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April 26, 2010
- First Look At New Syd Book
- Rob Chapman's new, 400-page biography of Syd has already been favourably reviewed (a 'sympathetic, fascinating book' – The WORD; 'the most diligent yet' – Q Magazine), and we are pleased to be able to offer you a glimpse of it, by kind permission of Rob and publishers Faber & Faber.
  
  Like his brothers and his father before him, Roger was a keen Scout, and it was here that school friends remember him first taking an interest in the guitar. 'I remember Roger from when he joined our school in September 1957,' says Geoff Leyshon. 'He joined the school Scout group, of which I was a member. I think he was in Mick Taylor's patrol. Mick and I could claim to have taught Roger his first chords on the guitar,' says Leyshon. 'One Saturday morning, we were sorting out equipment prior to summer camp. Mick had brought his guitar along (a Hofner acoustic, I think) and we were having a strum. Roger expressed an interest as any thirteen-year-old would so we showed him how to shape chords. E, A and D, I recollect, good enough for most twelve-bar R&R numbers.'
  
  According to Leyshon it was also during this period that Roger became Syd. 'The "Syd" nickname came from that era,' he maintains, 'bestowed around about 1959, when Roger turned up in a flat cap instead of his Scout beret for a field day at Abington Scout site. Some of our more senior and pretentious members thought this was very working-class and promptly nicknamed him "Syd" as this was felt to be a lower-class name, I suppose, and it stuck.' Leyshon's recollections pre-date all previous accounts about how 'Roger' became 'Syd'. The most commonly aired theory was that there was a jazz musician in Cambridge, a bass player known as Sid 'the beat' Barrett, who used to play at the Riverside Jazz Club in the early 1960s, which the young Roger used to frequent.
  
  This latter account is of course a more attractive and eminently more hip option, but the truth is that the nickname was bestowed upon Roger by his school seniors and not by the denizens of a jazz club. There is no evidence to suggest that Roger was unhappy with the nickname, and he used both his real name and his nickname interchangeably for several years, although it is significant that he was referred to solely as Roger or 'Rog' in the Barrett household. 'He was never Syd at home,' maintains Rosemary. 'He would never have allowed it.'
  
  Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head by Rob Chapman, is published in the UK by Faber & Faber on 1st May, 2010. It is available to order now from Amazon; you can also get a bundle of the book and a brand-new official Syd T-shirt from the Syd Barrett Store. Order now for a ship date of Saturday 1st May.
March 31, 2010
- New Syd Art Book Asks For Support
- Specialist book publishers Essential Works, responsible for The Art Of The LP and Clash amongst others, are planning a new book based on Syd's creative life, and they want your help. Because of the high start-up cost of creating art books and deciding the print run, Essential are asking anyone interested to register their interest on their dedicated Website, www.barrettbook.com.
  
  There is no commitment to purchase, say the publishers; it is merely to gauge enthusiasm for the project in order to decide whether to go ahead.
  
  Billed as 'The definitive collector's book', Barrett will be a large format illustrated book and should contain 'a large number' of rare and unseen images. These will include many of Syd's artworks and letters, most of which will be reproduced in print form for the very first time. The book will also display photos of Syd before, during and after Pink Floyd, including live, backstage, and portrait images, as well as family snapshots.
  
  Produced in association with the Barrett family, there will also be new interviews with those that knew Syd well discussing his creative output in-depth and shining a light on how this remarkable artist came to capture the imagination of so many people. The book will be printed on heavyweight art paper, clothbound and contained in a slipcase.
  
  It is planned to publish Barrett in late 2010 at a likely cost 'in the region of £60', and it will be available only online and through specialist outlets. From what we've seen, it does promise to be of high quality and very interesting, so please do check out www.barrettbook.com and help Essential gauge interest.
March 29, 2010
- Syd Art Owners Asked To Share At New Exhibition
- Calling all owners of original Syd Barrett art! If you'd like to share your enjoyment of Syd's art with others, the organisers of a new Syd art exhibition are requesting your help.
  
