Syd Barrett (Roger Keith Barrett) Syd Barrett was born Roger Keith Barrett in Cambridge England on the 6th of January 1946.   Syd Barrett's parents encouraged his interest in music and after his father died in 1961, his mother approved of Syd's band, 'The Mottoes' to practice in their home.  In 1964 he joined a band named, 'The Tea Set', which included a childhood friend of Syd's named Roger Waters.  When Syd saw that they were scheduled to perform a gig with another band named, 'The Tea Set', he came up with a new name for the band, 'The Pink Floyd Sound'.  Barrett got the names Pink and Floyd from two blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Syd took over lead guitar and became the primary song writer for the band.  They played at the Roundhouse and the UFO, where they used lighting to great effect during their sets.  Barrett's appearances on stage were described in part, "... leaping around and the madness, and the kind of improvisation he was doing ... he was inspired.  He would constantly manage to get past his limitations and into areas that were very, very interesting.  Which none of the others could do."  The Pink Floyd Sound became the vanguards of the psychedelic music wave.  The band signed with EMI, truncated their name to 'Pink Floyd' and in 1967 released their first 3 singles, all written by Syd Barrett.  'Pink Floyd' also released their first album in 1967, 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'.  That album contained 11 songs, 8 of them were written by Syd Barrett, who also co-wrote 2 of the other 3 songs on the album.  'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' reached number 6 on the British Album charts.  It all sounds great, but during 1967 Syd Barrett also began regularly using LSD, allegedly.  His performances on stage started to become erratic and his behavior unpredictable.

Some of the 'antics' Syd is set to have done include, not showing up for concerts, refusing to play and strumming on one chord throughout an entire concert.  At The Fillmore West in San Francisco, he allegedly slowly de-tuned his guitar during 'Interstellar Overdrive'.  Pink Floyd ended up calling in a substitute guitarist, David O'List for times when Syd would either fail to appear at a show or be incapable of playing.  They eventually brought in a friend of Barrett's named David Gilmour, to be a second Guitarist for the band.  Then in January 1968 on the way to a show, they elected not to pick Syd up, and just like that, Syd Barrett was out of Pink Floyd.  The official announcement would come 3 months later.

Syd Barrett began a solo career which resulted in 2 albums, 'The Madcap Laughs' and 'Barrett', but it is believed that the overwhelming majority of the songs were written before his departure from 'Pink Floyd'.  In addition, reportedly he only performed one live concert as a solo artist, during which, at the end of the 4th song, he put down his guitar and walked off the stage.

For me, what makes Syd Barrett a Rock and Roll casualty is that allegedly, liberal use of drugs had such a detrimental effect on his personality that he was kicked out of what would be one of the most successful bands of all time.  Obviously, he's not the only person to have been kicked out of a band, but how many people who get kicked out of a band are, essentially a founding member, the band member who named the band, the lead guitarist, lead vocalist, and the primary song writer for the band?  Not too bloody many.

By 1978 Syd Barrett moved back to Cambridge and lived in his mom's basement.  Basically, he lived the rest of his life in seclusion, dying of pancreatic cancer in 2006.

Here is Syd Barrett with 'Pink Floyd'.