Roger (Syd) Barrett 1946-2006

Funny story: Three days ago I commented to a friend that Pink Floyd was the only of the major rock bands from the sixties that would still be able to reunite with all their original members.

Then Syd Barrett goes and dies of complications from diabetes. Maybe not so funny. (Because we all know the world revolves around me.)

Barrett hadn't played with Pink Floyd since 1968. He was the victim of what many suspect was undiagnosed schizophrenia, possibly triggered by LSD experimentation. There were a few half-hearted attempts at solo work but, for the most part, Barrett lived his life after Pink Floyd as a quiet curiosity; returning to his parent's home and creating large abstract paintings while the world wondered what ever happened to Syd Barrett.

When he was in the band, Syd Barrett was Pink Floyd's driving force. Under Barrett, Floyd had a trippy, heavily English-accented sound. I'm not much of a fan of Pink Floyd's Barrett years, but some prefer it to Floyds more commercially successful, less-surreal, post-Barrett period.

Artists such as Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend and David Bowie have acknowledged Barrett's influence.

The story of Barrett's decline was the inspiration for the Pink Floyd album Wish You Were Here, as well as segments of Floyd's seminal album, The Wall, and the movie by the same name.

Through the works he inspired, Roger (Syd) Barrett's bittersweet legacy will live forever.