October 20, 2025 • 6 mins
What happened to Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd? Author Mike Evans sheds light on the effects fame and drugs had on the brilliant yet fragile musician.
Listen to Episode 326 - The Story Behind Pink Floyd
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The Booked On Rock Music: “Whoosh” by Crowander / “Last Train North” & “No Mercy” by TrackTribe
Listen to Episode 326 - The Story Behind Pink Floyd
15% OFF Any Purchase At Old Glory For Booked On Rock Listeners! — Over 300,000 officially licensed items. Featuring legendary music artists like Bob Marley, The Beatles,
Grateful Dead, and more. Use the code "BOOKEDONROCK" or hit this link:
https://oldglory.com/discount/BOOKEDONROCK
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BookedOnRock.com
The Booked On Rock Store
The Booked On Rock YouTube Channel
Follow The Booked On Rock with Eric Senich:
BLUESKY
TIKTOK
X
Find Your Nearest Independent Bookstore
Contact The Booked On Rock Podcast: thebookedonrockpodcast@gmail.com
The Booked On Rock Music: “Whoosh” by Crowander / “Last Train North” & “No Mercy” by TrackTribe
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here's a highlight from a recent episode of Booked on Rock.
His name is Mike Evans. He is the author of
Pink Floyd Behind the Music, with Barrett as their main songwriter.
They did have two hit singles, Arnold Lane c Emily Play,
and then the successful debut studio album The Piper at
the Gates of Dawn. That was all that from nineteen
sixty seven. And this was not something that said embraced.
(00:22):
There's a highlighted quote in your book where Sid said,
if John Lennon doesn't have to do Top of the Pops,
why should I? His mental decline was pretty rapid. Was
it due to drugs? Was it mental illness? Was it
simply an artist who rebelled against commercialism? Was it all
of that combined? What do you think?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I think he's probably all of that combined. I mean,
the drugs obviously didn't help, but physically they were the
day were the main influence on his mental state, in
the main detrimental influence on his mental state. He wasn't
the first and he wasn't the last, but to have
(00:59):
that kind of mental history, but he uh, there's a
there was an awful fatal, almost fatal combination of sudden
fame and and over indulgence. I mean it happened to
(01:19):
a number of rock stars. But but but but with said,
it was just more disastrous than than with many, you know,
and uh, it was a combination of the of fame
and I mean without the fame, he probably couldn't have
afforded so many drugs, if you like to look at
it that way. And also because the whole scene is
(01:41):
full of hangers on and made all that very easy.
You know, it was very accessible. And and it's like
it's been like that forever, you know, on the kind
of music scene. Uh, but fame, it's particularly on somebody's
quite young and and still feeling their own way in
(02:02):
the world. I mean, these were just students. I mean
they were like, you know, eighteen nineteen year old. They
were kids, you know, comparatively speaking. And so if you
couldn't quite handle that and it to you know, not
just said about it, but you know, if you couldn't
handle that quite could you could spial out in the
(02:23):
wrong direction, which unfortunately he did.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, there's a story of what's the talk show that
they were on when sid would as soon as their
cameras were on and they would ask Sid a question.
He would go completely quiet and say nothing, and then
they say cut hold on and then they say, Sid,
you just got answered the questions a little bit. And
so Sid was playing with them. He's like, oh, no,
no problem, no problem, I'll talk okay, let's do this again.
And then they turned the camera on and he would
(02:48):
do the same thing, shut down, not saying yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Yeah, it's just like like it was just it became
a totally it became totally unreliable, especially if you're trying
to handle that.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
There's been stories about years later where people would knock
on his door because they found out where he lived,
and he would open the door sometimes and be friendly
and sometimes would say please leave me alone. Stories that
he there was checks that would arrive and that he
would never cash publishing checks, like he wanted nothing to
do with the Pink Floyd past. What do you know
about that? Yeah, you've heard those stories.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I've heard them, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
But he was very reclusive. Pictures of him around town
going to the art shop on his bicycle, yeah, privately
very sad because then people got intrusive pictures of him
taking his trash out, you know, it's very They try
to glamorize it, almost like it was this fascinating story
that there was people couldn't refuse to really invest themselves into.
(03:46):
But like Roger Water said, it's a sad story. It's
a tragic story.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
There was that situation where he appeared as some recording session.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
I Wish you were here.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah, and they didn't reckon in first when he came
to the studio.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Let's talk a little bit more about Wish you were
here from nineteen seventy five, you write quote Roger Waters
made it clear very early on in the process that
shine on You Crazy Diamond, which would be the key
composition on the new album, was closely related to his
affectionate reflections on the band's old comrade said, Barrett, you
did talk about it a little bit before, about what
(04:23):
happened with Sid. He showed up out of the blue
one day right now. Nick Mason wrote about it in
his book and he puts a picture in the book
too of the day that Sid was there. So he
just showed up.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
It was seven years after he left the band.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Seven years and they're literally recording a song about him,
and he walks in.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Correct, nobody knows whether it's coincidence that he happened to
Pung happened to Pung the moment they were doing that
particular song, or whether he just wandered in the studio
and that was coincidence, or whether it's a bit of
a myth and he wandered in. But that was one
of the songs that they were doing. You know, it
(05:06):
could have been the myth, could have been slightly manipulated,
so he didn't actually walk in when they were in
the middle of Crazy Diamond. But who knows. But it
was certainly remarkable that he appeared at all. You know,
(05:27):
That's the point.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
They tried talking to him, right, but it really wasn't
getting far. He wasn't really connected to reality at that point.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
No, I mean, I'm often I can't remember that whether
Nick Mason ever mentioned how he got in there in
the first place. I mean, he couldn't. He didn't just
wander in the door, you.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Know, somebody had to let him in.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yeah, And there's a story that he was he had
a tooth brushing his hand. He's brushing his teeth while
his wife's perform. He was overweight, he had shaved his
his head and he looked unrecognizable. It's a very eerie story.
