Rob Chapman's interviews stretch as far as
New York. He recently spoke on the phone to WNYC
Radio in New York with some more insights into Syd's
life and work. You can hear this latest interview,
subtitled Illuminating the Crazy Diamond,
here
for a limited time.
Friday 3rd
Update On 'Barrett' Book
As previously reported, things are moving forward
on the large format Barrett photo book, celebrating
Syd's artistic life. The book will comprise three
sections: Syd's life in photographs – from
growing up through to working and performing with
Pink Floyd and his life as a solo artist; unseen
and unpublished illustrated letters sent to Libby
Gausden-Chisman and Jenny Spires between 1962 and
1965; and all of Syd's existing work as a visual
artist from 1962 until his death.
The book is promised to contain over 250 images.
100 images are previously unseen and more will be
reproduced in fine art quality for the first time;
there will over 40 artworks including paintings,
drawings, mosaics, collages, and sculptures; plus
there will be more than 50 previously unseen photographs
taken by Syd of his artworks, including some images
of his destroyed works, and studies in preparation
for his art works.
The Art section also includes a commentary on Syd's
artworks by Will Shutes, notes on Syd's diaries,
notebooks, scrapbooks, and his History of Art project.
Finally, there will be a full catalogue of Syd's
art, listing and dating all the artwork known to
have existed.
Barrett is due to be published in March 2011
in two editions: the Signature (above, left);
and the Classic (above, right). It will coincide
with a month-long exhibition at London's Idea Generation
Gallery.
Both editions of the book are now available for
pre-order, an added attraction being the opportunity
to have a name printed in the book. Orders received
before December 15 will initiate the purchaser's
name to be printed in the Roll of Honour in the
book itself.
Tuesday 30th
Rob Chapman On The Radio
Rob Chapman, author of Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular
Head, has recently being doing some interviews covering
his book and various aspects of Syd's life and work.
You can hear a 23-minute interview from BBC Radio Scotland
here
for a limited time.
Thursday 28th
Syd's First Video Clip: 'Here I Go'.
Syd didn't make any promotional video clips
for his solo recordings, but, thanks to London design
house Stylorouge, we can now present one for Here
I Go.
Coinciding with the release of An Introduction
To Syd Barrett, the clip features some stills
of Syd, linked in a fluid way to be supportive of
the music. The new version of Here I Go
features David Gilmour on bass guitar, and was remixed
in 2010 at Astoria Studio by Andy Jackson and Damon
Iddins, in collaboration with David.
Wednesday 6th
New Digital Format Helps Spread The Word On Syd
Recently launched is a new digital format, which creates
a digital visual booklet of album graphics to accompany
an artist's music, and one has been created
for An Introduction To Syd Barrett.
Named the '3DiCD', you can see it by clicking
here.
It contains the artwork from the CD booklet, so
you can use it to illustrate the music if it is
playing in a digital format. You can share it via
links to Social Networking sites and there are also
30-second audio clips of each track on the album,
so, for the uninitiated, it really is an introduction
to Syd's music and words.
Friday 13th
New Syd compilation due: 'An Introduction To Syd Barrett'.
On
Monday 11th October 2010, EMI/Harvest Records
will release An Introduction To Syd Barrett,
a brand new collection that brings together for
the first time the tracks of Pink Floyd and Syd
Barrett on one compilation. David Gilmour, having
co-produced The Madcap Laughs (with Roger
Waters) and produced Barrett, has taken the
role of executive producer for the album, collaborating
with engineers Andy Jackson and Damon Iddins, who
have remixed five tracks including 'Octopus', 'She
Took A Long Cool Look', 'Dominoes' and 'Here I Go'.
David has added bass guitar to 'Here I Go', and
the team have also remixed Pink Floyd's 'Matilda
Mother'.
Brand new artwork has been provided by long time
Pink Floyd associate Storm Thorgerson and his
estimable studio.
