Today marks what would have been Pink Floyd founding guitarist Syd Barrett’s birthday. Barrett was born Roger Keith Barrett on January 6, 1946 in Cambridge, England. In 1965, Barrett — along with bassist Roger Waters, keyboardist Richard Wright and drummer Nick Mason — formed Pink Floyd in London, with Syd coming up with the band’s legendary name. Syd Barret died on July 7, 2006.
Barrett was Pink Floyd’s original primary songwriter, guitarist, singer and frontman. His whimsical psychedelic style was massively influential on the sound of mid-1960s England. That sound can be heard on Pink Floyd’s 1967 debut album, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, for which Syd wrote most of the material for. While it wasn’t included on the UK release, the U.S. version of Piper featured the Syd Barret-penned single, “See Emily Play.”
But Syd was reportedly not happy with the final cut of “See Emily Play,” with early Pink Floyd producer Norman Smith attributing Barrett’s uneasiness about the track to Barrett’s valid fear of commercialism. It was during sessions for the song that future Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour first noticed a change in Barrett. Although he was invited to the studio by his friend Syd, Barrett reportedly didn’t recognize Gilmour.
Sadly, Syd suffered from mental illness and seemed to lose interest in the band as the ‘60s wore on (he would no longer be a member of the group by 1968). Nevertheless, Pink Floyd would perform “See Emily Play” for the British television program Top Of The Pops a number of times in 1967. While the performances didn’t ultimately air, a version of one appearance surfaced later.
Syd was a genius. And as history has indicated, immense artistic talent often comes with a heavy price to mental health. Pink Floyd would pay homage to their friend with the 1975 album Wish You Were Here.
To celebrate Syd Barrett’s birthday, watch the legendary Pink Floyd frontman sing “See Emily Play” for Top Of The Pops in 1967 below via the JamBase Live Video Archive:
