The guitarist Syd Barrett called “perfect”
The original Pink Floyd leader Syd Barrett was an extraordinary musician. The creator of arguably the era’s most astral psychedelic music, Barrett packaged his unorthodox songwriting approach with whimsical lyrics similar to the prose of Lewis Carroll and a unique guitar-playing style that would see him rise as one of his generation’s definitive heroes.
Despite Barrett’s stark mental health decline, which resulted in him withdrawing from public life in the early 1970s, his importance has seen those closest to him, including former Floyd bandmates David Gilmour and Roger Waters, continue to analyse his quality. Famously, Barrett’s tale also significantly impacted the quartet’s work even after his departure, with his issues a prominent theme in the band’s 1973 masterpiece, The Dark Side of the Moon.
In fact, Barrett made such an impact that even David Bowie counted him as one of his heroes. Following the former Pink Floyd man’s death in 2006, Bowie penned a heartfelt tribute. He wrote: “I can’t tell you how sad I feel. Syd was a major inspiration for me. The few times I saw him perform in London at UFO and the Marquee clubs during the ’60s will forever be etched in my mind.”
Bowie continued: “He was so charismatic and such a startlingly original songwriter. Also, along with Anthony Newley, he was the first guy I’d heard to sing pop or rock with a British accent. His impact on my thinking was enormous. A major regret is that I never got to know him. A diamond indeed.”
There’s a lot of content available from the prominent musical figures who cite Syd Barrett as a major inspiration, but due to the trajectory that the ‘See Emily Play’ songwriter’s life took, the information about which artists he enjoyed is far from as extensive. However, when speaking to Rolling Stone in 1971, he was kind enough to name one musician he valued highly: Jimi Hendrix. Notably, Hendrix passed away at 27, just a year before Barrett conduction this interview, and the Pink Floyd founder showered so much praise on his late counterpart that he described him as “a perfect guitarist”.
“I toured with him you know, Lindsay (an old girlfriend) and I used to sit on the back of the bus, with him up front; he would film us,” Barrett said. “But we never spoke really. It was like this. Very polite. He was better than people really knew. But very self-conscious about his consciousness. He’d lock himself in the dressing room with a TV and wouldn’t let anyone in.”
He continued: “Hendrix was a perfect guitarist. And that’s all I wanted to do as a kid. Play a guitar properly and jump around. But too many people got in the way. It’s always been too slow for me. Playing. The pace of things. I mean, I’m a fast sprinter. The trouble was, after playing in the group for a few months, I couldn’t reach that point.”
The former Pink Floyd leader concluded: “I may seem to get hung-up, that’s because I am frustrated work-wise, terribly. The fact is I haven’t done anything this year, I’ve probably been chattering, explaining that away like anything. But the other bit about not working is that you do get to think theoretically.”
Watch Jimi Hendrix in action below.
