All language subtitles for Have You Got It Yet The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd 2023 REPACK 1080i BluRay REMUX AVC DTS-HD MA5 1-WiTCHCRAFT

"Fnme requlres every kind of excess.

I mean lrue me.

A rtevouring neon.

Long journeys across grey space.

Danger.

Tbe edge of every vold.

Unrterslnnd lhe man who musl
lnhabll tbese exlreme reglons.

Even If half-mart, be is absorbert
inlo lhe publlc's lolal madness.

Even If fully rallDnal,
a bureaucrnl In hell,

a secret genlus of survlval,

he ls sure lo be rteslrDyert by
lhe publlc's conlempl for survlvors."

What are you working on
at the moment inside yourself?

I can't really say.

Maybe this break
would be very valuable

to try painting again after
a break of going into pop music.

I don't know.

If I wanted to say nothing ,

or if I want to act
in an extraordinary way,

then I feel that
that too is justified.

Syd Barrell, one of lbe foundlng
members of Pink Ployrt,

has rtled al lhe age of 60.

A slalemenl from lhe band
descrlbert hlm as a gulrtlng llgbl

who leaves a legacy
wbich conllnues lo inspire.

He lefl lhe Plnk Ployrt In I 968

anrt llved as a recluse
In Cambrlrtge for lhree decades.

How woulrt you descrlbe,
now In your malurily...

Thank you.

...his contribution to Pink FIoyd?

Well, ll wouldn 'I bave exisled
If il hartn 'I been for Syd.

We would have been one of those
thousands and thousands of bands

who come up and they play
blues and "Louie Louie".

They might write the odd crappy
song and then they disappear.

They get proper jobs
and that's the end of it.

I rtlscDvered Plnk Floyd's muslc

lhrougb lhe music
lhey marte In lhe lnle '70s.

For people lhal gol
lnlo Plnk Ployrt at lhal polnl

and were lislenlng
lo lhose recorrts flrsl,

lhey knew lbal lhere hnrt been
lhis guy Syd In lhe band.

The slory was always,
"Oh, be wenl mart anrt left lhe group."

That's all we knew aboul ll.

There was rellglous
acld laking al lbal llme.

Syrt was one of lhe sort of
salnts of lhal unrterground cull.

Flleralure anrt lbe Bible
for example, ls full of people

who rtellberalely lsolalert lbemselves.

The bermils who wenl lnlo lbe rtesert.

People who had visions,
who preferred to be on their own.

And others,
who having those experiences,

were determined
to preach to the multitude.

Tbe romanllc ideal is

lbal a creallve persDn ls rtrawn
by somelhlng so powerful

tbat be, or she, wlll follow lhal

regarrtless of tbe prlce
lhnl has ID be palrt.

These people are oul lhere In fronl.

They're nDt looklng
over lhelr shoulder,

lbey're just gonna do il.

Syrt is lhe ulllmale kind of Ioner.

Il's lhe same a llllle bll
wllh Brlan Jones or somelblng.

I suppose whal ls sad
is aboul someborty

who ls slill exlremely relevanl,
just rtecldes lo slop.

It's OK when someone carries on
into irrelevance and then stops.

No one cares.

Tbe lasl tblng be was lnlereslert In
was explalnlng hlmself

Anrt consequenlly, he became a flgure
of lnlense-focused lnleresl,

because lhere was a myslery lhere.

He's tbe perfecl gort, you see.

A god must actually
be killed and eaten ,

but then he must be reborn.

Tbe life of Syrt Barrell,

foundlng member of Plnk Ployrt,
is full of unanswerert questlons.

Thougb he named lhe group
and wrole lhelr flrsl lwo hll songs,

Barrell was laler pushed out
of lhe banrt by lls members,

who were convlnced be was baving
an fSD-lnrtucedpsychollc breakdown.

Bul ID examlne lbe complex
slory of Syd Barrell,

Dne neerts lo lake a lrip.

A lrlp back lo lbe plcluresque
and bislorlc

Engllsb unlverslly lDwn of Cambridge.

Roger Keilh Barrell was born in
Cambrldge on January 6lh I 946.

One of five chllrtren,
closesl lo hls slsler Rosemary.

He was always
wanling lbe nexl bll of fun.

And if it didn't arrive,
then he'd make it.

I can remember
Dnce al lhe dlnner lable,

when he had a !lllle bit of cabbage
sllcklng oul Df bis moulh.

He knew it was there and he kept it
there for the whole meal

and pretended he didn't know.

Of course, everybody was
giggling because his face was,

"I know it's there,
I know you're Iaughing at me

but I'm going to ignore it."

Barrell's falher,
a palhologist and avlrt bolanlsl,

encouraged lhe artisllc
leanings of hls son,

who loved lo wrlle anrt draw.

By lhe age of I 3 or I4,

Roger hart acqulred lhe nickname yrt'
from bls friends al school.

As legend bas ll,
after a local jazz bass player,

Syd 'lhe beat' Barrelt.

Al bDme he remalnert Roger or Rog.

I'm speaking at this Ievel .
I'm speaking at this Ievel.

Ok. This is slate three.

I believe Storm's interview,
it's 08: 10.

Big clap.

My name is Slorm.
I knew Syd In lhe early '60s.

We were bolh al lhe same scbDol

as Roger and Dave,
wbo became Plnk Ployrt Dbvlously.

The peer group In Cambrlrtge
lhal Syd was part of

was full of asplring artlsls.

Nol businessmen,
nol mertical, nol lawyers.

Syd was nol unusual

and seemert lo be
as be were one of lhe gang.

Tbe group evolvert by ltself

Noborty was really lhe learter.

The cenlres of Seamus and Storm

was slmply because lbelr molhers
were very lnrtulgent

lowarrts leenage boys.

Tbe start came al Cherry Hlnlon
Roart al your mDtber's bDuse.

I tended to be into
beer and jazz and students.

Your lot were more into drugs
and rock music and cool people.

I deny it totally.

I wenl lo lhe cDunly hlgb school,
Cambrlrtgeshlre Hlgb School for boys,

and was in the same year as Syd.

We had lo choose belween
woortwork, melal work anrt nrt.

SD I wenl lnlo lhe art class

and there I discovered a bunch
of people who were useless.

A leacher who was equnlly useless,

bul one slurtenl
by lhe name of Roger Barrell,

hart a flare way beyond his years.

Tbe Chrislmas holirtay of I 96 I
was overshadowert

by his falber's rtealh from cancer,

just a montb
before Syrt's I 6lh blrthday.

Syrt's famlly moves lo I 83 Hllls Roart.

Libby Gausden llves
several houses up lbe streel.

I mel Syrt, I lbink, in I 96 I.

We 'rt have bolh been I 5.

Where did you meel?

I met him at Jesus Green ,

which is a wonderful place
in Cambridge.

I'd been swimming and diving
actually with Dave Gilmour.

Afler lbe swlmmlng,
I came oul wllh some frlenrts

anrt we were messing
aboul on lhe see-saw oulslrte.

And I mel Syd lhere.

He was kind,
he was gentle, he was generous,

he llked buylng presenls.

He wrole lo me all lbe llme.

I hart always lhougbl of you
as Syd's flrsl major glrlfrlenrt.

We were always logelher.

Wben you wenl oul wltb hlm
how was he ?

It always looked like he was full
of the joys of spring , which he was.

Fel's go back,
way back lo lhe early '60s.

Whal ls your abldlng memory of Syrt?

Just a guy who was fiercely
intelligent and Ioads of fun.

Life was just loo easy
for hlm really In a way.

He had huge gifts

which were natural to him
so he did n't see them as huge.

Everything he turned
his hand to worked.

The girls worked , the painting
worked , the music worked ,

the friendships worked.

I always remember Syrt's balr.

- DD you?
- Yeab.

- Curly, black.
- Yenh, lDvely.

Anrt I nlso remember his walk.

- He smelled nice.
- Sorry?

He smelled nice.

You could see
lhls exlraordlnary buoyancy

whlch was mosl clearly
evlrtencert In tbe way be wa!ked.

He walked with a bounce,
he walked on the front of his feet

with his heels
off the ground all the time.

You cDuld spol him several
bunrtrert yards away In Cambrldge

wanderlng up lbe slreel.

We usert lo go on my Vespa
rtDwn to Hllls Road

for lhese Sunrtay aflernoon
jam sesslons,

where I saw Syrtplaylng
gullar for lhe firsl llme.

