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Syd Barrett


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Anyone here remembers Syd Barrett, one of the original members of Pink Floyd? Maybe not; most of this forum's members are either too young or too old...

Anyway, he died last week aged 60; see http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articl...t_feature.shtml

He was still with Pink Floyd when I saw them the first time in 1968.

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He was a genius but an absolute lunatic also. When David Gilmour replaced him Syd would be front row in the audience and stare at Gilmour the entire show.

Prior to that he would try to get kicked off the stage so he could party during the show by either playing just one chord the entire show or purposely taking his guitar out of tune while on stage.

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Prior to that he would try to get kicked off the stage so he could party during the show by either playing just one chord the entire show or purposely taking his guitar out of tune while on stage.

How many chords are usually played as a matter of interest? When watching these groups, the fingers seem to move slightly making one or two chords only, I have never seen any of them actually play a tune on a guitar.

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I have never seen any of them actually play a tune on a guitar.

As you'd never heard of Syd Barrett, can we assume the last seven words in that passage are superfluous ?

Not at all. I have never heard of the person in question, but from time to time I have seen others who profess to be guitarists, but all they ever do is play a few chords. They never seem to actually pluck individual strings and play a tune. They just strum, adjusting their fingers now and again to make different chords.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf6oS7fBS9I&search=jimi

He plays more than one cord, but maybe you could do better

Yes, he DID play more than one cord except when he wanted to party off stage.

If I were paying $40 for a ticket to see and hear him (1960's money) and his band play I would certainly expect better. And that is why the band kicked him off.

Could I have done better than what he showed at the end of his career with Pink Floyd?

Yep. :P

The guy died a fat old bitter man who could not control his alcohol, drugs or diet.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf6oS7fBS9I&search=jimi

He plays more than one cord, but maybe you could do better

I didn't dispute that he could play more than one chord. My argument is that so many of these so called stars, cannot actually play a tune on all the strings on a guitar. They merely strum with one hand and position the other occasionally to make a few chords. Heard on it's own, there would not be an actual melody, just a strumming noise.

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I admired Syd Barrett for his part he did with founding Pink Floyd. He was regarded as a genius by many at the time, but I do not actually know how much he contributed to the music of Pink Floyd.

They actually got a hell of a lot better once Roger Waters took firm control of the band.

Syd Barrett on the other hand issued two solo albums, one of which I had (The Madcap Laughs), aided by two other Pink Floyders, but interestingly not Roger Waters. That album was rather mediocre, and there was a hell of a lot of strumming going on!

I think his mythical status came mostly from his complete disappearance from the world. And of course all the meaning that was put into "Wish you were here" and "Shine on you crazy diamond".

Still, it saddened me to hear about his dying as a bitter ugly old man.

P.S. you can hear some excerpts from the "Madcap" here on Amazon (Amazon.co.uk only carries a very few tracks).

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