Tracklisting is Arnold Layne, See Emily Play, Apples
And Oranges, Matilda Mother (2010 Mix), Chapter
24, Bike (all by Pink Floyd), Terrapin, Love You,
Dark Globe, Here I Go (2010 Remix), Octopus (2010
Mix), She Took A Long Cool Look (2010 Mix) (aka
She Took A Long Cold Look), If It's In You (all
from The Madcap Laughs), Baby Lemonade, Dominoes
(2010 Mix), Gigolo Aunt, Effervescing Elephant (all
from Barrett) and Bob Dylan Blues (from Wouldn't
You Miss Me – The Best Of Syd Barrett).
All tracks have been remastered from the original
analogue masters by Andy Jackson of Tube Mastering.
An addition to An Introduction To Syd Barrett
is the previously-unreleased 20-minute instrumental
'Rhamadan'. Produced by former Pink Floyd and
Syd co-manager Peter Jenner, the list of musicians
is lost in the mists of time, though it's rumoured
to include congas by Steve Peregrine Took of Tyrannosaurus
Rex. It is to be offered as an extra downloadable
track with the CD (via an auxiliary Website),
and also the iTunes version of the album. Once
again Damon Iddins and Andy Jackson mixed it in
2010.
Tuesday 10th
September 11th Walking Tour
This tour is now full. There are no other tours
planned for this year unless there is a group
booking of at least 10-12. Next year's tour dates
will be announced later this year.
If you're interested in the UK arts scene
of '66 and the cultural crossovers that led
to the gestation of Syd's Pink Floyd, you might
be intrigued by the following.
The Wire magazine is hosting a series of
monthly salons, with readings, discussions, screenings,
and more. On Thursday 8th July, the series
continues with an event that 'examines the collision
of auto-destructive art, proto-psychedelia, free
jazz, noise and sound poetry that occurred at the
fringes of the UK's swinging 60s counterculture'.
Author/musician David Toop, curator Mathieu
Copeland, and Syd Barrett biographer Rob
Chapman, author of A Very Irregular Head,
will lead a discussion on the practices and philosophies
that linked such underground figures as artists
John Latham and Gustav Metzger, free
jazz pioneer Joe Harriott, Pink Floyd,
improvisers John Stevens and AMM,
composer Annea Lockwood, and sound/text poet
Bob Cobbing.
Entitled Blow Up: The Legacy Of Bomb Culture,
the event will also present debate on the contemporary
impact of the foregoing. Screenings of the original
16mm prints of films by 60s experimental film maker
Jeff Keen, including 'Marvo Movie', are promised,
plus former 'Savage Pencil' Edwin Pouncey spinning
'Othersounds of the 60s'.
Details: Tickets £4, on the door only; 8-11pm,
at Café Oto, 18-22 Ashwin Street, Dalston,
London E8 3DL. Phone: 020 7923 1231. E-mail: info@cafeoto.co.uk.
Website: www.cafeoto.co.uk.
Friday 2nd
Interstellar London Benefit For The Syd Barrett Fund
Interstellar, who recently presented a Syd benefit
at the Tunbridge Wells Forum, have announced another
benefit for the Syd Barrett Fund. It will be at
London's 93 Feet East on Brick Lane on Tuesday
13th July, and features Skinbat Scramble,
All Schools Are Strange, Department S,
and DJ Spencer Rocks, plus illustrator Anna
Cooper.
Tickets are £5, and can be bought either
on the night or from Wegottickets,
the ticket site of choice for 93 Feet East.
Some contemporaries of Syd's have set up 'walking
tours' of Cambridge, with the promise that
they 'will take you around the city centre
with stories and anecdotes that our memories will
allow. It will be unscripted, and largely unrehearsed.
Your guides may even disagree over some things'.
The tours on June 26th and July 17th are now
both full, but there are some places still available
on the September 11th tour. The tour previously
scheduled for November 20th is cancelled, however.