  A charity festival in London later this year will celebrate Syd's life, art and music. An exhibition of art, photography and letters will be included and the organisers have appealed for the loan of original works by Syd, letters from him, or rare photographs of, or by, him that throw light on his thoughts and actions.
  
  Curator Brian Wernham says: "I will be loaning six Syd pieces myself and there are four reasons for fortunate owners to lend them for the exhibition: 1. It's great to spread the word about Syd's creative abilities (not just music) to a new generation of admirers; 2. Beautiful art should be seen by as many as possible; 3. There are hidden connections in his art that can be seen when they are placed next to each other (as will be demonstrated at the exhibition); and 4. The provenance of items will be strengthened by inclusion in the official exhibition catalogue; forgery and bad resales of some artists on eBay is becoming a real problem".
  
  Owners should contact Brian at brian.wernham@gmail.com to discuss the exhibition.
  
  More information has been promised on the event, which has the support of Syd's sister Rosemary and pledges from several old friends of Syd's and private art owners to show previously unseen pieces. We're told that 'Two considerable collections of letters' will also be shown. Will Shutes, assistant editor at The London Magazine, will provide some art interpretation, while innovative and attractive display techniques are assured.
March 29, 2010
- Irregular Man Comes To Town
- Rob Chapman, author of the anticipated new biography Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head, has set up some instore readings and events around the country, courtesy of his publishers Faber & Faber.
  
  To coincide with the book's publication on 1st May, Rob will be appearing at the following events:
  
  Tuesday 11th May, Cambridge
  Waterstone's, Sidney Street, 7PM.
  
  Thursday 13th May, Huddersfield
  Wall of Sound, 7PM.
  
  Tuesday 18th May, Liverpool
  Event at the Bluecoat, 6PM.
  
  Wednesday 19th May, Manchester
  Event at Waterstone's, Deansgate, 7PM.
  
  Friday 21st May, Bristol
  Event at Waterstone's Galleries, 7PM.
  
  Thursday 3rd June, Glasgow
  Event at Streetlevel Photoworks, with Barry Miles, 7PM.
  
  For more details, see Rob's page here. Or pre-order the book from Amazon.
  
  We plan to run an extract from it in April, so watch this space.
February 19, 2010
- Welcome To Our New Direction...
- Welcome to the redesigned official Syd Barrett Website, which we have made more psychedelic for your viewing pleasure. Through the marvel of Flash technology you can use the 'cover' page as a soothing visual, since it (in theory at least) constantly changes without repetition. We have also added the swirling background to every page, and we hope you enjoy it.
  
  First launched in December 2008, SydBarrett.com is the official Website, to celebrate the life of Syd Barrett, founding member of Pink Floyd. If you have a look around the site, hopefully you will notice that we have added many more images – in particular shots of Syd's artworks. We don't have a lot of information about each artwork, but we will be working to update all information on a regular basis, and we will also be adding more music as we go.
  
  Thanks, as always, for your interest in Syd. You might like to look in the 'Press' section (under 'Misc.') to check out the latest features on Syd in MOJO and Record Collector magazines.
November 29, 2009
- Irregular New Syd Biography Due In May
- Rob Chapman's A Very Irregular Head, a new biography of Syd, promises to ring the changes in that it concentrates far more, and in greater detail, on Syd's formative influences than other tomes.
  
  The book's 400-plus pages spend a considerable amount of time dissecting the artistic (both literary and visual) inspirations for Syd's creative world.
  
  We hope to be able to bring you an extract of the book in due course, courtesy of publishers Faber and Faber.
  
  In the meantime the book, available on 6th May 2010, can be pre-ordered from Amazon and other online retailers as well as Waterstone's and other High Street bookshops.
  
  Rob Chapman is the former singer/lyricist with Bristol based avant-punksters Glaxo Babies, and moved through broadcasting into full-time music journalism in 1995 when he began contributing to MOJO, having written for a few fanzines, most notably early issues of Syd fanzine Terrapin. After eight years of writing for MOJO, including cover stories on Brian Jones, Keith Moon, Massive Attack, and Brian Wilson's Smile album, Rob moved to Uncut in 2003, returning to EMAP publishing house 2006 in time to write Syd's MOJO obituary. His other books are Selling The Sixties, a history of offshore pirate radio, The Vinyl Junkyard, an alternative history of record sleeves, and his debut novel, Dusk Music, published in 2008.
November 15, 2009
- Syd's Shed on eBay
- The garden shed from the house in which Syd Barrett spent the last 30 years of his life is currently listed on eBay, with a starting bid of £1,000.
  
