Roger Keith Barrett Biography Update, Age, Personal Life, Death, Songs

Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist, and songwriter who helped start the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. He led the band and wrote most of their songs until he left in 1968. Barrett was known for his playful psychedelic style and stream-of-consciousness lyrics. As a guitarist, he stood out for his free-form playing and use of effects like dissonance, distortion, echo, and feedback.

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Barrett’s music career lasted just over ten years. With Pink Floyd, he recorded their first three singles, their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), part of their second album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968), and some songs released later. He left the band in April 1968, with reports linking his departure to mental health issues and drug use. The next year, he started a short solo career, releasing the single “Octopus” and two albums, The Madcap Laughs (1970) and Barrett (1970), with help from members of Pink Floyd and the Soft Machine.

Profile Summary

Age

Roger Keith Barrett was born on 6 January 1946 in Cambridge, England.

Biography

Roger Keith Barrett was born on 6 January 1946 in Cambridge. He was the fourth of five children in a middle-class family living at 60 Glisson Road. His father, Arthur Max Barrett, was a well-known pathologist and was reportedly related to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson through his mother’s side. In 1951, the family moved to 183 Hills Road in Cambridge.

Barrett sometimes played piano, but he mostly liked writing and drawing. He bought a ukulele when he was 10, a banjo at 11, and a Höfner acoustic guitar at 14. He started with acoustic guitar, then got an electric Selmer Futurama III. He was a Scout in the 7th Cambridge troop and later became a patrol leader.

While at Morley Memorial Junior School, Barrett was taught by the mother of his future Pink Floyd bandmate Roger Waters. In 1957, he went to Cambridgeshire High School for Boys with Waters. His father died of cancer on 11 December 1961, just before Barrett turned 16. On that day, he left his diary entry blank. By then, his siblings had moved out and his mother rented rooms to lodgers.

Death

Barrett died at home in Cambridge on 7 July 2006 at age 60 from pancreatic cancer. News of his death came out five days later. He was cremated at Cambridge Crematorium on 18 July 2006, and no Pink Floyd members attended. In a statement, Wright said: “The band are very naturally upset and sad to hear of Syd Barrett’s death. Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire.” Gilmour said: “Do find time to play some of Syd’s songs and to remember him as the madcap genius who made us all smile with his wonderfully eccentric songs about bikes, gnomes, and scarecrows. His career was painfully short, yet he touched more people than he could ever know.”

Personal Life

Barrett’s sister Rosemary said he took up photography, and they sometimes visited the seaside together. She also mentioned that he was very interested in art and gardening, and he kept painting throughout his life:

He often took the train alone to London to see major art collections. He also loved flowers and made regular trips to the Botanic Gardens and to see the dahlias at Anglesey Abbey near Lode. But his main passion was painting.

Barrett had relationships with several women, including Evelyn “Iggy” Rose (also known as “Iggy the Eskimo”), who was featured on the back cover of The Madcap Laughs. He never married or had children.

Discography

Solo albums

The Madcap Laughs (1970)
Barrett (1970)

Compilation albums

The Peel Session (1987)
The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn’t You Miss Me? (2001)
An Introduction to Syd Barrett (2010)

Singles

“Octopus” / “Golden Hair” (1969)
“Baby Lemonade” / “Gigolo Aunt” (1970) (promo only)
“Effervescing Elephant” / “Baby Lemonade” (1971) (Japan only)

Singles with Pink Floyd

“Arnold Layne” / “Candy and a Currant Bun” (1967)
“See Emily Play” / “Scarecrow” (1967)
“Apples and Oranges” / “Paintbox” (1967)

Cancelled

“Scream Thy Last Scream” / “Vegetable Man” (1967) (planned as third single; cancelled)

Albums with Pink Floyd

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
1965: Their First Recordings (2015)
The Early Years 1965–1972 (2016)