers in Egerton Court.

According to flatmate Po, 'Syd could still be very funny and lucid, but he could also be uncommunicative. Staring. Heavy, you know?'

In the spring of 1968, Roger Walters had talked to the hip psychiatrist RD Laing. He had even dri ven Barrett to an appointment: 'Syd wouldn't get out. What can you do?' In the intervening months, however, Barrett became less hostile to the idea of treatment. So Gale placed a call to Laing and Po booked a cab. But with the taxi-meter ticking outside, Barrett refused to leave the flat.

By the autumn of 68, he was homeless. Periodically he returned to Cambridge, where his mother Win fretted, urged him to see a doctor, and blindly hoped for the best. In London, he crashed on friends' floors - and began the midnight ramblings which would continue for two years.

By the mid 70s, the Syd Barrett Appreciation Society had folded, due to 'lack of Syd'. But he wasn't quite invisible. In 1977, ex-girlfriend Gala Pinion was in a supermarket on the Fulham Road. 'Where are you going, then?' he said. 'I'm going to buy you a drink.' They went for a drink, and he invited her back to his flat. Once there, 'He dropped his trousers and pulled out his cheque book,' says Pinion. 'How much do you want?' he asked. 'Come on, get your knickers down.'

Gala made her excuses and left, never to see him again. However, even as an invisible presence, he loomed large. The previous year, punk rock had appeared and the King's Road had become heartland. Without success, the Sex Pistols, their manager Malcolm McLaren and their art director Jamie Reid tried to contact Barrett, to ask him to produce their first album. The Damned hoped he would produce their second, realised it was impossible and settled for the Floyd's Nick Mason ('Who didn't have a clue', according to the band's bassist Captain Sensible).

Barrett continued to do as little and spend as much as ever. Bankrupt, he left London for Win's new Cambridge home in 1981.

From then until now, only a handful of encounters with Barrett have been reported first-hand, but some facts have come to light. An operation on his ulcer meant that Barrett lost much of his excess weight. Win thought he should keep himself occupied, so Roger Waters's mother Mary found him a gardening job with some wealthy friends. At first he prospered but, during a thunderstorm, he threw down his tools and left.

By this time, he was just calling himself 'Roger'. In 1982, his finances restored, he booked into the Chelsea Cloisters for a few weeks, but found he disliked London. He heard the voice of freedom and he followed - walking back to Cambridge, where he was found on Win's doorstep - and leaving his dirty laundry behind.

The circumstances of his final return to Cambridge were rightly interpreted by his family as a 'cry for help' and he agreed to spend a spell in Fulbourne psychiatric hospital. (It has often been said, on the grounds that he has an 'odd' mind, rather than a sick one.) He continued for a while as an outpatient at Fulbourne, with no trouble.

Barrett has never been sectioned. He has never had to take drugs for his mental health, except after one or two uncontrollable fits of anger, when he was admitted to Fulbourne and administered Largactyl. However, he has received other treatments. In the early 80s, he spent two years in a charitable institution, Greenwoods, in Essex. At this halfway house for lost souls, he joined in group and other forms of therapy, and was very content. But after an imagined slight, he walked out - again all the way to Win's house. The increasingly frail Win moved in with her daughter Roe and her husband Paul Breen, according to Mary Waters, 'because she was so scared of his outbursts'.

Some people think Barrett suffers from Asperger's Syndrome. It certainly seems he can't be bothered to think about anything that doesn't directly affect him. He kept rabbits and cats for a while but forgot to feed them, so they had to be sent to more caring homes. Thereafter, the only intimate contacts he maintained were with Win and Roe. Otherwise, he seems to have lost the habit - and become wary - of human interaction, limiting himself to encounters with shop assistants and his sympathetic GP, whose surgery has become a second home. He was - and is still - in and out of hospital for his ulcers.

Paul Breen revealed that his brother-in-law was 'painting again', and meeting his mother in town for shopping trips. It was a 'very, very ordinary lifestyle,' said Breen, but not reclusive: 'I think the word "recluse" is probably emotive. It would be truer to say that he enjoys his own company now, rather than that of others.'

As more years went by, other news leaked out. Barrett was collecting coins. He was learning to cook, and could stuff a mean pepper. On the death of Win in 1991, he destroyed all his old diaries and art books - and also chopped down the front garden's fence and tree, and burnt them (though more in a spirit of renewal than grief). He had been a great support to Roe in her mourning, but hadn't attended the funeral because he 'wouldn't know what to do'. He still wrote down his thoughts all the time. He still painted - big works, six foot by four - but destroyed any that he didn't consider perfect, and stacked the rest against the wall. And sometimes he was unable to finish them, because obsessive fans had climbed over his back fence, and stolen the brushes from the table outside, where he worked.