The muslc sirte of lbe slory
really begins

wilh Geoff Moll Anrt The Molloes,
of whicb Syd was an augusl member.

I remember when Syd
bought his first Futurama.

It was bright red as I recalI

and he used to Iearn
Duane Eddy things on it

like "Walk Don't Run".

We 'rt slarted lo go lo sbo In fondon

anrt I remember sllllng on lhe lraln
havlng seen Gene Vlncenl.

We sat there with a piece of paper

and figured out
the amplification for the band

that we were going to be.

It had two VOX AC30s drawn on it.

And we were going ,
"Well , the vocals and the bass

and then this
can go through this one.

The rhythm guitar...

Will we have a keyboard?
Don't know, maybe."

He used to appear at parties

of which we had quite a lot of
in Cambridge at that time.

He used lo play a lol of lhe songs
lbal later became songs on bls album.

But because he was just
as he were one of the gang ,

I don't think anybody
thought anything about him.

He had lhls grln

you coulrt mlslake for a smirk
bul it wasn 'I.

Il was almosl llke be knew
somelhing you rtlrtn 'I know.

He was one of those people

that was part
of the crowd very much so

and then the next minute,
he'd slipped away from a room.

And ll'rt be, "Where's Syd?"
Noborty knows.

Syd's enlhuslasm for palnllng

sees hlm enrol al lhe Cambrirtge
School of Art In I 962.

Slmullaneously, be rtlscDvers
Bealpoelry, Kerouac

anrt rhylhm anrt blues.

He gets lnlo The Bealles

and sees
lhe Rolllng Slones In concert.

He drew very often

with a lovely kind of whirly
twirly drawing quality.

Very refined line I would say.

He seemert lo me a born painler

anrt lo have really lhe lemperamenl
of a born palnler.

SIightly recessive and contemplative.

I had laken up pnlnllng.

Davlrt Gale suggeslert tbat
we have an exblblllon lDgelber.

It is our first venture
into commercial art.

A lolal llure.

- Did you sell anything?
- No, we sold nothing.

We used to have
jam sessions with the guitar

In lbe art school,
and laler, jolnert by Dave,

In lhe common room
lo lhe whole lecbnlcal college.

We lovert Bealles
anrt Slones and b!ues sluff

Chuck anrt BD.

I can remember learning "Come On".

- The Stones.
- By the Stones.

And "Off the Hook".

I can see In my mlnrt lhe back bench

agalnsl one of lhe walis
anrt people sllllng lhere

at prDbably I 0..00 o 'clock In
lbe mornlng just slrumming away.

Do you remember wbelber you were
lmpressert by bis palnllngs

or by his personalily?

I was more impressed
by his personality.

He just looked like someborty
who was going places.

He was qulle a slar in our small
firmamenl as ll was al lhe llme.

He was very unusual ,
very interesting.

The complete package
I believe you'd say.

The complete package.

Jenny rtenr,
when rtlrt you flrsl meel Syrt?

And how was he ?

I mel hlm In lhe Cambridge
Sludenl Unlon Cellars.

He was playing with
a band called Those Without.

He came up anrt sald bello
and lntrortucert blmself

When rtid you slart going slearty?

Well , a week Iater,

a week after that,
he phoned me and said

he would like
to meet up and have coffee.

So I met him in the Guild.

He wrole lo me anrt sairt

lhal he'd rtrawn a plclure
of me leanlng agalnsl tbe bar.

He sent this picture

with a beautiful piece of pink
tissue paper written on it,

"I love you , I love you .
I can't stop thinking about you ."

How long did you go oul wilb hlm ?

I probably saw him nearly
every day from '5 I lo '63.

I think he went
to art school in London in '64,

so that was a bit of a messy year.

In Seplember I 964,
Syrt moves lo Lonrton.

I n 1960, whatever it was,

he duly arrived
and he moved into the apartment

that I was already sharing
with N ick Mason and Rick Wright.

- Mike Leonard's place?
- M ike Leonard's place.

We were Leonard's Lodgers.

Bob Klose was In tbe banrt.

As soon as Syrt arrivert lblngs changed
because Syrt had olher asplrallons.

Syrt lunert lnlD
lhal wbole wesl coasl lblng.

If you asked me, "What did Love do?"
I'd go, "I have no fuckin' idea."

But I know Syd did.

He was one of lhe mosl

emollonally anrt lnlelleclually
curious people

lhal I've ever mel.

Glgging unrter varlous names,

lhe ArcbllecluralAbdabs
anrt Tbe Tea Sel,

Syrt renames lhelr banrt
lhe Plnk Floyrt Sound

by comblnlng lhe names
of lwo obscure blues men,

Plnk AndersDn anrt Floyd Councll.

Bob Klose leaves lbe banrt

as tbey slart movlng
lowards more lmprovlsed muslc

largely as backlng lracks lo tbelr
lncreasingly elaborale llgbl shows.

Syrt slarts lo wrlle songs
lncludlng "Lel's Roll Anolber One '

wblch laler becomes
"Canrty anrt a Curranl Bun "

anrt "Bob Dylan Blues ".

The banrt becomes solirtified
wllb Syrt on gultar,

RDger Walers on bass,
Rlck Wrlghl on keyboards

anrt Nlck MasDn Dn drums.

When you were al Camberwell wilb Syrt,
whal klnd of guy was he ?

The lhlng lhal I really remember
is bls lnnocence.

All this very glamorous
dark curly hair, very alive eyes

and a general air
of glamour about him.

But he had this innocence
almost like a child.

He palnlert wllb greal energy,
lerrific sense of colour.

And whal I remember is blg,
verypainlerly abstraclpalnllngs.

Towards lhe enrt of lhal flrsl year,

he wenl ID Robert Mertley,
wbo was heart of palnllng.

He sald lo Robert,

'Al lhe momenl wllh my group
I'm gelllng 200 pounds a week."

- A lol of money.
- A fortune really.

He sairt, "Coulrt I posslbly have
lbe year o have a sabballcal?"

His college wDrk was lmportanl
and he'd wrlte lo me and say,

"I've gol lo do a palnllng lhis slze
so I can slay on nexl year,

bul I wrole lhls really nlce song."

So did Syd then leave for a year?

He left and he didn't come back.

Havlng lefl art school lhere are
a lol of lhlngs lhal I could rto,

a Iol of lhlngs I see now,
a lol of lhlngs lhal went lnlo me,

tblnklng lhal lbese were perhaps
changlng and alterlng lhlngs.

Roger Kellh Barrell,
asplrlng palnler,

rtrops oul of art school sD lhal Syrt
Barrell, pop slar, may be born.

Before long, Barrell would flnrt
hlmselfal lbe eplcenlre

of lbe biggesl unrterground
movemenl ever lo hll Brllaln.

You've got a bright future.

There's a general
sea change that goes on

in English music anyway
during 1965, '66.

You get a band like The Paramounts
turning to Procol Harum

and stop doing
cover versions of Poison Ivy.

And within two years they're
doing "A Whiter Shade of Pale...

I lhlnk Syrt is al lbe very
culllng ertge of lhal movement.

I lhlnk Syrt's one
of lhe firsl ones who lransrms

from just copylng R&B to aclually
doing somelhlng ullerly new.

We were readlng
Alan Wnlls, Marvel comics,

Kerouac and Cybernellcs,
all al lbe same lime.

Syrt was an exlraorrtlnarlly
quick absorber.

It was just a series of,
"Look at this.

Listen to this.
What about this?"

And it was just
going on and on and on and on.

All of the arts,
all simultaneously

and then we can just throw
LSD into the mix if you feel like it.

There was a lot of rumours
going around

that acid can damage your brain.

And hippies would say,
"It's just the CIA, man.

They're just saying that
to stop you taking acid ,

to stop you eating Iive kittens."

Accorrting lo all lhe accounls
lhal I've reart,

everybody was on aclrt
in my parenls back garrten.

Tbls is nol lrue.

I lhink lhe only person
lbere who was on aclrt...

Maybe lwo people were,
Paul Charrler nnd Sunny Syrt.

I believe there was a water fight.

The bathroom window
on the top floor banged open.

There were shouts of joy

and we saw water
coming out of the window.

Paul Charrier wielding the rose
of the shower spraying Syd.

They were just mucklng aboul
llke slx-year-olrts.

People were hanglng
arounrt In lhe garrten.

Syd wenl lnlo lhe kllchen
of lhe house, found a box of malches,

an orange anrt a plum,
sal rtown and lookert al lhem.

