The Madcap Laughs

SYD BARRETT – Legendary PINK FLOYD Co-Founder Would Have Celebrated His 80th Birthday Today

Posted on by JL

6 January 2026

Pink Floyd‘s co-founder and main songwriter/vocalist SYD BARRETT,
real name Roger Keith Barrett) was born on 6 January 1946.

Happy 80 to the visionary musician whose promising career
was torpedoed by drug abuse and mental problems.

He co-wrote/recorded the first two Floyd albums – The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
and A Saucerful Of Secrets – and released two solo LPs in 1970, The Madcap Laughs
and Barrett. He passed away on 7 July 2006, aged 60.

PINK FLOYD


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SOLO


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Bio – Discography

SYD BARRETT – New Book On The Late PINK FLOYD Legend Out In 3 Weeks

Posted on by JL

Yesterday, this message was posted on the socials of SYD BARRETT,
the legendary co-founder and inspirator of the early Pink Floyd years.

No title, nor further info, so far.

From 1965 until 1968, he was the band’s frontman and primary songwriter,
known for his whimsical style of psychedelia and stream-of-consciousness
writing. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for
employing effects such as dissonance, distortion, echo, and feedback.

He got fired by the group as his increasingly erratic behaviour, partly due
to his heavy use of psychedelic drugs, got worse and worse. He developed
a blank, dead-eyed stare. Barrett did not recognize friends, and he often did
not know where he was.

When his health got somewhat better, he wrote/recorded
and released 2 solo LPs, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett.
Both came out in 1970.

BARRETT


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THE MADCAP LAUGHS


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Barrett Story

UNCUT Magazine’s New Ultimate Music Guide – ‘FLOYD SOLO’

Posted on by JL

24 October 2024

“While it began life like a thrilling and improvised space craft, by the time of its most commercially successful work, PINK FLOYD was more like a corporation or a rebranded utility company. A highly-organized business with a streamlined visual message, not to mention a phenomenally high turnover.

As you’ll read in this new magazine, what this initially meant for the artistic aspirations
of the individual members told you a lot about the impulse to create. For David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason solo work clearly began as a release: a break from the responsibilities of the day job.

When Roger Waters (aged 81) quit the band in 1983, however, something changed
and solo music which had previously been a pleasing distraction assumed a far more competitive edge. For Waters, the ongoing existence of a Pink Floyd without him stung him into action: if you were in any doubt about his key contributions to the Pink Floyd albums then the many renderings of the material in his solo catalogue should put you straight.

The solo music that you’ll find covered in this new magazine is important on one
level as an inverse history of Pink Floyd. But there are other reckonings going on
within it. For Roger Waters it has become a political/personal platform.

For David Gilmour (78 now) meanwhile, it has been a place to articulate himself at
his own leisurely pace, and share his thoughts on the consolations of love and family.

Most recent Pink Floyd member’s solo LP. Luck And Strange by David Gilmour.


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Keyboardist Richard Wright (28 July 1943 – 15 September 2008) and drummer Nick Mason (80) do not have a large catalogue of work, and seem to have ultimately been rather hard done by the Pink Floyd experience.

The most important solo career here, though is the one which flowered most briefly:
that of Syd Barrett. The music on his two solo albums is abstract, playful, and sometimes barely there, testament to a personality and mental health which wasn’t built to thrive within the demands of the pop business.

Syd Barrett‘s debut LP The Madcap Laughs (1970).


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You can order a copy of this guide and let it be sent to your home. Info HERE.

50 Years Ago Today SYD BARRETT Released His Solo Debut Album ‘THE MADCAP LAUGHS’…

Posted on by JL

4 January 2020

SYD BARRETT was the co-founder, the first leading conductor and the innovative and creative force of PINK FLOYD when the band formed in 1965. After recording 4 singles and Floyd‘s classic debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn things went really wrong with Barrett‘s mental health due to excessive drug abuse and severe psychic
issues. His demeanour became a multi-faceted problem. He was fired in April 1968.

After seeking medical help Barrett returned to make music again as a solo artist. His debut LP ‘THE MADCAP LAUGHS‘ was released on 4 January 1970, 50 years ago today, with the assistance of several producers and fellow Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters, and also guest musicians such as Willie Wilson from Gilmour‘s old band Jokers Wild and Robert Wyatt of Soft Machine..

Every time I listen to this album I can’t but think of early Scott Walker, early Ray Davies and early David Bowie, all working on their own sound, on their own voice and on their own artistic path which began for all of them with folk-inspired songs characterized by their recognizable and ingenious musical Englishness. Despite good reviews, the album, an unpolished diamond in my book, wasn’t a bestseller. It peaked at #40 in the UK.

AllMusic wrote: “Wisely, The Madcap Laughs doesn’t even try to sound like a consistent record. Half the album was recorded by Barrett’s former bandmates Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour, and the other half by Harvest Records head Malcolm Jones. Surprisingly, Jones’ tracks are song for song much stronger than the more-lauded Floyd entries… ‘The Madcap Laughs’ is a surprisingly effective record that holds up better than its “ooh, look at that scary crazy person” reputation suggests.” Full review here. Score 4.5/5

Here’s sticky and peppy track ‘Octopus‘ that was released as the only single…

Album in full…

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SYD BARRETT: Biography