Roger "Syd" Barrett is dead. Any hopes of the biggest comeback in rock and roll history have now been extinguished. There will be no Pink Floyd reunion or Rolling Stone interview with the famous recluse. All we have is grainy You Tube videos and tributes like Wish You Were Here. Oh, and of course, some amazing recordings of Syd: Pink Floyd's Piper At The Gates Of Dawn and Syd's solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett.
People like to talk about the age of 27. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and then later, Kurt Cobain all died at that age. It's sad that those careers ended so early, but Syd's case is more heartbreaking. Imagine seeing the band that you started turn into one of the most successful bands in rock and roll history while you stay at your mother's flat and lose contact with the world. Too far gone to fit into society. Robyn Hitcock said it better in his song "1974":
Syd Barrett's last session, he can't sing anymore
He's gonna have to be Roger now for the rest of his life
Painting and classical music became his thing. But one of his nieces was interviewed several years back and said that she remembered Syd picking up the guitar occasionally. Maybe the best we can hope for is some basement tapes from the man. Some long lost recordings that verify that maybe he was alright. That he got better and chose to stay away. That maybe he had some choice in the matter.
I wonder what he painted?
Goodbye Syd.
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