Most of the time, what I remember
is Syd sitting quietly

in the back garden
of Dave Gale's house

holding and examining these objects.

Al lhal lime, everybody
was rtropping acld In fondon.

Bul nDl everyborty's
rtropplng acld like he was.

Bul he wasn 'I lhe only one.

And there was a lot of
discussion about how to take it.

Is there a big difference between
50 milligrams a day or 100 or 250?

How many times a day?
Once, twice or three times?

Is there a real difference between
250 milligrams and 500 milligrams?

Aclrt was lbe rtrug of lbe tlme.

Self-realisation ,
speaking to God through acid ,

is the danger of opening doors

before you've spent
30 years in solitude

and preparing your soul
and your spirit ready

for the big meeting with Big G.

That was one
of the problems with acid.

It whooshed you right through
that 30 years of preparation ,

opened the door and bang!

There you are at the centre
of the celestial universe.

Deal with it my son.

Anrt lwo bours before you were eallng
fish anrt chlps rtown lbe corner.

He really rtlrt feel
lbal lbe psycbertellc revolutlon

was flowlng rlghl lhrough his borty.

He rtid feel he was almost
possessert agalnsl bls wlll.

You know lhal slory, "If you can
remember lhe '60s you weren 'I lbere."

It was the destruction of the rational ,
predictable, material world.

So called reallly
was Dnly one of many.

I 966 is lhe year
lhe doors come Dff lhe hlnges.

Fuellert by experlmenlallon
wilh mind-expanrting rtrugs

flowlng lhrougb lhe counler culture,

lhe seismic upbeaval
of post-war Brllish soclely

sprearts frDm pollllcs anrt art,
lo shlon and muslc.

Everyborty was laklng lDts of drugs.

People Iiked these long things
that you could really get into,

which strung you out

and took you very slowly through
various climactic trajectories.

We all llked Love's album
whlch was really good.

I was just saylng lo hlm, "I really !ove
lbal song wblch goes.. ."

Da-da-da-da-da
da-da-da.

Done In lbe "flllle Red Book'
or somelblng Ilke lhal.

I can 'I slng In tune lo save my llfe.

Syd salrt, "You mean like lhis ?"
And be played ll.

That's whal became
"lnlerstellar Overrtrlve '

It was that riff mangled by me
and then reinterpreted by Syd.

The blg lbing In lhose days was
Prlrtay nlgbl al lhe UFO club.

Nol only dlrt you have Plnk Ployrt,
yDu hart Tbe Sofl Machlne

anrt lhe Crazy Worlrt of Artbur BrDwn.

"Fire."
Da-da-da, da-da.

Pele wDuld have been supplylng
a psychedellc projecllon apparalus

lo lhe increaslngly
glgglng Plnk Ployrt.

Were you as exclled by lbls
as were lhe audlence ?

I don't know about the audience,
I never gave them a thought.

I remember being in the aud ience

thinking this was probably
the centre of the universe.

Yes it was, indeed.

The Dnly llme I've ever rtellberalely
missed a glg wilb Tbe WbD,

was I hearrt lhal Plnk Ployrt
were rtolng a concert

and rtlrtn 'I lell lhe band.

So the band went and I went
to the U FO club with Eric

and took some acid
and danced like a hippie.

The band bart come oul
wllh lhis lnlerestlng rlg,

wblch was lwo Blnson Echorec unlls.

Tbey were considerert lo be
an echo box from lhe era of..

Dow-dow, dow-dow-dow.

Nobody used them.

Certainly J imi Hendrix
d id not use an echo box

and neither did I , and neither did
Eric Clapton or J immy Page.

Nobody used them.

But Syd had not just one but two.

He came oul, he had a shock of
blnck balr, black makeup on bls eyes

anrt lbe clolhes he was wearlng
were proper psychedellc oulflts.

Anrt he was beaullful.

He plays a chord
and it just goes, jang!

And then nothing happens.

So he pushes
some buttons on this machine,

plays another chord , jang!

Nothing happens, he pushes another
couple of buttons on the machine

and suddenly it goes...

Da-na-na, da-da-da
wo-wo-wo-wo...

His analogue echo degrartes.

He pushes another button
on the other machine,

and it goes into, what we call
in the music business, syncopated echo.

It goes...

Pow-pow-pow-pow, pa-pa-pa-pa,
pow, pa-pa-pa-pa, pow.

Pa-pa-pa-pa, pow,
pa-pa-pa-pa, pow.

Nlck Mason slarts lo play
anrt lhen Roger Walers slarts lo play

anrt ll just lurns lnlo
whal can only be rtescrlbed

as speclacular
psychertelic beavy melal.

Somelhlng sudrtenly klcks In.
I rton 'I lhink ll's even grartual.

Yes, you can say ll's LSD.

Yes, you can say it's the echoplex,
it's the Iight shows.

There's all these interesting
environmental things going on

in and around the music,
but really it's Syd.

The way lhe acl's developed
In lhe lasl slx monlhs

has been lnfluencert by lhe facl
lhal we've playert In ballrooms.

I lhlnk concerts have glven us
a cbance lo realise

lhal lhe muslc we play isn 'I
rtlrecled al rtanclng necessarlly

like normal pDp groups.

Syrt deflnert lhe wbDle
of lhal momenl In lhe '60s.

The colour, the vivacity of it,
the psychedelic freedom.

Wllboul Syrt, sDmelhlng
mlghl bave bappenert evenlually.

You could n't over emphasize
his importance

because he was the creative genius.

I remember sltllng wllh him

whlle he was looking
lnlo lhe slars book

and gelllng 'Aslronomy Domlne " lhlng,
wblch I hnrt lo reart In lbe slurtio,

whicb he just look oul
of a book, anrt I lDve lhal.

Tbey were so lolally
anrt unbellevably orlglnal.

You coulrt say lhal lbe varlous
lecbnologles were available,

!lke Hammond organs
and lbis anrt lhal and lhe olher,

whlch gave lhem lbe opportunily
of mlxlng popular muslc

wilh melapbyslcal lrteas
and sclence ficllon ideas.

The FIoyd were never doing
" 19th Nervous Breakdown"

or "I Can't Get No Satisfaction".

Why has it all got
to be so terribly Ioud?

For me, frankly it's too Ioud .
I just can't bear it.

I happen to have grown up in the string
quartet which is a bit softer.

If one gets immune
to this kind of sound ,

one may find it difficult to appreciate
softer types of sound.

Syd , yes, no?

- I don't think that's so.
- No?

Everybody Iistens, we don't need it
very Ioud to be able to hear it.

And with some of it
is very quiet in fact.

Do you in your turn feel aggressive
towards your audiences?

No, not at all.

I n spite of all the Ioudness?

- No, not at all .
- Sorry?

There's not many young people
who dislike it.

- There's no shock treatment intended .
- No, certainly not.

When Syd Barrett
started writing for Pink FIoyd ,

he seemed to give it
this very English voice,

which was quite unusual at the time.

The Kinks were doing that,
I guess, as well.

He had a big attachment
to more intellectual realms,

to lhe whole Hilalre Belloc lhlng
and lo fewls Carroll.

He has a strange bridge

between Edwardian musical ,
Vaudeville,

and his own particular
brand of English psychedelia.

When you heard that music,
it was in colour.

Everything else
was in black and white.

He's lhe fake Poels.

He's an English romantic
of the 19th century.

He was not London 1966.

Bul be was Lonrton /956.

He happened lo be,
bul lhal was a cloak he wore.

In hls lyrics, lbere's a lol
of anlmal references.

Tbere's a mouse called Oerald,
lhere's lhe elephanl,

there's fairies, there's scarecrows,
there's cats.

Il's a worlrt lhal I was
always fasclnaled wllh.

In bls songs
we have a palnlerly vlslon.

He evokes very slrongly
references lo sun,

lo shlnlng, lo sea,
lo sparkles, lo waler.

All lbese lhlngs
run lhrough hls songs

like a perpelual contlnuous lhreart.

Syrt ls a nalure poel.

I bearrt al one polnl
lhal hls whole dlet

conslslert of hasb and poelry.

I think I tried to do that
at some point in my 20s.

He's the original pu nk rock icon
in what pu nk rock meant to me,

which was sort of breaking all
the rules and having fun with it

and the spirit of play.

To look good, ID be able lo play gullar,
lo lnvent good melorties,

and also to produce lyrics
that made you think.