A few titbits, to finish. In 1998, Barrett was diagnosed as a B-type diabetic - a genetic condition - and was prescribed a regime of medication and diet to which he is sporadically faithful. His eyesight will inevitably become 'tunnelled' as a result - sooner, rather than later, unless he regularly takes his tablets. However, he is far from 'blind', as reported on the more excitable websites.

For Christmas 2001, Barrett gave his sister a painting. For his birthday in January 2002, she brought him a new stereo, because he likes to listen to the Stones, Booker-T and the classical composers. However, he evinced no interest in the recent Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (on which nearly a fifth of the tracks are written by him, despite the fact that he only recorded with the band for less than a 30th of its lifespan). To coincide with the album's release, the BBC screened an Omnibus documentary about him, which he watched round at Roe's house. He is reported to have liked hearing 'Emily' and, particularly, seeing his old landlord Mike Leonard - who he called his 'teacher'. Otherwise, he thought the film 'a bit noisy'.

'Mister Barrett?'

'Yes.'

His voice is deeper than on any recordings, more cockneyfied than on the TV interviews he gave in 67. Behind him, the hall is clean but bare, the floorboards mostly covered in linoleum. I mention someone dear to him, from his childhood. She'd be coming to Cambridge in a couple of weeks, and wondered if Barrett might like a visit?

'No.'

He stands and stares, less embarrassed than me by the vision of him in his underpants.

'So is everything all right?'

'Yeah.'

'You're still painting?'

'No, I'm not doing anything,' he says (which is true - he's talking to me). 'I'm just looking after this place for the moment.'

'For the moment? Are you thinking of moving on?'

'Well, I'm not going to stay here for ever.' He pauses a split second, delivers an unexpected 'Bye-bye', and slams the door.

I'm left like others before me, trying to work out just what he meant. 'I'm not going to stay here for ever.' Does he just mean, 'One day, I might move house.' Or is it a nod to the fate that awaits us all? A coded message that he may re-emerge into the world - perhaps show new work or perform? And is opening the door in your underpants an unwitting demonstration of self-confidence, or an eccentricity, or worse? I retrace my steps, cross the main road to my car where I write a note that I hope is tactful: 'Dear Mr Barrett, I'm sorry to have disturbed your sunbathing. I didn't have time to mention that I'm writing a book on you...' I plead my case, give my telephone number, and return down the cracked pavement.

As I reach the gate, I see him weeding in the front corner of the garden, on his knees.

'Hi,' I say. 'I've written you a note.'

'Huh,' he says, not looking up, throwing roots behind him.

'May I leave it?' He straightens and stares into my eyes, but doesn't answer. He's wearing khaki shorts now, and gardening gloves, which aren't really suited to receiving the note - and I would be tempting fate to rest it on the side of the wheelbarrow which he has bought with him.

'Shall I put it through the letterbox?'

'It's nothing to do with me,' he says. So I do.

'Nice day,' I say, on leaving. 'Goodbye.'

He doesn't reply, and I never hear from him.

Syd Barrett interview - Melody Maker, Mar 27 1971, Michael Watts

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:43:00 +0000

Syd Barrett interview - Melody Maker, Mar 27 1971, Michael Watts

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. His hair is cut very short now, almost like a skinhead. Symbolic? Of what, then? He is very aware of what is going on around him, but his conversation is often obscure; it doesn't always progress in linear fashion. He is painfully conscious of his indeterminate role in the music world: 'I've never really proved myself wrong. I really need to prove myself right,' he says.

Maybe he has it all figured. As he says in 'Octopus,' 'the madcap laughed at the man on the border.'

Watts: What have you been doing since you left The Floyd, apart from making your two albums?

Syd: Well, I'm a painter, I was trained as a painter...I seem to have spent a little less time painting than I might've done...you know, it might have been a tremendous release getting absorbed in painting. Any way, I've been sitting about and writing. The fine arts thing at college was always too much for me to think about. What I was more involved in was being successful at arts school. But it didn't transcend the feeling of playing at UFO and those sort of places with the lights and that, the fact that the group was getting bigger and bigger.

I've been at home in Cambridge with my mother. I've got lots of, well, children in a sense. My uncle...I've been getting used to a family existence, generally. Pretty unexciting. I work in a cellar, down in a cellar.