  The shed has been painted oxblood and cream inside by Syd and contains furniture he built and painted himself. The door of the shed is painted green with the hinges picked out in a chalk blue colour. Some planks have been replaced with fence shiplap at the far end.
  
  Although the buyer must collect the shed, it will be carefully dismantled so that it can be reassembled without losing any of its unique character.
  
  UPDATE:
  The auction closed on Tuesday 17th November 2009. No bids were received.
November 5, 2009
- Three Mick Rock Photos of Syd Barrett Auctioned for Fund
- Three photographs of Syd Barrett by Mick Rock are to be auctioned on Saturday 21st November. Taken during the 1969 photo shoot for the debut solo album The Madcap Laughs, they will be auctioned by the Phillips de Pury Gallery in London. Two of the photos are black and white, sized 51cm x 60cm: one is a head shot and the other is from Mick's series of Syd in the street. The third, 112 cm x 76cm, in colour, shows Syd sitting on the floor of his Earls Court flat, the location of the 'Madcap' cover shot. Fifty per cent of money raised from the prints will be going to The Syd Barrett Fund, which was set up by Syd's sister Rosemary Breen in 2008 to support arts projects to foster mental wellbeing.
  
  Viewing for the sale begins on Monday 9th November, at Philips' London HQ in Howick Place, London, SW1P 1BB, and lots should be viewable online on that same day; the auction takes place on Saturday 21st November at 5 PM, and bids can be made by phone as well as in person. Full catalogue details will also be on the Philips de Pury Website, www.phillipsdepury.com. The auction will be the first to feature live music, with acclaimed musician Matthew Herbert creating a "sound carpet" to accompany the bidding. Other work to be auctioned will include art from Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Pete Doherty, and Marilyn Manson.
October 5, 2009
- SydBarrett.com Solves 30-Year-Old Mystery
- In various books describing Syd's Abbey Road Studios sessions, it is stated that the recordings of April 17th 1969 featured Humble Pie's Jerry Shirley on drums. Some, including 'The Making Of Madcap Laughs' by producer (and head of the Harvest label) Malcolm Jones, say that Jokers Wild/Quiver drummer Willie Wilson played bass on the two tracks laid down, which were No Man's Land and Here I Go. This information was duly repeated in Brian Hogg's sleeve notes in EMI's reissues of The Madcap Laughs.
  
  Jerry Shirley has occasionally played other instruments, but Willie Wilson is mostly listed solely as a drummer, so it seemed a good idea to check the facts. We got Willie on the phone, and he gave us the story: he had jammed on occasion with Pink Floyd as far back as the days when they were known as the Abdabs, and Syd had often played with Willie's Cambridge bands, frequently on Bo Diddley numbers.
  
  Syd asked Willie to do the session, and Jerry asked to attend as well (Willie & Jerry Shirley knew each other from Cambridge and shared a flat round the corner from Syd). So it was Willie that played drums on No Man's Land and Here I Go, and after the takes with Syd were laid down, Jerry who overdubbed the bass part on No Man's Land. As Willie noted, the bass couldn't be done live because Syd changed the chords in the verse on every take, so Jerry couldn't nail his part live. There is no bass guitar on Here I Go, so that features just Syd and Willie.
  
  So now we know.
September 18, 2009
- 2010 Calendar available from next week
- Trying to be ready for Christmas, New Year and any other festivals, Storm Thorgerson Studios have prepared an LP-sized 2010 calendar, which should be available from next week.
  
  The full-colour calendar hangs in double-size, i.e. it makes a 12" wide by 24" high hanging item, with a picture on the top and the days of the month below. It runs from December 2009 to December 2010 inclusive, so any December recipient can start using it straight away.
  