Il's a very pDwerful sel of lools
lo have al your rtlsposal.

Syd hart all lhls
churning around In his mlnrt,

llke lhe resl of us did,

bul be mnkes connecllons lhal
are so unexpeclert and strnnge

lhal no Dne else In lhe world
could bave made lhose connecllons.

Even early songs
like "Bike" for instance.

He'd written about a bike,

which of course is not a subject
that most lyricists write about.

They write about love
or death or illness or loss.

"I've got a bike,
you can ride it if you like."

"It's got a basket, a bell , a ring
and things that make it look good ."

"I'd give it to you if I could ,
but I borrowed it."

Where does this come from?

Every verse is like that I think.

I suppose lblngs llke "Blke "

was more of a slruclurert
lhlng happenlng,

bul sonlcally lowards lhe enrt,

I've never really bearrt
anylhing like lhal.

A sort of oversaturation
of sounds, clocks,

and then this
kind of repetitive sound

that sou nded like a goose
attacking you.

- Like a what?
- Like a goose attacking.

Going into attack mode.

Quite d isturbing.

The way LSD works, we now know,

is it stimulates
receptors in the brain

called serotonin receptors.

But a particular subtype
of serotonin receptor

called the 5-HT
or serotonin 2A receptor.

Psychertelic rtrugs llke fSD
all work Dn lhose receplors

anrt whal lhey do ls
lo lnlerrupl lbe lrartillonal way

In whlch tbe braln ls organlsed.

Everylhing we rto ls orcheslralert
In a very reflexlve habllual way.

FSD, by lurnlng on
tbose receplors disrupts lbal.

Whal lhen bappens ls tbat
your braln ralber lban dolng

wbat ll's been tolrt lo rto by habll,
slarts lo do ils own lhlng.

If you have regular conversations
with God , or the angels

and they're saying
pleasant things to you ,

telling you how great you are,
you don't want to lose that.

On the other hand ,
if you're tormented by devils

or other persecutors,

you may nevertheless feel
that you're important enough

for the devil to take
an interest in you.

And that might give you enough kudos

to carry on with this situation
without telling other people.

Tbere's a lol of lnleresl in balance
belween right braln and lefl brnln.

I n very simplistic terms,

the right brain is
the more creative, whole picture side.

The left brain is
the more focused , analytical side.

There's a little saying that
the problems in psychology are

when the right brain's got nothing left
and the left brain's got nothing right.

Anrt lbere ls a lol
of lnleresllng discusslon

aboul lhe llnk belween
creallvlly and menlal lllness.

Carl Jung , the psychologist,

had this great insight
where he talked about,

from his studies,
of breakdown , mental illness,

he called it a "failed initiation".

What he meant by that,

which I think was a really
interesting thing to say,

was that often a breakdown
is an attempt at a breakthrough.

It's an attempt to come into
a new form of consciousness.

And it's either premature
or in some way it falters.

I remember one partlcular inlerlurte
where we went lo see lhe Masler,

lhnl's Cbaran Singb Jl.

Which was a guru that we were
all thinking of following

in the heady days of psychedelia.

A few people there and then said
they wanted to become 'initiated'.

I don't like the word but anyway.

Syd had asked for initiation

and the Master
had said it's too early.

Dlrt you know wby he said lhal?

Well, lhere's qulle of a lol
of commllmenl In Sanl Mal,

wblch ls vegelarlanlsm,

and abslalnlng
from mlnd allerlng subslances.

Is ilposslble
tbat lhe rejecllon affeclert Syd?

Rejecllon affects us all.

I lhlnk Charan Slngb...

I dDn 'I know how deep
bls lnslghls were,

I tblnk he hart a lol,

bul maybe be coulrt see
wbat was gDlng ID bappen lo Syrt.

When you broke up,
did you rto ll or dlrt he do lt?

Il was me, I'm afrald.

He was a great lover, a good
boyfriend and you got rid of him?

Yeah.

Explain this to me, Jennifer Spires.

In lbe early days, he was lovely
'cause be was very calm,

he was an artlsl.

I got on the train
at Cambridge at one end

and Syd got on the train
at the other end.

That's bow we slartert llvlng
al number 2 Earlbam slreel.

The wbole clan wenl
from lbere lo I 0 / Cromwell Roart.

101 Cromwell Road!

A den of iniquity if ever there was.

Extraordinary place.

They'rt just puff away
al lbese enormous jolnts

and gel complelely
oul of lbelr heads.

I feel woozy even lhlnking about ll.

You see Syd, anrt lhe Pink Ployrt
were really beglnnlng lben

anrt lhlngs were laklng off

I lhlnk lben, he was just
loslng lhe plol sllgblly.

I remember we had a cat called Rover.
Well , that was Syd , wasn't it?

The Plnk Floyrt sound
was a perfecl malch

for lhe sponlaneous undergrounrt
anrt lls mulllmedla evenls.

Wllh Barrell's
song wrlling oulput flourlshlng,

lhe Plnk Floyrt were on lheir way.

Glgging a punishing
four or flve nlghls a week,

lbe group ls approacbed
by Peler Jenner and Andrew Klng,

wbD promislng lo buy lhe banrt
some new equlpmenl,

becDme lhelr managers.

Klng anrt Jenner scbeme lo gel
tbe banrt a recDrd conlracl

by recordlng a few rtemo lracks
wilh American producer JDe Boyd,

who also runs lhe legendary UFO club
wltb John 'Hoppy' Hopklns.

The plan works and Plnk Floyd slgn
lo EMl Records In Pebruary I 967.

The very next rtay tbey begln
recordlng fDr tbelr rtebul album,

"The Plper at lhe Oates of Dawn "
wllb Norman Smilh al Abbey Road.

In lhe slurtlo nexl rtoor,

The Beatles are making
lheir lanrtmark LP 'ergeanl Pepper'

There were a few casual songs
be 'rt wrlllen early.

Bul lhe one
wblch I'rt call lhe firsl real,

showing 'where we were going song'
was "Arnold Layne".

"Arnolrt fayne " is releasert as
a single on lhe I 0lb of March.

Syd workert very hard
al "Arnold fayne '

He lold me ll had laken hlm
a couple of monlhs

to write the Iyric, to get it
just the way he wanted it.

- Really? It wasn't spontaneous?
- No.

Tbis ldea tbat Syd
rollert oul of bed al luncblime,

lDok some acld anrt wrole
a couple of genlus songs

ls just absolule crap.

There's no such thing
as easy art, Storm, is there?

Otherwise we'd all be doing it.

Desplle belng banned
by Rartlo fondon for obscenlly,

"Arnolrt fayne "rencbes
number 20 In lhe slngles chart

wllb lhe album
"Piper al lhe Gales of Dawn "

reacblng number slx.

He was speclacular al lhe beglnnlng.

Prom lhal Chrlslmas,
lbrough lo tbe summer

when tbey released 'Arnold Lanye "

anrt lhen "The Plper'
Syd, anrt of course Hendrlx,

were klnrt Dflhe lwo
blg psychertelic slars.

In May I 967, Plnk Floyd announce
a mullimertia psychedellc concert

"Games For May'
at lhe Queen Ellzabelh Hall.

Barrell bas wrlllen
a new song for lhe evenl,

wbose lllle also "Games for May'

changes lo become
lbe era rteflnlng 'ee Emlly Play'

He startert lnnovallng bls muslc

wilb lbe Zlppo llghler
on bls Slralocasler

sllrtlng ll up and dDwn.

I n gigs, suddenly
he was using this Zippo lighter

to create these
incredibly eerie sounds.

'Ee Emlly Play" becomes
lhe second Plnk FIDyd hil slngle,

earnlng lhe group
several cruclal appearances

on lhe prlmellme BBC muslc sbow
Top of lbe Pops In July.

When "See Emily Play" went to
No. 5 or got into the top ten ...

I remember it well.

I was really excllert

anrt I'm wearlng
all tbese slupld clolbes.

Yeah , but it was exciting ,
for God's sake.

It was very exciting

but I remember Syd
in the dressing room

sitting there
and he looked a bit glum

and I went, "Come on , what's up?"

He looked at me and he said ,

"John Lennon
doesn't have to do this."

Even when things were going
as well as they could ,

the band actually was stressful.

I remember we were in Trafalgar Square,
we 'rt been In Green Park,

and lhen ll was lime
lo go lo Top of lhe Pops.

Syrt sairt, "I don 'I really fancy il."