Watts: What would you sooner be a painter or a musician?

Syd: Well, I think of me being a painter eventually.

Watts: Do you see the last two years as a process of getting yourself together again?

Syd: No. 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. I wanted to do a job. I never admitted it because I'm a person who doesn't admit it

Watts: There were stories you were going to go back to college, or get a job in a factory.

Syd: Well, of course, living in Cambridge I have to find something to do. I suppose I could've done a job. I haven't been doing any work. I'm not really used to doing quick jobs and then stopping, but I'm sure it would be possible.

Watts: Tell me about The Floyd how did they start?

Syd: Roger Waters is older than I am. He was at the architecture school in London. I was studying at Cambridge I think it was before I had set up at Camberwell (art college). I was really moving backwards and forwards to London. I was living in Highgate with him, we shared a place there, and got a van and spent a lot of our grant on pubs and that sort of thing. We were playing Stones numbers. I suppose we were interested in playing guitars I picked up playing guitar quite quickly...I didn't play much in Cambridge because I was from the art school, you know. But I was soon playing on the professional scene and began to write from there.

Watts: Your writing has always been concerned purely with songs rather than long instrumental pieces like the rest of The Floyd, hasn't it?

Syd: Their choice of material was always very much to do with what they were thinking as architecture students. Rather unexciting people, I would've thought, primarily. I mean, anybody walking into an art school like that would've been tricked maybe they were working their entry into an art school.

But the choice of material was restricted, I suppose, by the fact that both Roger and I wrote different things. We wrote our own songs, played our own music. They were older, by about two years, I think. I was 18 or 19. I don't know that there was really much conflict, except that perhaps the way we started to play wasn't as impressive as it was to us, even, wasn't as full of impact as it might've been. I mean, it was done very well, rather than considerably exciting. One thinks of it all as a dream.

Watts: Did you like what they were doing the fact that the music was gradually moving away from songs like 'See Emily Play'?

Syd: Singles are always simple...all the equipment was battered and worn all the stuff we started out with was our own, the guitars were our own property. The electronic noises were probably necessary. They were very exciting. That's all really. The whole thing at the time was playing on stage.

Watts: Was it only you who wanted to make singles?
Syd: It was probably me alone, I think. Obviously, being a pop group one wanted to have singles. I think 'Emily' was fourth in the hits.

Watts: Why did you leave them?

Syd: It wasn't really a war. I suppose it was really just a matter of being a little offhand about things. We didn't feel there was one thing which was gonna make the decision at the minute. I mean, we did split up, and there was a lot of trouble. I don't think the Pink Floyd had any trouble, but I had an awful scene, probably self-inflicted, having a mini and going all over England and things. Still...

Watts: Do you think the glamour went to your head at all?

Syd: I don't know. Perhaps you could see it as something went to one's head, but I don't know that it was relevant.

Watts: There were stories you had left because you had been freaked out by acid trips.

Syd: Well, I don't know, it don't seem to have much to do with the job. I only know the thing of playing, of being a musician, was very exciting. Obviously, one was better off with a silver guitar with mirrors and things all over it than people who ended up on the floor or anywhere else in London.

The general concept, I didn't feel so conscious of it as perhaps I should. I mean, one's position as a member of London's young people's, I dunno what you'd call it underground wasn't it, wasn't necessarily realised and felt, I don't think, especially from the point of view of groups.

I remember at UFO one week one group, then another week another group, going in and out, making that set-up, and I didn't think it was as active as it could've been. I was really surprised that UFO finished. I only read last week that itUs not finished. Joe Boyd did all the work on it and I was really amazed when he left. What we were doing was a microcosm of the whole sort of philosophy and it tended to be a little bit cheap. The fact that the show had to be put together; the fact that we weren't living in luxurious places with luxurious things around us. I think I would always advocate that sort of thing the luxurious life. It's probably because I don't do much work.

Watts: Were you not at all involved in acid, then, during its heyday among rock bands?

Syd: No. It was all, I suppose, related to living in London. I was lucky enough...I've always thought of going back to a place where you can drink tea and sit on the carpet. I've been fortunate enough to do that. All that time...you've just reminded me of it. I thought it was good fun. I thought The Soft Machine were good fun. They were playing on 'Madcap,' except for Kevin Ayers.

Watts: Are you trying to create a mood in your songs, rather than tell a story?

