Well this is upsetting. News has just broken on the BBC website that founder of Pink Floyd and troubled genius, Syd Barrett, has died from complications arising from his diabetes. This is a very sad day. I love that first album. “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” is just an exercise in whimsy that there’s nothing else quite like it out there. And his credentials as a guitarist are underlined by the blistering “Interstellar Overdrive”.
Here are some viddies, courtesy of YouTube, featuring the guy:






For me, listening to the Floyd is a remnant of my early teenage years and Barrett is a happy memory. I’m off to dig out those old records and give them another listen. Shine on, you crazy diamond, wherever you are.

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