Co-founder of the iconic rock band called Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, is known as an almost genius singer-songwriter who also played a really significant role in pushing forth his psychedelic music style. Even for his band music, he was known for using dissonance, echo, and similar amusing effects in the songs.
Till the time Barrett remained in the eye of the public and was a part of the band, he poured his musical capabilities into the songs, giving fans of the band four singles, which included the band’s debut album titled, “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.” Unfortunately for him, Barrett remained active in the music scene for only ten years.
He was removed from the band in 1968, which disappointed fans, but he continued on with his solo music career, which was good news. But turns out he found himself incapable of keeping up with his solo career, which led him to retire from the industry and the music-making business completely, finding solace in his privacy, which was always heavily protected.
The reason for his removal from the band Pink Floyd was because of his excessive use of psychedelic drugs, which was impacting the band negatively. He went on forward with his solo career and released some singles, “Octopus,” and two albums titled “The Madcap Laughs” and “Barrett” These albums were produced and released with the help of the Pink Floyd members.
It was the year 1972 when Barrett decided to completely give up his music career and began isolating himself from society and the public. As a child, he had been pushed into painting, and during his self-imposed isolation, he is claimed to have gotten back into the old habits of painting and gardening to spend his time peacefully.
What turned Syd into a known genius also left him completely drained and depressed. Obviously, a major role in the downfall of his life is because of the vast amounts of drugs he used to consume and was addicted to. Even so, after his departure from the band, they continued to include him in their songs, even paying him tribute with several different releases such as “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.”
Syd Barrett: Before and After
It has to be noted that Barrett retired from the industry completely and for good in 1972, and since then, till his unfortunate passing, his life has been very private and guarded. Any changes in his life or even in his appearance are obviously unrecorded and probably have gone unnoticed.
One should also keep in mind that much of what happened with him was because of the excessive use and almost addiction that Barrett had to psychedelic drugs like LSD. Prior to the use of the drugs, when he was completely clean, Barrett was actually described as the happy, extroverted guy at the center of every room’s attention, but later he seemed to have done a complete one-eighty with his personality.
He is claimed to have become depressed and withdrawn with severe mood swings. Some claim that Barrett suffered from intense depression, and others claim it was schizophrenia. There have also been suspicions regarding him suffering from Asperger’s syndrome.
With no public appearances till his death in the year 2006 and no contact with the Pink Floyd members, we have very little factual information about Barrett’s life. We know he never got married or even had children of his own. At age sixty, it was his sister, who was taking care of him at his mother’s home, where it was revealed that he passed due to pancreatic cancer.
Though not confirmed, there are rumors of mental problems being a part of the family history, and Barrett’s continuous use of psychedelic drugs like LSD may have just been the push the innate mental illnesses need for them to take over and ruin a good man’s life.
When he was last seen in public, he looked as normal as a man could, with a bit of some weight on his stomach, which felt fine for his age. He was still bald, unlike his younger days when he sported the long hair look. He looked so different and unrecognizable and unlike Syd Barrett, that fans had known that a lot of them were actually left speechless.
He started off as a musical prodigy influencing a long list of artists to continue exploring his style of music more. The extroverted bunch of sunshine of a guy got turned into something really dark, reclusive, and totally withdrawn from the outside world, and he almost fear-like feelings towards his musical past.
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