I sald, "Well, yeab,
bul ll's a bil of a blg rteal."

There was the famous three weeks

that we did "See Emily Play"
on Top of the Pops.

Tbe flrsl week was fine,
Syrt looks really goort.

He's sllllng cross Ieggert
on a greal blg lndlan cushlDn.

The second week, he arrivert lale,
looklng very shambolic lnrteert.

Third week,
we couldn't find him anywhere.

I openert lhe door and Syrt was lhere
looking lolally freaked oul.

His feel were bare anrt he sairt,
"Hl, can I come In ?"

I sald, "Of course you can come In."

Anrt be dldn 'I say anylhing.

Then there was a bang on the door

and somebody was like,
"Is Syd in there?"

Whoever this person was, came in
and just literally grabbed him

and dragged him out.

I think Syd Barrett was
interested in this total freedom

almost like a jazz, really.

A kind of 'dlvertlmenll

I suppose lrylng lo slruclure
or reln In lhis klnrt of energy

mlgbl have been
fairly rtifflcull for hlm.

There 'd been
a lol of welrrt sluffDn slage

wllb Syrt delunlng gullars

and lurnlng il
lnlo a mlnd-numblng sound.

We were committed
to being a pop grou p

and Syd was absolutely
on the way to being ,

"No, I don't actually
want to be a pop star."

Tbe relenlless gigglng
anrt demanrts Dfslarrtom

are laklng tbelr lDll
on Barrell's psycbe.

I was living in France in '6I,
and I came back to England.

I wenl lo see lhem recorrtlng

and somelhing
hart changert qulle radlcally.

He had losl bls spark anrt hls bounce

and lhal was a very ortrt
anrt uncomrtable momenl.

The lhree songs I lhlnk
lhal are really lmpDrtanl,

'ugbanrt Blues '
'cream Tby fasl Scream "

and "Vegetable Man '

"Vegelnble Man '
he wrole ll In my room.

He sal In a corner anrt he just
wrole lbose lyrlcs down.

Il was scary.

You had this skinny guy
who's just crying his heart out,

"That's why I am vegetable man ."

You go, "Oh God.

Is that what you really think?

Is that how you feel
about yourself now?"

It was all lhal classlc
music buslness bollocks.

"Come on Syd,
where's lbe nexl slngle ?"

He was a senslllve chap,
he wasn 'I harrtbollert.

He didn't like all that pressure.

And he had a hell
of a lot of pressure.

Il's llke If you look
al Van Gogb's Ialerpiclures,

you get lhe same tblng.

You can see tbe manlfeslallon
of lhe lurmoll In bis brain

and all those things.

I think, in the same way
you can see the confusion

and everything within Syd's brain.

Bolh "Vegelnble Man "
anrt 'cream Thy fasl Scream "

are rteemert uncommerclal
by lhe record company.

And 'ugband Blues " is held over
for lhe nexl Plnk Ployrt album.

'Apples anrt Oranges '
a song wrlllen by Syd

about his glrlfrlend
flndsay Korner shopplng,

is flnally chosen by EMl
as Pink Ployrt's lhirrt slngle.

Il is releasert
In November anrt ls a flop.

Did you ever see him perform
with Pink FIoyd?

Yeah , I did once.

I went to the Roundhouse
but it wasn't any fun.

It wasn't.

He didn't look
as if he was enjoying it

and so it wasn't
anything I did again.

Do you agree in any way
about the family's view

which is they blame
rock and roll for Syd's decline?

I think that's not
an unreasonable position.

I don't think he would
have Iiked not to have done it.

He got into it,
he was very happy doing it.

It was good fun.

It was sad to see him go downhill .
You could see by his eyes.

He would be looking sort of...

He wouldn't look at you ,
he'd be Iooking into space.

Wltb hopes of breaklng Amerlca
anrt despile concerns aboul Syd,

lhe banrt sel off
r a mini lour of lbe US.

You're lhere wltb Syrt who was
just an artisl who wrole songs

anrt was havlng a good llme
nnd llked llslenlng lo muslc,

playlng In a banrt
and, "Wow, lsn 'I lhls groovy?"

Able to go and buy a new shirt,
have your hair frizzed

and do all these things
that you could do.

- Buy some new boots.
- Yeah , all that stuff.

Gosh , got some money
coming and , "Oh wow."

Then , people started
asking him the meaning of life.

He was as ll were
lhe plnup bDy of lhe revolullon.

Thal was probnbly very strange
going lo America

'cause, "Wow, I'm In Amerlca now.

I'm rtolng lhe Pillmore.

WDwlAnrt lhese guys glve me
lhis nlce aclrt.

Wahey!
Oh , wow." You know.

Are you lelllng me
you anrt Syrtgolplcked up

by a couple of Callfornian blonrtes ?

Exaclly lhal,
wllb lhose slralgbl eyebrD.

Yes, everyborty woulrt dream
aboul lhls slDry.

- And this happened to you .
- It happened to Syd and I.

But we were young kids from England

where this sort of thing
was fucking ...

Tbere was lDts of dope
anrt lols of everylblng

and Syd was very bappy.

U ntil we returned.

I think, then , it would be
the gig in Los Angeles

which was probably
the worst gig of all.

These gentlemen you're about to meet

are on their first visit
to the U nited States.

They've only been here less
than a week as a matter of fact.

Would you greet them warmly please,
The Pink FIoyd!

- Rlck llp-synchert ll.
- Because ?

Because Syd wDulrtn 'I slng,
couldn 'I sing, woulrtn 'I slng.

He just sloort lhere.

That was a tricky tour.

- Syd , did you write this?
- Yeah.

I noticed on the album you wrote
most of the songs, is that true?

Yeah , that's right.

We rtlrt a TV show In fos Angeles,

he just walked oul Df lhe sludlo
and rtlsappeared.

- For a reason ?
- No.

Let me wish you , gentlemen ,
all very good Iuck.

I hope you enjoy your stay,
get some sleep

and get something other than
cheeseburgers during your stay.

Thank you very much .
N ick, nice to see you.

When Syrt became unrellable,
I lhlnk we really almosl balert blm,

because we were so dependenl on him.

By tbe llme Anrtrew came back from
Amerlca, ll was rteflnllely a prDblem.

One Dflhe more
conlenllous rumours ls lhe ldea

lbal be mlghl have been glven aclrt
every morning In bis coffee.

Dld Rlck say somelhlng?

He reckoned that Syd's downfall
came about by his hangers-on.

Then, people wbD are wrlllng
books or rtolng lnlervlews,

lbey tblnk, "WbD were
his frlends al lhal tlme ?"

'O and so."

- Jock anrt Sue In lhls case ?
- Yeab.

Apparently we're living in Richmond ,
we used to get up every morning ,

we all sit around the breakfast table,
we would then spike Syd.

It's absolute fucking bollocks.

Maybe lhal's alsD
a quallly of rumours.

Il's qulle gDort
If your herD is flawert

because of someborty else 's
ralber lban lhelr own.

Better for him to be spiked

than to have him gone to them and said ,
"Oh , can I have some acid now?"

In a way, il woulrt have been
mucb easler for all of us

If Syrt ha sald,
"I'm really fuckert up.

I'm really sorry, I can 'I cope
any more. Can yDu help me ?"

So we were always trying to help him
without him giving any ind ication

that he had any desire
or need for help.

I remember taking Syd
to Ronnie Laing's

and him refusing
to get out of the car.

Not that I'm convinced Ronnie Laing

would have been able
to do a huge amount for him.

As psychiatrists and psychotherapists

who profess to be able

to be of some service to people

in distressed states of mind ,

we cannol expecl lo be of any help

beyond pulllng people
back to lhls slrte.

I nto this socially reinforced ,

totalitarian ,
egalitarian , quantitative,

dequantified ,
de-experientialised dead world.

Where there's no fun or joy

or any genuine
celebration of anything

because all that is life
and science is studying death.

You coulrt argue lhal some forms
of so-callert madness

are slrong moves lo relain freedom.

You could also argue
at a certain Ievel ,

he could see that the success of
the FIoyd was reducing his freedom.

He was playing us
this song in a rehearsaI

and the song was called
"Have you got it yet?".

And basically, the song would alter
so that the chorus was, "No, no, no."

Syd would alter the rhythmic pattern

or do whatever was necessary to ensure
that no, they hadn't got it yet.

- Or couldn't.
- Or couldn't get it.

Or might never have got it.

