does anybody remember here syd barrett?

[holdencaulfield]

i am a huge fan of the early floyd and want to know about syd's present condition.anyone from cambridge?

[beer good]

Not from Cambridge, but from what I've picked up as a Floyd fan, it's basically this: he now goes by his given name of Roger, lives in his (now dead) mother's home, paints occasionally, really doesn't like being reminded of Pink Floyd and just wants to be left alone. That's pretty much it. Sad story.

Here's (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,804928,00.html) a fairly recent interview. Or an attempt at one.

[Idril]

I'm a huge Floyd fan, early, middle and late Floyd...although not so much the Rogerless stuff, even though I think David Gilmour is a rock god, his strength just isn't writing. The impression I've gotten is that the rest of the band do look after his interests in terms of publishing rights and royalites and what not but like Beer Good said, they don't have any contact with him directly because apparently, it upsets him a great deal.

[subterranean]

Aww...here's another fan of Floyd...The last thing I read about Syd (and this probably a very old news, I'm sorry to say) is when he showed up in the studio in a monk type of look (shaved head) and gained weight.

I really love Piper at The Gates; I think Syd's childish impressions is really something in that album

[genoveva]

Oh yes! Pink Floyd is my absolute favorite band, and Syd Barrett my favorite by far!



Here's (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,804928,00.html) a fairly recent interview. Or an attempt at one.

Great article! Thanks so much for sharing!

[holdencaulfield]

yes it was a very perceptive and informative article, beer good.thanks a lot!don't forget to send some more if you come across them.

[TBtheG]

Yea Pink Floyd is awesome, although the rogerless stuff is somewhat worse than their previous work, but none the less Pink Floyd rules im currently really into Obscured by the clouds and Atom heart mother.

[holdencaulfield]

i like the track "wots uh the deal" from obscured by the clouds.but what is "absolutely curtains" all about?

[Scheherazade]

Syd who?

Is he one of those best before date expired British comics? Or a character from 'Punch and Judy'???

:p

[Chinaski]

The Madcap Laughs is a jolly little record innit? Think you could have used a cooler photo though - his hair was an inspiration to me in its prime! Though many years after Syd had it like that I hasten to say!

[Xamonas Chegwe]

If you can remember Syd, you were never really into him. :nod:

[Idril]

im currently really into Obscured by the clouds and Atom heart mother.

I love Obscured by Clouds! I go through periods where that's the only disc I listen to. I think Childhood's End is one of Dave's finer solo song writing moments and Stay always brings a smile to my face and Free Four is a great song too, in fact the whole thing is impressive, I think that disc may well be their most underrated work.

And I have a special fondness for Atom Heart Mother, Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast was playing on the tape player when my first son was born.


his hair was an inspiration to me in its prime!

I was reading some article where Nick Mason was saying you could track his descent into madness by his hair, the further he fell, the more complicated his coiffure.

[TBtheG]

Alans psychedelic breakfast is such an awesome instrumental, I remember one time I was cooking scrambled eggs in the microwave, and when I removed them they didnt even look like eggs, they looked super crazy. So my friend and I put on Alans psychedelic breakfast and ate the eggs.

Childhoods end is probably my favorite song on OBC (which I agree is their most underrated work). I also really like Wish you were here, welcome to the machine and have a cigar are some of my favorite tunes.

[subterranean]

My most fav title (not the song, but the title) is "Careful with that axe, Eugene"....

[Hazel-Ra]

I'm a huge Floyd fan, early, middle and late Floyd...although not so much the Rogerless stuff, even though I think David Gilmour is a rock god, his strength just isn't writing.

How perfectly put. I agree entirely.

[holdencaulfield]

I'm a huge Floyd fan, early, middle and late Floyd...although not so much the Rogerless stuff, even though I think David Gilmour is a rock god, his strength just isn't writing. The impression I've gotten is that the rest of the band do look after his interests in terms of publishing rights and royalites and what not but like Beer Good said, they don't have any contact with him directly because apparently, it upsets him a great deal.

i kinda 'gree with ya idril.but some songs on "the division bell" had wonderful lyrics(though not trademark floydian!) such as "wearing the inside out" and "take it back"

roger has become more and more political over the years(has anyone heard his "ca ira"?)

i think righard wright is one of rock and roll's most underrated keyboardists.he did some excellent works early on.i hear that he sang "arnold layne" recently at one gilmour concert.

i wish syd is listening! how long can he be tired of the floyd?

[Idril]

I'm not saying Dave doesn't have his song writing moments, along with Childhood's End there's Fat Old Sun which I've always loved and there are quite a few songs on his solo albums that are downright amazing, I'm just saying it's not his strongest suit. And Roger, while a brilliant lyricist, doesn't have the gift of melody that Dave has. When I listen to Roger's solo albums...and The Final Cut which was, for all intents and purposes, a solo album, they just don't interest me musically, they are at their best when they're working together, they balance each other's strengths and weeknesses so well, it's a shame they can't seem to get over their differences, although they looked fairly friendly at the Live 8 concert.