Syd: Yes, very much. It would be terrific to do much more mood stuff. They're very pure, you know, the words...I feel I'm jabbering. I really think the whole thing is based on me being a guitarist and having done the last thing about two or three years ago in a group around England and Europe and The States, and then coming back and hardly having done anything, so I don't really know what to say. I feel, perhaps, I could be claimed as being redundant almost. I don't feel active, and that my public conscience is fully satisfied.

Watts: Don't you think that people still remember you?

Syd: Yes, I should think so.

Watts: Then why don't you get some musicians, go on the road and do some gigs?

Syd: I feel though the record would still be the thing to do. And touring and playing might make that impossible to do.

Watts: Don't you fancy playing live again after two years?

Syd: Yes, very much.

Watts: What's the hang-up then? Is it getting the right musicians around you?

Syd: Yeah.

Watts: What would be of primary importance whether they were brilliant musicians or whether you could get on with them?

Syd: I'm afraid I think I'd have to get on with them. They'd have to be good musicians. I think they'd be difficult to find. They'd have to be lively.

Watts: Would you say, therefore, you were a difficult person to get on with?

Syd: No. Probably my own impatience is the only thing, because it has to be very easy. You can play guitar in your canteen, you know, your hair might be longer, but there's a lot more to playing than travelling around universities and things.

Watts: Why don't you go out on your own playing acoustic? I think you might be very successful.

Syd: Yeah...that's nice. Well, I've only got an electric. I've got a black Fender which needs replacing. I haven't got any blue jeans...I really prefer electric music.

Watts: What records do you listen to?

Syd: Well, I haven't bought a lot. I've got things like Ma Rainey recently. Terrific, really fantastic.

Watts: Are you going into the blues, then, in your writing?

Syd: I suppose so. Different groups do different things...one feels that Slade would be an interesting thing to hear, you know.

Watts: Will there be a third solo album?

Syd: Yeah. I've got some songs in the studio, still. And I've got a couple of tapes. It should be 12 singles, and jolly good singles. I think I shall be able to produce this one myself. I think it was always easier to do that.

Rare Floyd rehearsal photo

noreply@blogger.com (markjones1970) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:54:00 +0000

Pink Floyd rehearsing at Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, London, early 1967. (From March 2010 edition of 'MOJO' magazine. Big feature on Syd and 'The Madcap Laughs' album, Syd is on the cover too!)

Pink Floyd - Corporal Clegg Videos

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:58:00 +0000

Here are a couple of promotional videos for this.

Pink Floyd Corporal Clegg lyrics

Corporal Clegg had a wooden leg
He won it in the war In nineteen forty four.

Corporal Clegg had a medal too
In orange, red, and blue
He found it in the zoo.

Dear, dear were they really sad for me?
Dear, dear will they really laugh at me?

Mrs. Clegg, you must be proud of him.
Mrs. Clegg, another drop of gin.
Corporal Clegg umbrella in the rain
He's never been the same
No one is to blame

Corporal Clegg recieved his medal in a dream
From Her Majesty the queen
His boots were very clean.
Mrs. Clegg, you must be proud of him
Mrs. Clegg, another drop of gin?

Corporal Clegg
Corporal Clegg

Pink Floyd Astronomy Domine - Belgium 1968

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:04:00 +0000

Pink Floyd Astronomy Domine - Belgium 1968. Yeah, it's without Syd but it's still great!

Pink Floyd Bike - Video, Lyrics, Joe Boyd Comment

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:10:00 +0000

Joe Boyd Remembers Syd and Bike:

Question: The recordings that [subsequent Pink Floyd producer] Norman Smith made would there be any way you would have recorded the material differently?Joe Boyd: I don't think so. I think "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was a very good record. I think "Bike" is the best track they ever did. So even though I was pissed off at the time, I was very gratified when the band had to come back to Sound Techniques and use my engineer to get the sound they wanted for "See Emily Play." I was expecting the LP, when they finally produced it, to be something that I would not like or something. In fact, I thought it was pretty good. It's very hard to say.