  Some of the featured images are: paintings by Syd, the album covers of The Madcap Laughs and Barrett and the lyrics to Lucifer Sam and Astronomy Domine (illustrated by Finlay Cowan and Dan Abbott respectively).
  
  The 2010 calendar should be available at the Syd Barrett Store from next Thursday (24th September) and also around that date from Internet stores such as play.com and Amazon in the UK (Amazon are offering it now, and we will ask them to update their ship date). We will update availability as and when they know it.
  
  UPDATED CALENDAR DETAILS:
  The calendar printers took a bit longer than was expected, but to reassure anyone that has ordered, the calendars are now ready and all orders have been despatched.
August 20, 2009
- Rosemary Breen Remembers Her Brother
- Click here to read the full text of an interview with Syd's sister that was conducted by Simon Webb of Escape Artists in May 2009. It is reprinted by kind permission of fan site Brain Damage and Matt Johns.
March 24, 2009
- Hoax Bid Inflates Syd Art Price
- Sadly, yesterday's story re: the latest eBay bid for Syd's 'Fart Enjoy' proved inaccurate. A hoax bid inflated the figure, which has now stabilised to a still-creditable £12,100. The auction, in honour of The Syd Barrett Trust, ends today at 21:04 GMT; make your last-minute bid here.
March 23, 2009
- Bids For Syd Art Hit £27,000 So Far
- As mentioned on 5th March, Syd's one-off art book 'Fart Enjoy' is being auctioned via eBay in aid of The Syd Barrett Trust. There has been much interest in the hand-drawn book, which has been donated by Syd's childhood friend Andrew Rawlinson. The auction closes tomorrow, 24th March, at 21:04 GMT, and bidding has reached £27,323 at time of writing.
  
  If you plan to make a bid, or are interested in the auction’s progress, please find the link here.
  
  It certainly seems as if The Trust's worthy cause will benefit greatly from the sale.
March 18, 2009
- Rosemary Takes Time To Answer Your Questions
- Fan site Brain Damage are running a fan's Question and Answer session with Rosemary Breen, Syd Barrett's sister.
  
  This is part of the build-up to the official launch of The Syd Barrett Trust, which takes place on June 11th in Cambridge. Brain Damage editor Matt Johns says: "There's no guarantee that every one received can be asked, or that Rosemary will choose to answer all of them, but we're sure that a number of you will have some excellent questions, which will elicit some fascinating answers".
  
  Questions should be submitted to the normal e-mail address of matt@brain-damage.co.uk to reach them by the evening of March 30th. Find out more about the trust at www.syd-barrett-trust.org.uk.
March 5, 2009
- Syd's Art With A Capital F For Auction
- The Syd Barrett Trust stands to benefit from another generous donation; Andrew Rawlinson, a school friend of Syd's, has kindly donated an original one-off book, 'Fart Enjoy', created and illustrated by Syd in 1965.
  
  It will be available for auction on eBay from tomorrow, March 6th, at 8 PM GMT.
  
  The auction for the book, which consists of 12 original pieces of art spread over seven sheets of card, lasts for a week, until 8 PM GMT on Friday 13th March.
  
  The Syd Barrett Trust Website has a page featuring all the book's pages, and a moving essay on Syd and the book's origins from Andrew Rawlinson himself. He says: "It's seven sheets of cardboard held together by Sellotape. It's also a little gem and as good a reflection of the man himself as I know – experimental, colourful, wide open and right on the button. Nobody in the rock world has ever integrated words and images like Syd, or produced anything quite as fresh and complete as this. Syd did it in a day or two at the age of 18 or 19".
  
  You can see all 12 illustrated pages and read Andrew Rawlinson's essay here or check out a copy of the limited clothbound 3-disc version of Pink Floyd's The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn – a reproduction of the book is contained therein.
March 2, 2009
- Auction Stations – Winner Collects eBay Mosaic
- The highest bidder for the unique Syd Barrett mosaic raised a praiseworthy £10,700 for The Syd Barrett Trust, and is pictured here.
  