Slorles are leglon
aboul Syrt's alarming bebaviour

on slage rturlng lhis perlort.

Playlng one nole for an enllre show,

or slowly delunlng bls slrlngs
unlll lhey fell Ilmp on lhe gullar.

Flve boolleg recorrtlngs however,

caplure several
lnspirert performances.

Nevertbeless, on a smnll
package tour wllb Jlmi Hendrlx,

The Move and a few olher bands,

Bnrrel would somelimes
need lo be replaced

by Davld O'fisl from Tbe Nlce.

As far back as I 965, Syrt hlmself
bart wrlllen lo fibby Gausden

suggesling bls old frlend
Davld Gllmour should joln lbe group

referrlng lo blm as 'Prert'.

Whal became known as lhe 'Frert plan '
was now pul lnlD effect.

Looking back on it,

I can see that
they all played a distinct part

in the success of Pink FIoyd.

You hart Roger wbo bart
lhis masslve rtelermlnallon,

Rick's muslcal sopblsllcalion
and you've gol Nick's showmanshlp.

For several shows, lhe banrt
performs as a flve-plece

In lbe bope of keeping Syd arDund.

We 'rt alrearty lrlert tbree
or four glgs as a flve-plece.

Il was a very uncomfortable feeling

bul I lhlnk we were
absDlulely gearert lo lhls lrtea.

Il wasn 'I a maller
Dflrylng Dave oul,

I lhlnk we lovert lbe ldea
of baving blm In tbe banrt.

Do you recall whal happenert
on whal I called 'The day'?

I can 'I remember where
Syrt was llvlng al lhe lime.

- We were all.. .
- Were you on the way to a gig?

Yeah , we were absolutely
on the way to a gig.

Everyone else had been picked up,
so we were on the way to pick Syd up

and someone said ,
"Shall we bother?" more or less.

There was this sort of moment
and we went,

"Do you know what?
Let's not."

Syd's lasl gig wllh Plnk Floyd

was on lhe 20lb of January, I 968
al Hasllngs Pler.

Do you think it's understandable then
that they had to move on as it were?

That's the way it works.

It's animal husbandry.

I'm amaze
lhal lhey managert lo recover

from loslng
lhelr maln creallve drlve.

No, it's not amazing they recovered ,

they became the pop group
that they always desired to be.

Once David Gilmour's in there,
that's the beginning of something else.

Il's tbe beglnning of lbe Pink Floyrt

lhnl became very successful
laler on wllb "Mertdle '

"Dark Slde of lhe Moon "
anrt "Wlsh you Were Here ".

When the FIoyd broke up,

you and Peter, as BIackhill ,
as I understand ,

elected to continue with Syd.

We made a particularly astute
commercial decision.

That's lwo verses.

Sorry, I'll do ll agaln.

Syrt came lo Ilve wllb us
al Egerton Court

wblch ls lhe ftal lhal we hart
In lhe cenlre Df London In Soulh Ken.

I wenl lhere,
you were tbere anrt Po was tbere,

Nlgel and Jenny, lhey hart
lhe smart room al lhe fronl.

How was Syd dDlng lhose days ?
Do you remember?

He was unpredlclable lhen.
He was very unprertlclable.

I don't think anybody
in the flat realised

just bow bad Syd bart become.

He began locklng himself In bls room
for several dnys wllb flndsay.

There were rows,
all sorts of things going on.

I had the small room
adjacent to the Iarge room

in which he and Lindsay Iived.

I could hear him tickling her,
which sou nded harmless enough ,

and then she'd scream at him
to stop tickling and he wouldn't.

I can't remember what happened but
he pushed me over and jumped on me.

That's when I called out
and you came in.

Syd rteclrtert lbal presumably lhe
relallonsblp was nol as ll shoulrt be

and seemert lo be
allacking ber wltb a manrtolln.

Then the next day
you took me home to Cambridge.

- Don't you remember?
- Yeah.

But was this the end of you and Syd?

Oh yes, that was it.

Syd's apparenl malalse, sball we say,
dldn 'I appear lnllially.

I lhoughl he was cbarmlng
anrt good company.

This was his very room.

Dave Gllmour llved In Rlcbmonrt Manslons,
one slreel away.

We could see from our kllchen
inlo bis kllchen.

Syd goes back lnlo Abbey Roart slurtlos
lo begin recorrtlng some demos.

Wllb lhe support
of Peler Jenner, Malcolm Jones,

Davld Gllmour and Roger Walers,

lhese sesslons, lbDugh rtifflcull,
would resull In his flrsl solo album,

"Tbe Martcap faugbs ".

In lbe firsl lol DfsesslDns

you coulrtn 'I gel an honesl
answer lo an honesl quesllon.

"Shall we do that again?"

No reply.

"I think that was really good ,
can we try that again?"

ND reply.

"Woulrt you wanl lo go
and play a bll more ?"

Tben, he woulrt go oul anrt maybe
play a bll more or maybe nol.

Is ll on ?

There'd been quite
a considerable amount of time

and money gone into it

and EM I had decided
to more or less pull the plug.

Roger and I asked them
if we could finish it off

and they gave us
something like three days.

We sluck hlm In lhe sludlo anrt
recorrted everylhlng and anylhlng

lbal we coulrt gel blm lo do.

The end result is a pretty fair portrait
of him at the time.

And I tblnk his wrlllng
probably was beller

lhan lhe wrlling
on "Plper al lhe Gales of Dawn '

"Where are you now pussy willow
who smiled on this leaf?"

You go,
"Wbal lhe fuck ls lbal aboul?"

He's slill maklng
lhese exlraordlnary conneclions

wllb lhe deepesl feellngs of,

"Can I or can I not make contact
with other human beings?"

Which is the stuff of all our Iives.

Storm anrt I bad a company
called Hlpgnosls

anrt we were asked
lo rto lbe album cDver.

Slorm wenl lo pholDgrapb
Syrt wllh Mlck Rock.

He had a flat in which he'd painted
the floorboards blue and red ,

I think for the photo session ,
which is pretty amazing.

What was interesting about the floor
is there was all this rubble

because he'd paint
over the cigarette butts

and various bits
of debris in the room.

I look a pholo of Syrt croucbed
a bil llke an animal really.

I look a lon of lhem loo,
ll wasn 'I just Slorm.

And lggy lhe Eskimo, wbD was
never really his glrlfrlenrt

because lhese were blpple llmes.

I lhlnk she llngerert
for a couple of weeks.

On tbe back cDver
was a plclure of a naked woman

who was an klmo,

but likert, whelher Syrt was lhere or nDt,
lo walk arounrt nakert.

He sald, "Thls is lggy, why rton 'I you
pul her In lhe plclure ?"

I salrt, "Plne."

"Tbe Martcap faughs " ls releasert

on EMl's new progresslve lmprlnl,
Harvesl, in January I 970.

Il reaches number 40
in lhe UK charts.

Successful enough for EMl
lo flnance lbe recorrtlng

Df Syd's secDnrt
sDlo album, "Barrell'

There was more time
so we could relax a little bit more

and try and do things
in a slightly different way.

We llved arounrt lhe corner
from eacb olher,

we being myself and Wlllie Wllson.

He and I sharert a ftal In Chelsea.

Syd lived around lhe corner.

We'd try and get him
to play along with the band ,

but he'd never do it the same twice.

So usually it meant we'd cut
a backing track without him

and then get him to put
some stuff on it afterwards.

Rlck came along
anrt helpert a bit on lhal Dne.

All I ever saw was Dave wanting
to get the best out of Syd

he could possibly get,
which was not easy.

We just followed him
wherever he wenl.

Sometimes, it just kept falling down
and falling over itself

and sometimes it got interesting.

He wrote some pretty
unusual chord sequences

and found some unusual melodies
to sit on the top of it

and wrote fascinating lyrics.

Even though some around that
Wetherby Mansions time are very moody,

there's quite a lot of them
he's Iaughing in.

Released In November, "Barrell"
woulrt be Syd's flnal sludlD album.

Il lls lo chart.

Can yDu recall
wben you flrsl met Syd?

He came runnlng up
looklng llke a rock slar

wllh bls velveljeans on,
his velveljackel

anrt bls Chelsea bools on.

He looked and I thought,
"Ooh , wow, it's Syd Barrett."

He hart a spare room.

I wasn 'I sure
at lhal slage whelher ll was,

"Come anrt llve wllh me, " or...

- "Would you like a room?"
- "I've got a room ."