Pink Floyd Bike lyrics:

I've got a bike
You can ride it if you like
It's got a basket
A bell that rings
And things to make it look good
I'd give it to you if I could
But I borrowed it

You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world
I'll give you anything
Everything if you want things

I've got a cloak
It's a bit of a joke
There's a tear up the front
It's red and black
I've had it for months
If you think it could look good
Then I guess it should

You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world
I'll give you anything
Everything if you want things

I know a mouse
And he hasn't got a house
I don't know why
I call him Gerald
He's getting rather old
But he's a good mouse

You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world
I'll give you anything
Everything if you want things

I've got a clan of gingerbread men
Here a man
There a man
Lots of gingerbread men
Take a couple if you wish
They're on the dish

You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world
I'll give you anything
Everything if you want things

I know a room full of musical tunes
Some rhyme
Some ching
Most of them are clockwork
Let's go into the other room and make them work

Live at the Star Club, Copenhagen, Sept 1967

noreply@blogger.com (markjones1970) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:12:00 +0000

This pic showed up in my email today. I'd not seen it before and shows Pink Floyd performing at the Star Club in Copenhagen. They played here for 3 days in September 1967, the 11th, 12th and 13th. The 13th was recorded and is one of the 2 gigs available on 'Have You Got It Yet?', so this photo could show that gig, or it could have been taken on one of the other 2 dates.

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (40th Anniversary Edition)

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:09:00 +0000

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (40th Anniversary Edition) - I just got my copy! Yeah, I know I'm tardy but better late than never. I give this package my THUMBS UP!

The restoration of the sound is complete and fantastic. The Engineers let the compression alone it seems. The full dynamic range is there. One can hear the nuances very well. It's a joy.

This package also sports the Fart Enjoy booklet. It's actually pretty cool and one can see Syd Barrett's amazing lyrical skills in the making.

The third disc is the real treat here. Again, there are the definitive versions of the singles along with the French EP Mix of Interstellar Overdrive. We then get unreleased versions of Apples and Oranges, Matilda Mother & Interstellar Overdrive. Matilda Mother & Interstellar Overdrive are completely different versions! Syd would wipe the Mandrax and Bryll Cream out of his face and play completely different versions! This is why we must get everything that they have out!

This package is quality all of the way. It’s a must for every Pink Floyd fan. The best part is that it’s available on Amazon for around fifteen bucks! Search: Piper at the Gates of Dawn 3 disc set.

Here’s the track listing:

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn [3-CD Deluxe Edition]
Disc 1
1 Astronomy Domine Mono Version 4:15
2 Lucifer Sam Mono Version 3:09
3 Matilda Mother Mono Version 3:05
4 Flaming Mono Version 2:46
5 Pow R. Toc H. Mono Version 4:24
6 Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk Mono Version 3:07
7 Interstellar Overdrive Mono Version 9:41
8 The Gnome Mono Version 2:14
9 Chapter 24 Mono Version 3:53
10 The Scarecrow Mono Version 2:10
11 Bike Mono Version 3:27

Disc 2
1 Astronomy Domine Stereo 4:12
2 Lucifer Sam Stereo 3:07
3 Matilda Mother Stereo 3:08
4 Flaming Stereo 2:46
5 Pow R. Toc H. Stereo 4:26
6 Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk Stereo 3:05
7 Interstellar Overdrive Stereo 9:40
8 The Gnome Stereo 2:13
9 Chapter 24 Stereo 3:42
10 The Scarecrow Stereo 2:11
11 Bike Stereo 3:24

Disc 3
1 Arnold Layne Mono Version 2:55
2 Candy and a Currant Bun Mono Version 2:45
3 See Emily Play Mono Version 2:54
4 Apples and Oranges Mono Version 3:05
5 Paintbox Mono Version 3:45
6 Interstellar Overdrive Mono Version / Edit 5:15
7 Apples and Oranges previously unreleased / Stereo Version 3:11
8 Matilda Mother previously unreleased / Alternate Version 3:09
9 Interstellar Overdrive previously unreleased / Take 6 5:03

New Pink Floyd Oude-Ahoy Hallen 11/13/67 Pictures & Footage

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:21:00 +0000

Check out this new batch of Pink Floyd Oude-Ahoy stuff! Wow! This show has been bootlegged for years. It's really cool to get an idea of what it was like.

Pink Floyd Oude-Ahoy 11/13/67 setlist:

Reaction In G
Pow R. Toc H
Scream Thy Last Scream
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (announced as "Old Woman With A Casket")
Interstellar Overdrive

2 rare 'Junkyard' photo shoot pics of Syd

noreply@blogger.com (markjones1970) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:46:00 +0000

These are photos I'd not seen before. They were published in an NME annual in 1975 along with an article by Nick Kent. They are from the 'Junkyard' photo shoot and, at a guess, are probably crops from whole band photos that haven't surfaced yet.

2010 Memorial Day Cosmic Campout!

Texaspsych@gmail.com (RokySyd) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:03:00 +0000

Be there or be square:
http://tinyurl.com/yfu2n9a

The above URL has pictures and movies of where we will be. It's going to be a hoot!