And I do agree that Richard Wright is underrated, anyone who can write something like Great Gig in the Sky deserves much more credit than Richard has ever gotten.

[Xamonas Chegwe]

While I agree that RW is not given his due status as a Floydian, I would hesitate to offer up GGITS as an example of his genius. It is made by the improvised girly vocals of whatshername (too lazy to google) and is quite a simply constructed song. Some of his work on Saucerful of Secrets deserves more credit, where he took over the main songwriting baton from Syd (who only contributed a single song to the album), Remember a Day and SeeSaw are both excellent contributions. Roger's solo effort on that album was Corporal Clegg, which showed that he had a way to go compositionally speaking at the time.

[Idril]

While I agree that RW is not given his due status as a Floydian, I would hesitate to offer up GGITS as an example of his genius. It is made by the improvised girly vocals of whatshername (too lazy to google) and is quite a simply constructed song.


Just because it's simple doesn't mean it doesn't have merit. ;) And certainly, the improvised vocals make that song, but the piano sets the mood and sets it very nicely. See Saw never did much for me but I do like Remember a Day. Another one of my favorite Richard Wright songs is Stay from Obscured by Clouds. It seems like such a typical love song until that bit towards the end there about not remembering her name and it's not a solo writing effort but I do believe the lyrics are his.


It is made by the improvised girly vocals of whatshername (too lazy to google)

Her name is Clare Torry, I have this book that talks about the story behind every song in the Floyd catalogue and there's a funny quote by Alan Parsons about her, "I think she found the whole thing quite intimidating actually. Here were these long-haired hippie types asking her to sing a song with no words, about death". That would be kind of a tough direction to follow. :lol:

[holdencaulfield]

Just because it's simple doesn't mean it doesn't have merit. ;) And certainly, the improvised vocals make that song, but the piano sets the mood and sets it very nicely. See Saw never did much for me but I do like Remember a Day. Another one of my favorite Richard Wright songs is Stay from Obscured by Clouds. It seems like such a typical love song until that bit towards the end there about not remembering her name and it's not a solo writing effort but I do believe the lyrics are his.



Her name is Clare Torry, I have this book that talks about the story behind every song in the Floyd catalogue and there's a funny quote by Alan Parsons about her, "I think she found the whole thing quite intimidating actually. Here were these long-haired hippie types asking her to sing a song with no words, about death". That would be kind of a tough direction to follow. :lol:


is it possible to know the name of the book?
roger said in a recent bbc interview that he has a couple of albums on his mind: one about love and the other about...well, a kind of sequel to "dark side" , "wall", "amused to death".

[Idril]

is it possible to know the name of the book?


It's called Another Brick in the Wall The Stories Behind Every Pink Floyd Song and it's by Cliff Jones. I always take things not written by the actual people with a grain of salt, but it's a fascinating book and he seems to know what he's talking about. It starts with the first singles and goes all the way through the Division Bell and it's filled with all kinds of behind the scene details, well worth the purchase.

[Pensive]

I loved this song "Another Brick In The Wall" It is one of my favourite songs!

[rachel]

we don't need no education. in this little city it seems as if one half the population adores the floyd and even has old t shirts from concerts long past-and the other half despise, really despise them, especially that particular song. There was a lot of genius in their work in my opinion.some of it frightened me though, cannot tell you why.

[holdencaulfield]

i haven't come across a single person in my entire life who "detests" any of the floyd numbers.

[Idril]

i haven't come across a single person in my entire life who "detests" any of the floyd numbers.

Oh, I know a few, mostly they just dismiss them for being a 'druggie band', "You can't listen to that spacey music unless you're stoned". :rolleyes: I used to try to aruge with them and point out how incredibly wrong that assumption is but I've learned to just let it go, they aren't worthy of calling themselves Floyd fans anyway. ;)

I found this article (http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/32291150) about Roger's future plans. I'm not all that sure how I feel about it, it just won't be the same without Dave's guitar and his voice, there are some songs that Roger shouldn't sing, even though he wrote them, they don't work with his voice.

[Xamonas Chegwe]

I just sawTHIS (http://www.countryside-alliance.org/our_news_and_comment/from_our_Media_Centre/Tickets_to_see_Clapton%2C_Ferry_%26_Waters_rock_Hi ghclere_are_selling_fast/)!

For those that don't know, the countryside alliance are officially an organisation for promoting rural issues but unofficially, or rather most prominently, a pro-foxhunting pressure group.

I guess we know a little more about Roger's dark side now.