"Shining Diamond" by the name of Barrett. Sid and Pink Floyd

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

The word "cult" is torn to shreds. Often they mark everything that even stands out a little from the general series. The phenomenon that truly causes unaccountable worship, which is of a mystical nature, is the concept of "cult", the word corresponding to it is rare.

There are several absolutely iconic phenomena in rock music, among which is a man named Barrett. Sid is a founding member and legendary frontman of Pink Floyd.

The mind-expanding sixties

They had known each other since school, English boys from decent families who lived in a place that personified the intellectual component of Britain and the whole world - Cambridge. They bonded as teenagers and began learning guitar together: Roger Waters and Syd Barrett. Biography "Pink Floyd" in a sense began then. It became clear to the guys that someday they would all get to London and organize their own group.

Waters recalled how once, as children, they talked about experimenting with drugs. Roger was strongly opposed, and Sid said that a real creative person needs to try everything in this life. Subsequently, a similar experience wasalmost all of their environment, but for Sid, he became tragic. It turned out that hallucinogens are more easily tolerated by people whose imagination and sharpness of perception of the world do not exceed the average level. Barrett, on the other hand, was distinguished by the bareness of his nerves and defenselessness in the face of a stream of new ideas and impressions.

School star

He was born on January 6, 1946. His real name is Roger Keith Barrett. Sid got the nickname Syd, according to one version, in honor of a popular jazz player in the town, whose name was Sid Bit Barrett. Then he changed one letter in the spelling to be different from the namesake. Another version says that he received the common Sid from his peers when he once came to a meeting of scouts, wearing instead of a branded headdress a flat cap, which was worn by the inhabitants of the working districts. At the same time, Sid was a real favorite at school. A handsome, witty author of poetry, a star of school theatrical productions, a regular participant in concerts, easy to communicate with peers and adults - this is how he was known at school and at the College of Art in London, where he entered in 1964 to study painting.

In the Barrett family, all five children loved music, the head of the family, the famous pathologist Arthur Max Barrett, played the piano perfectly. Syd showed more of a penchant for drawing, but he also tried to play keyboards. He could hear music. His beloved sister Rosemary recalled that one day before going to sleep she saw Sid sitting on the bed with his eyes closed and enthusiastically conducting an invisible orchestra. "Did you hear that?" - brother's questionlooked intimidating, but spoke of his fascination with the world of sound.

Birth of a band

When Syd arrived in London, his school friend Roger Waters was already studying at the Metropolitan College of Architecture and was playing rhythm and blues with his classmates - drummer Nick Mason, keyboardist and vocalist Richard Wright and guitarist Bob Close in a band that was called Tea Set - “Tea Service”.

At the invitation of Waters, Barrett also joined them. Sid was involved in the emergence of a new name for the group. Subsequently, he liked to state the version that the phrase "Pink Floyd" was dictated to him from a flying saucer, although the real story is more prosaic. At one of the concerts where they participated, a team already appeared under the same "tea" name. I had to rush into naming. Sid caught the eye of two CD cover names from his collection of blues music: Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. The variant "Anderson Council" rightly seemed to him less sonorous - this is how the cult name "Pink Floyd" was born.

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Initially, the band's music did not have the legendary "Floydian" sound. Most of all, their compositions were reminiscent of the Rolling Stones, which at that time were fond of most rockers. But gradually, a new frontman, Barrett, began to come to the fore. Syd wrote lyrics and music that were clearly influenced by his intense "experiments" with LSD and other drugs. But to explain the quirkiness of Sid's talent is only the influence of drugswrong. His fascination with the authors of English literature of the absurd and paradox - Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Kenneth Green, and the riot of fantasy of John Tolkien - affected the choice of topics for the texts.

His style of playing the guitar provoked a protest from Bob Close, who was considered the best musician in the group, who soon left Pink Floyd. Then Close admitted that it benefited the team - the unique sound of the Floyds was born. He always considered Barrett a musician with a unique sense of rhythm, especially admired the use of abrupt changes in tempo and sound coloring in the melody. And his search for new playing techniques using different “gadgets” was truly innovative. Listeners were enthralled when Syd produced sounds by stroking the strings with a metal lighter.

The band's debut album was released in 1967 and included 11 tracks, mostly written by Syd. He made "Pink Floyd" the leader of the psychedelic direction of rock music and brought worldwide fame.

Something wrong with Sid…

Soon the story of "Pink Floyd" and Syd Barrett took on a dramatic character. Because of the fascination with "substances" Barrett began to lose touch with reality. When he suddenly froze on stage, staring at one point and tugging at the strings randomly, the audience was delighted, considering it an element of the show, and the musicians understood that they were losing Sid.

They unsuccessfully tried to arrange for his drug treatment, but could not persuade him to enter the clinic's doors. Attempts to leave behindhim only writing new compositions without being used on stage met with his furious rebuff. After the Pink Floyd's tour of America and the recording of the TV show almost broke through the fault of Sid, it was decided to part with Barrett. In his place was David Gilmour, who went through the absurd situation of having to rehearse with Barret, dubbing his guitar and vocal parts. But Sid didn't seem to be able to adequately perceive his surroundings. In the spring of 1968, Pink Floyd and Barrett went their separate ways.

Crazy Diamond

The band members had sincere respect for Sid and admired his talent. They understood that Pink Floyd was able to overcome the crisis that was predicted for them after the departure of the frontman, largely due to the ideas and creative messages of Sid. Waters, Gilmour, Wright helped a friend in an attempt to continue the music lessons that Syd Barrett undertook. Albums "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett" (1970) were the result of a long painful work in the studio, but did not bring success, despite the fact that some of them are considered unsurpassed heights for Syd fans.

The legendary "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" from the album "Wish You Were Here" (1975) is another tribute to Pink Floyd "to his former leader. During the recording of this song dedicated to Sid, a story happened. Syd Barrett appeared in the studio where the musicians worked. ATswollen with fat, sloppily dressed, bald-shaven man, with difficulty reacting to what was happening, for a long time no one could recognize his friend. For many, this was the last time they saw Sid in public.

Having no financial problems due to the regular contributions made by Pink Floyd, Barrett lived in seclusion at his home in Cambridge until the age of 60, occasionally painting and gardening. On July 7, 2006, he passed away, remaining a rock legend and his shining diamond.