- "Give us some money."
- Yeah , "Give us some money."

He was prelly strange.

He 'rt just open lhe door
anrt cDme In lhe room

and lhal woulrt be ll.

I thought it was kind of great
to have a boyfriend like that

rather than a bloke
working in Barclays Bank.

In support of lhe "Martcap faugbs "
anrt "Barrell" albums,

Syrt records a session for lnfluenllal
Radlo I DJ, John Peel.

And on lbe 6lh of June I 970,
be plays a glg,

bls first for lwo years,
al lhe Olympla Exblblllon Hall

wllb Davld Ollmour on bass gultar
and Jerry Shlrley on rtrums.

Afler just a few songs, however,
Syd abruplly walks off slage.

He decided at one stage that
he no longer wanted to be a pop star.

He wenl oul anrt bougbl canvases,
lons of pols of palnl and brushes

anrt he locked hlmselfln lbal room
anrtpainled day anrt nlgbl.

Every lime
I was allDwed ID see a canvns,

lhe next llme I saw ll,
ll woulrt ellber be deslroyert

or he 'dpalnled all over ll.

Try and keep up with Duggie,
'him next door'.

He never used his name, it was
'him next door' or 'that painter'.

You've got two aspects of
his personality though , haven't you?

You've got Roger and Syd.

Syd was the musician ,

Roger was maybe a would-be artist
but Roger never found his way.

He put a layer of hessian
over the curtains

so he had this darkened room
that he Iived in.

People would stanrt Dutslde
hls doDr knocklng and gDlng,

'yrt, lel me In, "
for hours somellmes.

I moved back to Cambridge
and Duggie had called me and said ,

"This is getting crazy."

I don't know what he was doing but he'd
been in his room for days and nights

and hadn't come out.

I conlaclert Syrt and I salrt,
"Why ldn 'I you cDme ID Cambrldge ?"

Anrt sDmebow il was like
we were back logelher agaln.

So, I moved in.

- I nto Hills Road?
- I nto H ills Road.

- I nto the cellar?
- I nto the cellar with Syd.

Il was all rtark,
It was orlglnally a coal cellar.

Il bart all bls blls and pieces
from his cblldboort lhere,

his rtrawlngs,
his palnllngs anrt bls guilar.

Anrt il was all very normal.

Mrs Barrett would come
rushing out and say,

"Oh, bello dear, hello rtear.
Wbal aboul a cup of lea ?

Rog, would you llke a cup Df lea ?"

We became engagert.

Mum Drganised lhis big Sunrtay lunch.

Thls is lhe llme when Syd lhrew
a bowl of lomalo soup over me.

It was a normal Sunday lunch
and Syd just went, whoops!

Then , he stood up from the table,
laughed , disappeared ,

and came down ,
and he'd cut all his hair off.

I'rt gone back ID my parents.

Tbe nexl rtay, a leller arrlved

saylng lhal lhe engagemenl
was offlclally off

"Yours sincerely, R. K. Barrett."

I gol anolher leller
from hlm lwo rtays laler

saylng, "Dear Oala,
I lhlnk we shoulrt gel marrled.

Ignore the Ietter
I sent you yesterday.

Lots of love, Syd ."

We went up lo Lonrton and bDughl
anolher engagemenl ring.

So lhere's always lwo.
Two rlngs and lwo parts of Syrt.

Two rlngs and lwo lellers.

Syd's relalionshlp
wllh Gala Pinlon would enrt

wben he became convlncert
she was havlng an affalr

wllb a colleague
In lbe local rtepartmenl slore.

Gala would be lhe last
of Barrell's glrlfrlends.

He became more reclusive
when he returned to London

and he was living
in Chelsea Cloisters.

Slghllngs of Syd become less frequenl

wilh just lbe ortd lurld slory
In lbe papers

and occaslonal
vislls lo lhe local pub

or lo lbe oce
of bls muslc publishers.

When we were still at N EMS ,
which was early 'I0s,

and he started coming
to those offices,

that's when we realised he didn't have
any money or very little money.

We talked about it and he said

he did n't know where his money
and his royalties were.

So we said , "That's easy, we'll write
to Essex, we'll write to EM I ,

we'll write to PRS and find out
where your royalties are."

I use the phrase
very Ioosely, "Poor Syd ."

Of course,
Brian being a money man ,

he went "Poor Syd?

He made lwo and a half
mllllon qulrt lasl year."

I said , "God , where do you keep
all your guitars? You've got loads."

He said , "I've got
another flat for them ."

He salrt, 'ohn Lennon's gol
lols of guilars."

Wllh royallles from Plnk Floyrt sales

and Davirt Bowle's cover of
'ee Emlly Play" on his "Pln Ups " album,

Syrt woul move
back and rth belween fondon

and lbe small back bedroom In
hls mDlber's bouse in Cambrirtge

for lhe nexl I2 years or so.

Whlle In Cambrldge, Jenny Splres
lnlrortuces Barrell lo her husband,

bass player Jack Monk and rtrummer
Twink from Tbe Pink Palrles.

Afler several lmpromplu jam sessions,
lhe lrlo formed lhe group Stars

and play a hanrtful of glgs locally.

We 'd like lo brlng Syd Barrell
up lo lbe banrt sland.

Woulrt you come on ?
How aboul a hand for Syrt Barrell?

All appears lo be going well

bul following
a disaslrDus glg wllh MC5

anrt a negallve revlew
In Melorty Maker, Syd leaves lhe group.

He will never play In publlc agaln.

A year laler, Plnk FIDyd release
"Dark Slde of The Moon "

anrt hll lbe lop of
lhe US Billboarrt album cbarts.

Il remalns one of
lbe besl-selllng records of all llme.

As Pink Floyrt's success
anrt fame grows,

Peler Jenner persuades Syrt
ID relurn lo Abbey Roart.

After lhree days In lhe slurtlo
prortuclng just a hanrtful of rlffs,

lhe sesslDns are abanrtoned.

In /975, Plnk Ployrt records
lhelr nlnlb slurtlo album,

lhe concepl recorrt
"Wlsh You Were Here '

ngaln reachlng number one
on lhe Blllboard cbarts.

Wrlllen as a lrlbule lo Syrt,
'bine on You Crazy Diamonrt'

a 25-mlnule-long lrack
made up of nlne parts

book ends lhe album.

The last personal abiding memory
I have of Syd was at Abbey Road

when he turned up, remarkably,

at the recording
of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond"

but I didn't realise it was him.

I was sllling In my usual place
In tbe conlrol rDom of Slurtlo 3.

I heard lbe rtoor go, looked round

anrt lhere was lbls chap
slanrtlng In tbe back of lhe room

who was sllghlly portly,
wllh a shaven head anrt a raincoal on.

I just assumed he was something
to do with the studio.

You would occasionally
get odd people popping in.

I had been doing
something in the studio.

I don't know what
but I'd been in the studio.

So I came into the control room

to find the band all looking
a little bit weird.

It took a little while.

I don't recall whether it was Roger
or David who realised that it was Syd.

I was waiting for someone to
either say, "This is so and so."

Or for someone to say "Security
are coming any minute now."

For someone
who'd come in off the street.

Dave looked at me and he said ,
"Do you know who that is?"

I went, "No."

Anrt he sairt, "Il's Syd."

He hadn't been seen for six years.

He asked if he could help.

Syd came in and sat down ,

David and Roger
started talking to him.

I then took this opportunity
to snap a couple of photos

with the camera that
I'd only had a couple of days

as a present from the band
after we'd done Knebworth.

Il lurns oul I was uslng
a slow speert ouldoor fllm.

So piclures indoors
are a llllle bll gralny.

Roger bart Brlan Humphrles, lbe englneer
play blm lbe enrt of "Shlne On '

wbich fealures lhe melorty Ilne
of 'ee Emlly Play'

Roger asked him afterwards
if he recognised it

and Syd just said no.

Very blank, "No."

Syrt dlrtplck up lhe Martln,

lbe D-35 gullar
In lhe conlrol room lhere.

I don 'I lhlnk be played
anylhlng In partlcular.

Then what happened?

Nothing , we carried on working ,
as far as I remember.

Probably a lillle bll shellsbocked.

Rlck was lerrlbly upsel
anrt Roger crlert.

Oflen people forgel lhal
allhougb Syd was a buge lalenl,

lhis is a lalent lhal was
all loo soDn losl lo us.

And that the band , had Ioved him.