Robert 'Smudge' Smith Of Those Without Passes Away
Those Without was a band that played around Cambridge
in 1964-1965 and included Syd Barrett, when he was
able to attend gigs. Rhythm guitarist was Robert
"Smudge" Smith, who sadly passed away on June 2nd.
A recent edition of Cambridge News (below) printed
a letter in tribute to Smudge from friends including
Stephen Pyle, Jenny Spires, Charlie Weedon, and
Warren Dosanjh. The photo, taken by Charles Stewart,
shows Syd, Smudge and Stephen Pyle playing at Charles'
wedding reception on January 2nd 1965.
Friday 11th
Rob Chapman's Answers To Your
Questions
Many thanks for sending in your questions to Rob
Chapman, author of Syd Barrett: A Very
Irregular Head. Not everyone had read the
book before posting a question (fair enough, the
book's not out yet in parts of the world),
but hopefully you will be informed and entertained
by Rob's considered replies.
Our thanks to Rob for taking the time to do this
exclusively for sydbarrett.com.
Don't take our word for the quality of Rob
Chapman's book Syd Barrett: A Very
Irregular Head; check out the man himself
at his festival appearances.
On SATURDAY JUNE 26th he's at Glastonbury
(the Glastonbury free university tent), and on FRIDAY
AUGUST 20th he's at the Green Man festival
(in the literature tent).
Wednesday 2nd
Rob Chapman
Pre-empts Answers With Unseen Extract
Many thanks to those who submitted
questions for Syd Barrett: A Very
Irregular Head author Rob Chapman.
Rob is ploughing through the questions
at the moment, so please do not send
in any more for the time being.
However, before Rob submits us his answers
(due next week), he has very kindly
given us an exclusive – it's a
passage from the rough draft of his
book which didn't make it into the final
edition.
Please click here
to read the piece, which, as always,
gives an interesting perspective. In
this case it's on the pressure surrounding
Syd, to which Rob is very sympathetic;
hope you enjoy it.
Friday 21st
More Questions
Please!
Syd
Barrett: A Very Irregular Head author
Rob Chapman is still open to more questions
from you, the fans.
Thanks for those we have received so far, but we'd like
more.
This exclusive Q and A is the
only one that the author will be doing,
so please get submitting – please
e-mail your question to info@sydbarrett.com
and we will pass them on to Rob for
his consideration.
To help you out, we're going to extend
the deadline for questions until 1st
June, plus we have another exclusive
(above) – a video of Rob explaining
some of the ways in which he approached
writing the book.
Don't forget you can also meet Rob in
person around the country: TONIGHT (21st
May) in Bristol (Waterstone's, 7PM),
and in JUNE Rob is in Glasgow on the
3rd at Streetlevel Photoworks (7PM,
with Barry Miles).
We hope to be able to have another extract
to run shortly for your edification,
so stay tuned and get e-mailing.
Tuesday 4th
Rob Chapman
Answers Your Questions
Hopefully you've been able to have
a look at the extract from Rob's book
Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head,
which has been very well received. You
may have checked out the press reviews
or even have bought the book from Amazon
or bundled with a T-shirt from our Store;
either way, Rob welcomes your questions,
which he will answer here at the end
of the month.
Please e-mail your question to info@sydbarrett.com
and we will pass them on to Rob for
his consideration. We reserve the right
to delete duplicates or anything impolite,
and would ask you to be respectful and
(ideally) keep to discussion of the
book. However, let's see what comes
up; Rob has strong views about Syd and
his work, so it should be a lively Q&A.
Don't forget you can also meet Rob in
person around the country: MAY 11th
Cambridge, 13th Huddersfield; 18th Liverpool;
19th Manchester; 21st Bristol; JUNE
3rd Glasgow (check details in 'Featured
News').
We hope to be able to have another extract
to run shortly for your edification,
so stay tuned and get e-mailing.
Monday 26th
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.
Wednesday 31st
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.
Monday 29th
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".
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.
Monday 29th
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.
Friday 19th
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 to check
out the latest features on Syd in MOJO
and Record Collector magazines.
