Syd Barrett

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The Crazy Diamond himself.

Pictured above Syd Barrett, the legendary prime element in the early psychedelic period of Pink Floyd. Piper At The Gates Of Dawn was a firm favourite of mine long ago and it’s still an occasional and enjoyable listen.

I think it’s fair to say Syd Barrett’s light shone bright but brief, and his influence certainly lingers on. The early Floyd songs and his later, sometimes patchy solo material both have quite a unique character, an endearing charm and, despite being very much of their time, a timeless appeal. The tragic nature of his withdrawal from music makes for an enduring legend.

After hearing the early Pink Floyd songs, I discovered Barrett and The Madcap Laughs as a teenager in the mid 1980’s when they sounded completely dated and totally out of synch compared to the music around me at the time. They still do of course, but the personality and character still shine through. So in a sense, there’s a timelessness too. There’s an almost Outsider Music element to some of his songs, a sort of randomness in the lyrical connections, and a rare sense of fragility and whimsy. To me, they still sound fresh.

I have shared this before, but I a very tenuous connection to Syd Barrett. I bought a fantastic Wal bass from Jack Monck, who played an infamously terrible gig with Syd and drummer Twink, he tells the story here:

Jack is playing the very instrument in this short video, but it’s an early 1980’s vintage so Jack couldn’t have played this bass at the actual show, unless he’s a Timelord.

Anyway, I was super happy when Voyage 35 were invited to cover the early Floyd song Apples and Oranges for the upcoming tribute album “Clowns and Jugglers”. It was super fun to put together, and I think we’ve done it justice and I hope you’ll agree.

The album is available to pre-order on the link below.

https://burningshed.com/syd-barrett_clowns-and-jugglers_deluxe-double-vinyl

As well as Voyage 35, the album also features David Gilmour, Kula Shaker, Robyn Hitchcock, Henge and loads more, see below for the full track listing:

SIDE 1

Arnold Layne - Pink Floyd

Astronomy Domine - Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets

See Emily Play - All About Eve

Love You - Mystery Jets

Chapter 24 - Violeta de Outono

Two Of A Kind - Dave Harris & Zeus B Held

SIDE 2

No Good Trying/Interstellar Overdrive - Kula Shaker

Apples & Oranges - Voyage 35

Gigolo Aunt - Robyn Hitchcock ft. John Paul Jones

Lucifer Sam - Rosalie Cunningham

Golden Hair - Tim Bowness

Effervescing Elephant - Jim Sclavunos

SIDE 3

Rhamadan (edit) - Soft Machine

Long Gone - Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats

Matilda Mother - Radhika ft. Norman Blake & Future Pilot AKA

Scream Thy Last Scream - Men On The Border

Bike - Pünk Barrett

SIDE 4

Octopus (edit) - Diana Silveira x The Psychedelic Circus

Baby Lemonade - Love with Johnny Echols

Terrapin - Henge

Late Night - Theo Travis / RichKo vocal

Arnold Layne - David Gilmour / David Bowie vocal

I’m really looking forward to hearing the other interpretations, there’s some intriguing possibilities in the tracklisting there.

Artwork is by Mark Wilkinson, who has previously made album covers for Marillion, Judas Priest and many more.

All proceeds from the album will be going to mental health charities and there are also a range of events (a concert, art exhibition and so forth) happening around the release which is marking what would have been Syd Barrett’s 80th birthday. What a great way to celebrate the music he left behind.

Please check sydbarrett.com for details and updates.