Remember wben you were yDung,
you shone llke lhe sun

Sblne on you crazy dlamond

Now lhere's a look In your eyes
llke black holes In lhe sky

Sblne on you crazy dlamond

You were caugbl in lhe crDssfire
of cbllrthoort anrt slarrtom

Blown on lhe sleel breeze

Come on you slranger,
you legenrt, you martyr anrt shlne

In spile of his now cull slalus

In lhe eyes of a new generalion
of fans anrt muslclans,

In I 978 Barrell sells lhe rlghls lo
hls sDlo albums lo lhe record company.

By I 98 I, be's faclng
bankruplcy proceertings.

In I 982, Syrt walks lbe 50 mlles
from fondon back lo Cambrldge,

relurnlng home for lhe lasl llme.

He hart enormous bllslers on bls el

and he was lying
on lbe sofa wllb his feel up

lrylng lo gel lhese blislers menrtert.

He just wanted to get home
and he hadn't got any money.

You've gol lo remember lhal be never
ld a day's work In his llfe,

getllng a salary or a wage packel.

He never bart lhal, so he never
aclual!y grew up lo be responslble

because he never needed lo.

And I suppose all of us,
if we d idn't need to, we wouldn't do it.

It's more fun being a child , isn't it?

We usert lo go oul In lhe car,

go lo areas where be coulrt
pbDtograph for a palnllng.

So we spenl a lol of llme
al Grantcbesler, whlch is just nearby.

He went back lo Cambrlrtge anrt
his art very much reflecls lhal.

You could say
ll's a relurn lo landscape.

- What happened to the work?
- He wasn't keen on keeping his works.

Il's nol lbal be rtirtn 'I care
r tbem aflerwards

because be rtid lake pbolos of lbem.

But he did tend to destroy work.

Syd marte lhlngs anrt lhen seemert
lo deslroy lhem, Dr so we 're lolrt,

anrt I'm wonderlng whal lhal means.

Maybe he rtlrtn 'I llke
loo much cluller.

It's called 'Syd's Feng Shui'.

He needert a lDt of support.

He was rtistressert.

PDr 25 years or so
be was my responslbilily.

I cared for him.

He 'd come on his blke and
he 'dgDl a canvas shopplng bag,

very much nn old person's tblng.

I said to him ,
"Do you know who I am?"

And he said , "Yes, I do.
It's Libby isn't it?"

I said , "Yes, it is."

And we talked for a little while.

That's a strange question to ask,
"Do you know who I am?"

I know who you are,
you don't have to ask me.

I did have to ask him ,
he looked different.

He lolnlly moved on
and dldn 'I llke lhal person,

he rtldn't like lhal worlrt
anrt dldn 'I wanl lo be remlnrted of ll.

When people came
lo lhe rtoor, he 'rt say,

'yd rtoesn 'I llve here nnymore."

Because be rtlrtn 'I.

He wasn't Syd anymore.

I lblnk ll's mosl unlikely
lhalyDu can relnvenlyourself,

lbal you can become an orrtlnary bloke
wbo goes rtown lhe pub and plays rtarts

wben you've been a rock slar,

wben you've been in lhe hll
pararte and lhen you're nol.

DD you lblnk people llke
lo embrolrter anrt romance lblngs ?

He's perfecl for rumours.

A magnellc person
who's had so much lmpacl

anrt lhe banrt wenl on going on
belng more anrt more successful.

And where was Syd?

Perfect for rumours.

I know the Daily Mail
on a quiet celebrity period ,

would rediscover him
every three years, you know.

"The mad genius of Pink FIoyd ."

I have a feellng lhal unrternealh
a lol of lhls is a sartness.

Yes, bul you rton't know, you see.

Whal was he lhlnking on bis
bicycle In Cambrlrtge on his own ?

We can lalk aboul ll forever
bul we won 'I know.

Il's nol for us lo say
how people shoulrt be.

Of course, ll wDuld have been
great If be 'rt gone on

to prortuce sluff all hls llfe,
bul he dlrtn 'I.

Anrt wby?

You could say
he was in a weather system ,

something bigger than him
that turned him over.

And it was sunny
for the first two weeks

and it rained for six years.

There was a lragedy belng playert Dul
partly self-lnduced.

In lbe end, il's a lraglc lale

anrt lraglc lales resonale
wilh us In a dlfferenl way

and perhaps more
aculely lhan lales of trlumpb.

Oul In lrtabD,
lbey know who Plnk Ployrt are.

They probably don't know
who Syd Barrett is.

He's the old singer in the band
that I love, which is Pink Floyd.

The banrt we know Floyd ID be nDw,
wouldn 'I be here wllhoul Syd.

Bul ll doesn 'I really bear
much resemblance

lo lbe banrt lbal Syd was In.

Whal would ll have sounrtert llke
If be bart slayert in lhe band?

I would hope
that he would be able to see

what a beautiful thing
it ended up being.

He ld lbings for lhelr own sake

an be rtepenrtert heavlly
on hls Dwn chllrthoort memDries.

Bul I lbink lhal's alsD
a goort Iesson lo us all,

lo go back lnslrte yourselves
and see whal you can flnrt.

Now I don 'I unrterstanrt
how borlng muslc can be,

wben al one polnl
someborty was lrylng lo pul

so much lnto ur mlnules
wDrtb of lislenlng

anrt lhe ear was enlertalned.

I hope lhal young people lhink lwlce
because look whal can happen.

It'd be nice to think
that people could Iearn a bit.

There are some people who must
have a weakness of some sort

that is like a switch
waiting to be turned.

And lhal swilcb wlll go and
lhey'll never qulte come back.

I lhlnk il's really bard
lo nol feel somelbing.

We probably dlrt
aboul as mucb as we could.

We were all very young.

- Bul I bave a regret or lwo.
- In whal form ?

That I never went to see him.

H is family kind of discouraged it.

Maybe we shoulrt have.

I regret that I never went up
to his house in Cambridge.

- I n the '80s you mean?
- '80s, '90s, 2000s.

I did n't go either.

None of us did ,
but I think, in retrospect,

both Syd and I
might have gained something

out of one or two people
popping around to his house

for a cup of tea.

There's this bloke who changed the Iives
of everyone arou nd him.

- Yeah , I think.. .
- It's a terrible story.

- Sorry?
- It's a terrible story, Storm.

- It's a sad story.
- It's a very, very sad story.

Is it a sad story?
I wonder.

I don't think so, Storm , no.

- Sorry?
- I don't think so.

I hope not.

I suppose it's because
I partly feel he was unfulfilled

but that's just my projection
rather than what he felt.

Yeah.

Well , all right,
it's sad in this way.

We lboughl we were mDvlng
In lhls wonderful rtlrecllon lo ulopla.

We were fully engagert
In lbe blp dream

and ll was a rtream.

We hart splrllual helgbls
In our slghts anrt Syrt loo.

Do you bave anytblng to lell me ?

Yeah.

OK, Syd.

I can't, I sort of...

I can't really say.

If you were, bypolhellcally,
to wrlle a leller lo Syd...

Writing to him now? Yeah.

It would take me ages, I think.

I would say that he was a good man .
"You were a good man.

And it's terribly sad
what happened to you.

Sorry about all the rubbish
that gets written about you

and the silly stories that get told ."

"I'm glart lbal you managed
to gel away from all lbal martness

tbat was gDlng on
In LDnrton arounrt your llfe.

And I hope that you were happy."

I'd say, "Syd come back,"
because he became Roger

and I don't think
Roger was any happier.

A lol Df people tblnk my cnreer
slarted wllh David Bowle

anrt I'rt bave lo say, well, of course,
really tbe beglnning was Syd Barrell.

So, thank you Syd.

I always go back, revisll his work,

anrt il's always as good as I gel
olrter and my underslanrting grows.

For me, he's like the perfect artist.

So, I'd like to give him a hug.

It's very interesting
that you bring up memory.

And clearly this whole story
that you're trying to tell about Syd

depends upon the memories
of people of our age.

SIippery memories, aren't they?

Well , we all know that we make up
memories to suit our egos.

- Thank you very mucb.
- No.

Thal was greal.

Il was nice lo be lertgenlly back.

It's actually quite emotionaI

standing up here with these
three guys after all these years.

Standing to be counted
with the rest of you.

Anyway, we're doing this
for everybody who's not here,

and particularly, of course, for Syd.

Syd, are you ready?

- Yeab.
- Off you go.

I'll rtD ll on lop, rlghl?

I'll slart agaln.