Roger Keith ‘Syd’ Barrett was born on the 6th January 1946- 7July 2006. He was an English singer, songwriter, musician and artist. He co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. As well as thinking up the band’s name he was the original lead singer, guitarist and wrote most of their early songs. He was very innovative with his guitar playing, using distortion and feedback, he has proved to be very influential to many musicians.
Whilst he was with Pink Floyd the band recorded albums such as The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets. At this time Syd was taking a lot of LSD, with some speculation that it may have been responsible for his mental illness. After being dropped by the band he began a solo career recording an album called The Madcap Laughs.
In 1972 Syd Barrett left the music industry and retired from public life, to concentrate on his painting and tend his garden. At this point Barrett decided to use his given name of Roger, cutting off further ties to the music business.
In 1996 Barrett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd, although he didn’t attend the ceremony. His former band wrote a song as a tribute to their former bandmate called Shine On You Crazy Diamond.
Listen to the albums and discover the talent of Roger Keith ‘Syd’ Barrett