Shine On You Crazy Diamond

There’s only one possible subject for today’s blog, prompted as it was by the sad news of Roger “Syd” Barrett’s death at the age of 60, a victim of cancer. As a nipper growing up near Cambridge, as I did, Syd was something of a mythical figure. Founder, of course, of Pink Floyd, and responsible in large part for their incredible debut The Piper At The Gates of Dawn (released in 1967), Syd tragically left the band only a year later. His inability to deal with burgeoning fame and copious use of LSD are often blamed for his increasingly erratic behaviour and descent into mental difficulties, which left his place as a member of a successful new band impossible. This may be true, but regardless of the causes, his exile from music is etched in rock folklore. He removed himself to his mother’s house near Cambridge, remaining there until the end of his life. He did emerge to release two solo efforts, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, in 1970, but apart from these under-appreciated efforts, that was your lot – into total recluse mode. Brilliantly creative, Barrett’s star was destined, it seems, to burn brightly but fleetingly. And so back to the story, where as a youngster this author would also indulge from time to time with friends in experimenting with mind-altering substances while also discovering a love of music of all types. Every young man worth a salt should go through a Floyd stage, surely, and Syd was a bit of a local hero, albeit one rarely glimpsed but with a rich “rock legend” back-story. It afforded him a mythic status of sorts in his self-imposed, psychedelic influenced reclusion in a village nearby. So I am especially sad that Syd’s flame has now gone out entirely, but pleased also that some of his genius remains in the music he left behind. If you don’t know Pipers you should check it out and enjoy the original space rocker, our very own supernova, one last time.