The Dark Side of the Moon

Syd Barrett and Roger Waters were best friends since they grew up together in London. But today I’m going to talk about Syd Barrett and his effect on the incredible band, Pink Floyd.

Pink Floyd would have concerts in pitch black. There would be no lights on anything except a space with a morphing bubble on the wall. Obviously, Pink Floyd enjoyed tripping on acid. Their concerts were targeted for people to drop acid and enjoy music. In the 1960s, when acid was first becoming popular, this was probably one of the greatest experiences anyone could have. Pink Floyd started off as a heavy psychedelic/space rock band. Pink Floyd toured with Jimi Hendrix to help increase their popularity.

One of the greatest aspects about Pink Floyds early music was Barrett’s ability to turn very simple words into an awesome, upbeat rock song. This, in my opinion, was his true talent. “I’ve got a bike, you can ride it if you like.” Always gets stuck in my head. It is simple but still has a good beat and is fun to listen to.

Syd Barrett loved to trip on acid. He believed that acid expanded your mind but he was known for having a lot of bad trips as well. Barrett’s bad trips and immense use of acid is what essentially led to his insanity. In January 1968 guitarist David Gilmour joined the band in order to help with Barrett’s irregularity. It got so bad that they would unplug Barrett’s guitar from the speakers so his instability at shows. But, Syd never noticed. Barrett’s behavior was becoming more and more unpredictable because of he was almost always on LSD. He would sometimes stare into space or strumming one chord for the entire concert or randomly re-tune his guitar. He was also bad in rehearsals and recordings. In April of 1968 Syd Barrett officially left Pink Floyd, he moved to the England with his mom and lived an isolated life until his death in 2006. He never even contacted his best friend Roger Waters.

I am one to always believe that everything happens for a reason. And while Syd leaving was both upsetting and monumental, him leaving shaped Pink Floyd to how we know them today. Roger Waters was devasted about what had happened to his friend, as anyone would be. I mean, just imagine, your best friend since you were little goes insane because of taking acid too many times. And there was nothing you could do about it. I can’t even imagine.

But, if we think positively of this situation . . . because Roger Waters got so upset about what had happened to Syd Barrett some of the best songs by Pink Floyd were made.

Water’s wrote “Shine On Your Crazy Diamond” because he was inspired by Barrett
’s absent expression and personality. David Gilmour called the 26-minute epic piece “Rogers Paean to Syd.” To be honest, I don’t think I can really describe Pink Floyds music. Its electronic, defiantly psychedelic, space rock, I don’t know. I don’t even like the idea of classifying Pink Floyd’s music, I think it’s somewhat of an insult. Am I right?

It’s clear that after Syd Barrett left the band, Pink Floyd lost the psychedelic edge they were famous for. However, it matured, grew and became collaborative of all kinds of music which one cannot singularly label. The music became an era, Pink Floyd had transformed into something completely different, and maybe better? Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were both made without Syd Barrett. I feel like once David Gilmour came into the band, their lyrics changed from carefree to meaningful and full of purpose.