Syd Barrett’s story is a sad one. For a short time, he was a big star in British music. He helped start Pink Floyd, a band that changed music with its wild, dreamy sound called psychedelic rock.
But when Pink Floyd became super famous, selling millions of records and playing huge shows, Syd wasn’t part of it anymore. His life was totally different from his old friends in the band. He had been left behind, and it was hard to watch.
Syd and Roger Waters, another Pink Floyd member, met as kids at Cambridgeshire High School For Boys. They became best friends because they both loved music. Together, they made Pink Floyd’s early magic happen. But after their first big album, Saucerful of Secrets, Syd started to struggle. He had problems with his mind, and back then, people didn’t understand mental health very well.
As Syd got worse, the band brought in David Gilmour to help. Soon, Gilmour took Syd’s place completely. It was clear Syd couldn’t stay in the band because of his troubles, but his friends didn’t want to lose him. They tried to stay close and even helped him make two solo albums in 1970. Sadly, after that, Syd left music for good and drifted away from the band.
One day, something surprising happened. While Pink Floyd was recording their album Wish You Were Here, Syd showed up at the studio out of nowhere. This could have been a happy moment, but it wasn’t. Syd looked so different—puffy and unwell—that the band didn’t even recognize him at first. They thought he was just a worker at the studio. It was a tough day for everyone.
Years later, Roger Waters saw Syd one last time. In 2008, Waters told The Mirror about it. He said Syd’s problems weren’t just because of drugs, like some people thought. Waters believed Syd had a mental illness that got worse with drugs, but the drugs didn’t cause it.
Waters explained their final meeting: “The last time I saw him was a couple of years after he showed up at the Wish You Were Here sessions. I ran into him in Harrods, a big store where he liked to buy candy. But we didn’t talk—he just hurried away.”
Waters tried to help Syd later in life when he heard Syd was sick. He reached out to Syd’s sister to see if he could do anything, but it didn’t work out. Syd didn’t need money, and there wasn’t much anyone could do. By then, Syd had been gone from their lives for years.
Once, Syd and Waters were like brothers, but by the time they met in Harrods, they were strangers. Less than ten years after leaving Pink Floyd, Syd wanted nothing to do with his past. He moved back to Cambridge, stayed quiet, and lived away from the spotlight until he passed away in 2005.
Syd Barrett’s story is about a bright star who faded too soon, leaving behind great music and a lot of sadness.
