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Roger seems genuinely heartbroken from Syd's demise. I can understand because I had a friend the same age that developed schizophrenia. What makes it hard is they're there right in front of you, they look the same, but it's a completely different person.
It's so interesting and wonderful that we have the internet now that allow us to hear and learn the influences of the artists we listened to when we were young that so munch influenced our own lives. I'm 62 now and have listed to the Floyd since their earliest days. I feel their songs were very impactful in helping me sort my way through my childhood and teen years. I really never knew until much later what had influenced them to write and perform those songs. Interviews like this really help me learn about how I became who I am from those influences. Thank you for sharing this with us.
I completely agree. Pink Floyd at their height were still defined by Syd; his impact was so significant that all their 'best' work had irrevocable ties to him. Syd Barrett defined Pink Floyd, from start to finish.
@@doctornov7 True that, I think thats why Roger HAD to go solo for KAOS and Amused to Death, they were completely different from floyd. That 'guilt' they all shared about Syd was pretty powerful stuff.
Thank you, Roger.Truly a great,painful loss.So many of us only know Sid through his music, but he was your dear, close friend and to loose him to drugs and his illness is heart wrenching. I lost the love of my life to a similar disease and I had to leave but will never get over it.Thank you for being you and your honesty and all the amazing music you have contributed for most of my life. Listening to your music has been a lifeline at times for me. You made me feel like I’m not alone-I’m not the only one this has happened to. Thank you from the bottom of my heart💗💔🎶.Fl
Vegetable Man is a great song. It’s unclear to me if Syd was being serious or just mocking the music business, or if the song reflected his failing mental state. But taken as a short song - punchy, pre punk, the unexpected “ah-ah-ah” bridge and the Batman like ending - it’s superb.
I thought he was making a statement about the futility of the whole hippy scene in same vein as Blackberry Way but Roger didn't like that for some reason and effectively strangled Syd which made Saucerful such a crap album.
Hes political and many poeple dont like when politics and art meet. And likely also they simply disagree with HIS politics. How it usually works is if a country star says 'yeah, go military' then they'll love it, and thats free speech. If the Dixie Chicks criticize George Bush, well, we know what happened to them. Now we have social media so its a little harder to 'cancel' people.
@@mikearchibald-u6g because pink floyd's music is known for it's disconnect from political disputes, you're completely right people just don't like his politics
I always heard that they guys wanted Syd to write songs for Pink Floyd, but not perform with them. Kind of like what Brian Wilson did with the Beach Boys. But that Syd’s mental decline made that impossible. I would feel a lot more comfortable with that statement if Syd didn’t release two amazing solo albums. He was clearly still writing and it wasn’t junk. Songs like “Terrapin”, Dark Globe”, “Dominoes”, “Love You” are excellent songs. In fact, I would say The Madcap Laughs and Barrett are the best solo albums put out by any member of Pink Floyd.
@Bigsurjay I have wondered about that as well, why Floyd didn't attempt to record Syd's solo album songs themselves. Obviously there was plenty of material there to work with. I guess they ended up thriving as writers themselves so didn't need Syd's songs anymore to be successful. Seems like the choice to do the solo albums in the first place was what they decided was best for Syd instead of using his songs for their own careers, though Syd would have received royalties and we could have had the solo albums as well and had the best of both worlds. We have what we have and I love everything Floyd and Syd did together and separately so wouldn't have it any other way..
I don't know if comparison is pertinent. BUT I agree that he was a visual artist... «Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!» And that maybe the reason why his music is so interesting. (This is my POV, and it's not a "maybe" to me, but what do I know?)
With regard to the R.E.M. story, I assume he's talking about the Hammersmith Odeon show on 29 May 1989 (by which time they had been going for over 9 years and had put out six albums, so weren't really a new band). The cover of Dark Globe was included in the encore for that show, but it was something they had been doing at shows for a couple of years, including many dates on the 1989 tour before the one Roger attended. They had also already recorded a studio version, which became a b-side for Orange Crush. So I really don't think the performance was any kind of a comment on Roger Waters at all.
And Michael stipe used to be an incredibly shy and socially awkward guy, doubt he was “ignoring” roger. There’s a clip of them on letterman at the start of their careers where stipe literally runs and hides when letterman comes over for a brief chat
Yeah I thought he was overplaying his importance or being too sensitive even before I read your comment about how established Dark Globe was in REMs sets. Its funny that he thought it was all about him.