And again, the fact that they're recording that song, or
how much of truth there is to that, but still
(06:11):
the fact the.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Exactly that song came out of that session. Put it
that way,
Here's a highlight from a recent episode of Booked on Rock.
His name is Mike Evans. He is the author of
Pink Floyd Behind the Music, with Barrett as their main songwriter.
They did have two hit singles, Arnold Lane c Emily Play,
and then the successful debut studio album The Piper at
the Gates of Dawn. That was all that from nineteen
sixty seven. And this was not something that said embraced.
(00:22):
There's a highlighted quote in your book where Sid said,
if John Lennon doesn't have to do Top of the Pops,
why should I? His mental decline was pretty rapid. Was
it due to drugs? Was it mental illness? Was it
simply an artist who rebelled against commercialism? Was it all
of that combined? What do you think?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I think he's probably all of that combined. I mean,
the drugs obviously didn't help, but physically they were the
day were the main influence on his mental state, in
the main detrimental influence on his mental state. He wasn't
the first and he wasn't the last, but to have
(00:59):
that kind of mental history, but he uh, there's a
there was an awful fatal, almost fatal combination of sudden
fame and and over indulgence. I mean it happened to
(01:19):
a number of rock stars. But but but but with said,
it was just more disastrous than than with many, you know,
and uh, it was a combination of the of fame
and I mean without the fame, he probably couldn't have
afforded so many drugs, if you like to look at
it that way. And also because the whole scene is
(01:41):
full of hangers on and made all that very easy.
You know, it was very accessible. And and it's like
it's been like that forever, you know, on the kind
of music scene. Uh, but fame, it's particularly on somebody's
quite young and and still feeling their own way in
(02:02):
the world. I mean, these were just students. I mean
they were like, you know, eighteen nineteen year old. They
were kids, you know, comparatively speaking. And so if you
couldn't quite handle that and it to you know, not
just said about it, but you know, if you couldn't
handle that quite could you could spial out in the
(02:23):
wrong direction, which unfortunately he did.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, there's a story of what's the talk show that
they were on when sid would as soon as their
cameras were on and they would ask Sid a question.
He would go completely quiet and say nothing, and then
they say cut hold on and then they say, Sid,
you just got answered the questions a little bit. And
so Sid was playing with them. He's like, oh, no,
no problem, no problem, I'll talk okay, let's do this again.
And then they turned the camera on and he would
(02:48):
do the same thing, shut down, not saying yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Yeah, it's just like like it was just it became
a totally it became totally unreliable, especially if you're trying
to handle that.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
There's been stories about years later where people would knock
on his door because they found out where he lived,
and he would open the door sometimes and be friendly
and sometimes would say please leave me alone. Stories that
he there was checks that would arrive and that he
would never cash publishing checks, like he wanted nothing to
do with the Pink Floyd past. What do you know
about that? Yeah, you've heard those stories.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I've heard them, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
But he was very reclusive. Pictures of him around town
going to the art shop on his bicycle, yeah, privately
very sad because then people got intrusive pictures of him
taking his trash out, you know, it's very They try
to glamorize it, almost like it was this fascinating story
that there was people couldn't refuse to really invest themselves into.
(03:46):
But like Roger Water said, it's a sad story. It's
a tragic story.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
There was that situation where he appeared as some recording session.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
I Wish you were here.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah, and they didn't reckon in first when he came
to the studio.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Let's talk a little bit more about Wish you were
here from nineteen seventy five, you write quote Roger Waters
made it clear very early on in the process that
shine on You Crazy Diamond, which would be the key
composition on the new album, was closely related to his
affectionate reflections on the band's old comrade said, Barrett, you
did talk about it a little bit before, about what
(04:23):
happened with Sid. He showed up out of the blue
one day right now. Nick Mason wrote about it in
his book and he puts a picture in the book
too of the day that Sid was there. So he
just showed up.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
It was seven years after he left the band.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Seven years and they're literally recording a song about him,
and he walks in.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Correct, nobody knows whether it's coincidence that he happened to
Pung happened to Pung the moment they were doing that
particular song, or whether he just wandered in the studio
and that was coincidence, or whether it's a bit of
a myth and he wandered in. But that was one
of the songs that they were doing. You know, it
(05:06):
could have been the myth, could have been slightly manipulated,
so he didn't actually walk in when they were in
the middle of Crazy Diamond. But who knows. But it
was certainly remarkable that he appeared at all. You know,
(05:27):
That's the point.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
They tried talking to him, right, but it really wasn't
getting far. He wasn't really connected to reality at that point.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
No, I mean, I'm often I can't remember that whether
Nick Mason ever mentioned how he got in there in
the first place. I mean, he couldn't. He didn't just
wander in the door, you.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Know, somebody had to let him in.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yeah, And there's a story that he was he had
a tooth brushing his hand. He's brushing his teeth while
his wife's perform. He was overweight, he had shaved his
his head and he looked unrecognizable. It's a very eerie story.
And again, the fact that they're recording that song, or
how much of truth there is to that, but still
(06:11):
the fact the.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Exactly that song came out of that session. Put it
that way,
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