July 11, 200620 yr BBC NEWS Pink Floyd's Barrett dies aged 60 Syd Barrett, one of the original members of legendary rock group Pink Floyd, has died at the age of 60 from complications arising from diabetes. He was born Roger Barrett in Cambridge and met future bandmates Roger Waters and David Gilmour at school there. The guitarist was invited to join Pink Floyd by Waters in 1965 but left three years later after only one album with his mental state affected by drugs. "He died very peacefully a couple of days ago," said the band's spokeswoman. "There will be a private family funeral." Barrett was the band's first creative force and an influential songwriter - but his drug intake soon began to affect his place in the band. Often he would be seen standing on stage with his guitar dangling from his neck, staring into the crowd. 'Mental breakdown' At one stage he was unhappy about appearing on Top of the Pops and walked out of a session recording in July 1967 after "freaking out". "That really was the first sign of his complete mental breakdown," producer Richard Buskin wrote later. "He never did come back into the studio any more after that, meaning that I had a hell of a hard time with the recordings". He did turn up again, ironically on the day the other band members were recording a tribute to him, Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Just as Pink Floyd were about to achieve worldwide success, he retreated from public life to return to Cambridge. Members of the band felt his breakdown might have happened even if he had not used drugs but felt that along with the pressures of fame, the substances he took probably acted as a catalyst. After he finally drifted out of the music scene, his whereabouts were unknown for two decades, until he turned out to be living with his mother. What is Syd Barrett's legacy to rock music? Did you meet Syd? Send us your memories and comments. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/ente...ent/5169344.stm Published: 2006/07/11 14:14:28 GMT I know there is many of you in here that care a lot about Pink Floyd so I figured I would post this
July 11, 200620 yr Ironically, the same day the long-awaited DVD version of P.U.L.S.E. is released; featuring many of the compositions he inspired. "You reached for the secret too soon..." Shine on, Syd.
July 11, 200620 yr I'm sure he'll have a lot more fun in the after life than he did in his last thirty years on earth. Peace out, bra
July 13, 200620 yr Colbert pays homage to Barret: "In honor of Syd Barret, Shine on you crazy district." :notworthy
July 13, 200620 yr I'm not a big fan of Barrett-era Pink Floyd but I appreciate and respect what he meant to the band. Rest in Peace Syd, and shine on.
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