Syd, same story as Brian Jones in the Stones band, except for Jagger & Richards never wrote any song, kind of tribute to him, & their frienship in the early days.
It is also important to note that undiagnosed Autism can sometimes look like schizophrenia. I think it was pointed out many years later that ASD actually ran among all of his siblings and his parents said Syd had Asperger's.
You make a good point. It could be that Syd was using lsd and other drugs to cope with his aspergers, and the combination mirrored schizoid personality disorder.
It’s possible. It’s a shame that these guys made assertions and assumptions about his mental health, what to do, etc. It’s audacious of Waters to sort of diagnose him as Schizophrenic based on mythical and nebulous ideas, coarse preconceived judgments these concepts have had until very recently. Faux certainty is the worst.
They knew him his whole life, he never had anything like aspergers. There is a lot of crossover between schizophrenia and aspergers. The sixties were ALL about drug taking and brain experimentation. Syd at one point took almost anything, so that certainly likely precipitated something like schizophrenia.
I think about the REM thing its a total weird coincidence where REM had been doing dark globe live for ages waters didnt know, but then waters turns up and stipe is totally embarrassed and cringing thinking waters has come to critisize him or even ask for royalties or something and waters thinks hes being mean towards him, then stipe has to seele his nerve and go on and do it anyway and waters thinks its an attack lol
What Roger bless him doesn't realise is that Syd was not interested in the money or the commercial side of making music, but just in making music. It is the same case for Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
I don't think so, if it was true, there wouldn't be «Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!», Welcome To The Machine and Have a Cigar... And Syd was a VISUAL ARTIST first, that's what makes his music so interesting.
Roger Waters was born to be a band leader. The problem is, so was David Gilmour. And at the beginning, so was Syd. So, multiple cooks in the kitchen can make some amazing dishes, until the inevitable self destruction of the entire restaurant.
I would like to make an important point. Schizophrenia is genetic. There are very clear genetic markers that specifically outline it. It is not at all unclear or vague.
To be clear Syd was never actually diagnosed with schizophrenia, in spite of Roger’s statements. Syd’s sister Rosemary has always said that Syd’s doctors never diagnosed his condition as schizophrenia.
It is not ONLY genetic. Having a close relative with it makes one predisposed to having it. Different percentage chance of having it depending on which relative. Plenty of schizophrenics have ZERO family history.
3:20, come on Rog, course Syd did lots of songs for Saucerful but you made sure they never got on the album doncha remember? Vegetable Man was Syds warning kids about the psychedelic lifestyle and Roger didn't like that appearing to want as many wrecked as possible instead whilst he stayed straight and redirected most of the bands income towards himself of course.
The age typical schizophrenic symptoms start showing is late teens/ early 20s. He likely wouldn't have had symptoms prior to the LSD. So, could be the acid exacerbated the illness, preceded the illness, or sped up the full on expression but unlikely the LSD caused a mental illness. He may not have even had a mental illness and it was all acid side effects, we'll never know. But millions of an entire generation did acid and many did lots of it, and came out the other side fine. Everyone is different.
The band only drank at the time Syd was the drug taker I think the band didn’t relate to him a lot coming from that fact and it was easy to say he was drugged out
Consider also at this time the difference in British entertainment as opposed to American entertainment, with the band taking on television appearances and also being onstage, not only that but being seen by mass audiences may have been one root cause for his attitude and silly behavior. Imagine if you will that you are a musical artist who is trying to earn a living entertaining by playing original music. So you struggle with the challenge of expressing something unique to catch a leprechaun, and once you have an ear, they invite you to be exploited on tv, but you have to do all of this miming and 'lip synching' and it isn't artistic expressionism any longer. What a boring hassle with the intentions of the whole experience the band presented to an audience being subject to these awkward limitations. Who's driving the vehicle? Dick Clark? Pat Boone? Let's hire the Floyd to do covers of John Denver, while this monkey hands out cigarettes...
I agree and I loved Syd but Dark Side of the Moon had no Syd and it was their best and in my opinion the best album ever created..better than the white album..but what is funny is Syd inspired Dark side as well as all the other albums. So your right in essence, without Syd u have no Floyd..he didnt need to play anymore with them because he still inspired the band and ALL the music they created after he was left or stayed home..however u see the end and how it happened.
Thanks for viewing this video ! Please subscribe for more of my amazing original Pink Floyd interviews!
Please also consider helping me to do more.