  Kindly donated by Syd's sister, Rosemary Breen, the mosaic was auctioned on eBay and Rosemary was able to present it to the auction winner, Brian (pictured with his wife Marie, far right), at a private ceremony in Cambridge.
February 18, 2009
- EMI Invent New Syd Portal Page
- EMI Records UK have invented a new series of artist-specific Web pages that draw together most of the main Web areas of interest, designating them The Ultimate Fan Page for that artist.
  
  Launched today, their first dedicated 'digital portals' include one for Syd Barrett, as well as David Gilmour, Pink Floyd, and Genesis.
  
  Each page includes some of the more popular Web pages related to each artist, plus a pre-loaded search facility for sites such as Amazon, Wikipedia, Google, and Flickr. It also has an updated news feed from bbc.co.uk and Google, plus a music player. Of course, every individual will want to use the Web in his or her own way, but it does seem to be a convenient way to link together some of the more common pages that an interested party might want to explore.
  
  As each page is refreshed or revisited, the artwork, videos and photos change randomly, the idea being to give the user a different experience each time.
  
  N.B. EMI doesn't edit the content, all of which is already available in Webworld; they merely provide easy but random access to content already carried by legal providers.
  
  There is an overall site at UltimateFanPage.com, but you might prefer to go directly to Syd Barrett, David Gilmour, or Pink Floyd.
  
  Each page has a 'feedback' link, so that you can communicate your thoughts directly to the creators.
February 9, 2009
- Sweet Sole Mosaic
- 'Two Warriors', the only known example of a Syd Barrett mosaic, is available for bids on auction site eBay from now till February 17th to raise funds for The Syd Barrett Trust.
  
  An early work of Syd's from the 1960s, it has never to date been out of the Barrett family's possession. Funds raised will be used to establish The Syd Barrett Centre for Arts in Mental Health in Syd's hometown of Cambridge.
  
  The mosaic was on prominent display in Cambridge during the recent City Wakes tribute event, and its striking design attracted a lot of interest; measuring around 18 x 24 inches (approximately 45 x 60 cm), it has a thin wooden frame, also made by Syd, and comes with a letter of authenticity signed by Rosemary Breen.
  
  To place bids, click here. The auction ends on February 17th at 4.20 PM GMT.
  
  N.B. The lucky purchaser will own the physical mosaic only – all reproduction rights are retained by The Syd Barrett Trust.
January 30, 2009
- Tom Up North – Rock 'N' Roll Manchester Opening
- Tom Stoppard's acclaimed play Rock 'N' Roll gets its regional premiere at the Library Theatre in Manchester from February 13th onwards, in a production directed by the theatre's Artistic Director Chris Honer.
  
  Set over a period of 22 years, from Soviet tanks rolling into Czechoslovakia in 1968 to a newly free Prague in 1990, the play contrasts the worlds of a group of Czechoslovakian dissidents and that of a Cambridge professor. The action is framed with the music of the time, including Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and U2, and we're told that 'the ghost of Syd Barrett is always lurking in the background'.
  
  Rock 'N' Roll runs from Friday 13th February to Saturday 14th March and stars Graeme Hawley as Czech dissident Jan and Hilton McRae as Max the academic. For ticket information, call the Box Office on 0161 236 7110 or click here.
  
  N.B. The lucky purchaser will own the physical mosaic only – all reproduction rights are retained by The Syd Barrett Trust.
January 20, 2009
- Syd Le Premier En Francais
- Fan site Brain Damage reports that a new French language book, Syd Barrett: Le premier Pink Floyd, has just been published. Written by Emmanuel Le Bret, and published by Editions du Moment, the book apparently features 288 pages of biography but also new analysis. We can't answer for the quality of the book, but it can be found via Amazon.fr, who report that the author is a collector and passionate fan of 'Le Swinging London'.
December 10, 2008
- From Classic Rock – A Posthumous Award
- Click here for details.
November 09, 2008
- From Brain Damage – A City Wakes Overview
- Brain Damage has a comprehensive review of all the City Wakes events held in Cambridge until November 1st 2008. Click here for details.