Take out a Loyal Supporter subscription. For $7.99/£6.99 monthly , you get exclusive early access to new uploads th-cam.com/channels/20cO3GrtUs8goHuPDLItBQ.htmljoin
I know it's a big ask. Whether you choose this new subscription route or subscribe for free, I really appreciate it !!
Rock On !! John
Roger seems genuinely heartbroken from Syd's demise. I can understand because I had a friend the same age that developed schizophrenia. What makes it hard is they're there right in front of you, they look the same, but it's a completely different person.
I could not imagine such a situation.
I had such a friend, at 25 he completely changed, he never came back, met him 25 years later and that blank stare in his eyes was still there😢
Syd Barrett
@@endahynes8760 brings to mind : " limmy - still trippin"
@@dreadpirateroberts4052 I couldn't either..
Syd was the inspiration for damn near everything
yep
The "Have You Got It Yet?" bit is fantastic.
I agree, "Dark Globe" is one of Syd's finest compositions. I often sing that one as well.
It's so interesting and wonderful that we have the internet now that allow us to hear and learn the influences of the artists we listened to when we were young that so munch influenced our own lives. I'm 62 now and have listed to the Floyd since their earliest days. I feel their songs were very impactful in helping me sort my way through my childhood and teen years. I really never knew until much later what had influenced them to write and perform those songs. Interviews like this really help me learn about how I became who I am from those influences. Thank you for sharing this with us.
My pleasure entirely when I get great comments like yours.
I think Dark Globe captures the essence of Pink Floyd more than anything they did without him. Roger tried to write about it, but Syd lived it.
I completely agree. Pink Floyd at their height were still defined by Syd; his impact was so significant that all their 'best' work had irrevocable ties to him. Syd Barrett defined Pink Floyd, from start to finish.
@@doctornov7 True that, I think thats why Roger HAD to go solo for KAOS and Amused to Death, they were completely different from floyd. That 'guilt' they all shared about Syd was pretty powerful stuff.
Wonderful! Thanks for uploading more interview gold!
Thanks for your appreciation !
Thank you, Roger.Truly a great,painful loss.So many of us only know Sid through his music, but he was your dear, close friend and to loose him to drugs and his illness is heart wrenching. I lost the love of my life to a similar disease and I had to leave but will never get over it.Thank you for being you and your honesty and all the amazing music you have contributed for most of my life. Listening to your music has been a lifeline at times for me. You made me feel like I’m not alone-I’m not the only one this has happened to. Thank you from the bottom of my heart💗💔🎶.Fl
Vegetable Man is a great song. It’s unclear to me if Syd was being serious or just mocking the music business, or if the song reflected his failing mental state. But taken as a short song - punchy, pre punk, the unexpected “ah-ah-ah” bridge and the Batman like ending - it’s superb.
I thought he was making a statement about the futility of the whole hippy scene in same vein as Blackberry Way but Roger didn't like that for some reason and effectively strangled Syd which made Saucerful such a crap album.
It was him being rebellious they pressed him for a single and he wrote a song about his clothes sitting at someone’s house
10:20 Roger: *concerned about Syd's mental health*
Syd: We do a bit of trolling
What a sad death, for that great creative musician
Don't know why everyone's so down on Roger. He's not a saint, but then, I've not met a saint yet. I'll love Roger through all his flaws.
Hes political and many poeple dont like when politics and art meet. And likely also they simply disagree with HIS politics. How it usually works is if a country star says 'yeah, go military' then they'll love it, and thats free speech. If the Dixie Chicks criticize George Bush, well, we know what happened to them. Now we have social media so its a little harder to 'cancel' people.
@@mikearchibald-u6g because pink floyd's music is known for it's disconnect from political disputes, you're completely right people just don't like his politics
@@mikearchibald-u6g Animals and The Wall would love to have a word with you.
@@mikearchibald-u6g It is not that he is political. It is because he is not a leftist, or statist.
I always heard that they guys wanted Syd to write songs for Pink Floyd, but not perform with them. Kind of like what Brian Wilson did with the Beach Boys. But that Syd’s mental decline made that impossible.
I would feel a lot more comfortable with that statement if Syd didn’t release two amazing solo albums. He was clearly still writing and it wasn’t junk. Songs like “Terrapin”, Dark Globe”, “Dominoes”, “Love You” are excellent songs. In fact, I would say The Madcap Laughs and Barrett are the best solo albums put out by any member of Pink Floyd.
@Bigsurjay
I have wondered about that as well, why Floyd didn't attempt to record Syd's solo album songs themselves. Obviously there was plenty of material there to work with. I guess they ended up thriving as writers themselves so didn't need Syd's songs anymore to be successful.
Seems like the choice to do the solo albums in the first place was what they decided was best for Syd instead of using his songs for their own careers, though Syd would have received royalties and we could have had the solo albums as well and had the best of both worlds.
We have what we have and I love everything Floyd and Syd did together and separately so wouldn't have it any other way..
When someone brings up "Syd's mental decline," I know they aren't worth listening to.
yall act like you know them but you dont roger knows more about sydd then you ever will
@@quakaquakaimabird4870I was gonna say the same thing. We don't know. We didn't spend everyday together like they did
Roger Waters and David Gilmour were the producers of Syd Barrett's Madcap Laughs. So why did they do that?
Shine on you beautiful diamond.........................not crazy........................but misunderstood
If you listen to his solo records, you can tell that his heart was broken.
Bravooooo concordo. Anzi un genio della chitarra il grande Syd.
Syd Barret is the Vincent Van Gogh of music
I don't know if comparison is pertinent. BUT I agree that he was a visual artist...
«Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!»
And that maybe the reason why his music is so interesting. (This is my POV, and it's not a "maybe" to me, but what do I know?)
Syd wanted to color outside the lines but the music industry wants everything uniform and neatly packaged
The Rimbaud of music
From the age of about 13, I listened to ABC radio, Sydney, Australia, playing the Goons and recorded every show !
1:52 Of course he did. If you’d ask him, he’d say it… ”That’s me… in the corner.”
With regard to the R.E.M. story, I assume he's talking about the Hammersmith Odeon show on 29 May 1989 (by which time they had been going for over 9 years and had put out six albums, so weren't really a new band). The cover of Dark Globe was included in the encore for that show, but it was something they had been doing at shows for a couple of years, including many dates on the 1989 tour before the one Roger attended. They had also already recorded a studio version, which became a b-side for Orange Crush. So I really don't think the performance was any kind of a comment on Roger Waters at all.
And Michael stipe used to be an incredibly shy and socially awkward guy, doubt he was “ignoring” roger. There’s a clip of them on letterman at the start of their careers where stipe literally runs and hides when letterman comes over for a brief chat
wait, do you mean to say that the world does not revolve around Roger Waters? 🙂
I saw REM at a roller rink in 1982. Won the tickets off a radio station contest. I thought Michael Stype was like Jim Morrison. I was certainly wrong.
Yeah I thought he was overplaying his importance or being too sensitive even before I read your comment about how established Dark Globe was in REMs sets. Its funny that he thought it was all about him.
Syd, same story as Brian Jones in the Stones band, except for Jagger & Richards never wrote any song, kind of tribute to him, & their frienship in the early days.
"Shine a light" is about Brian isn't it?
@@clinteastwood6875 Didn't know this one, but now you makes me think that it might be one inspiration for writing Shine On...
They were glad he was gone
What was the "Expectations" song ...?
Love Roger ❤️
❤❤❤
I have always loved this interview but is there ANY chance you would upload the full 1hr and a half uncut version?
That’s it. The full interview is 55 mins. There is nothing else.
It is also important to note that undiagnosed Autism can sometimes look like schizophrenia. I think it was pointed out many years later that ASD actually ran among all of his siblings and his parents said Syd had Asperger's.
You make a good point. It could be that Syd was using lsd and other drugs to cope with his aspergers, and the combination mirrored schizoid personality disorder.
It’s possible. It’s a shame that these guys made assertions and assumptions about his mental health, what to do, etc. It’s audacious of Waters to sort of diagnose him as Schizophrenic based on mythical and nebulous ideas, coarse preconceived judgments these concepts have had until very recently.
Faux certainty is the worst.
He was never officially diagnosed with anything.
They knew him his whole life, he never had anything like aspergers. There is a lot of crossover between schizophrenia and aspergers. The sixties were ALL about drug taking and brain experimentation. Syd at one point took almost anything, so that certainly likely precipitated something like schizophrenia.
I think about the REM thing its a total weird coincidence where REM had been doing dark globe live for ages waters didnt know, but then waters turns up and stipe is totally embarrassed and cringing thinking waters has come to critisize him or even ask for royalties or something and waters thinks hes being mean towards him, then stipe has to seele his nerve and go on and do it anyway and waters thinks its an attack lol
Is that infamous Pat Boone performance somewhere online?
What Roger bless him doesn't realise is that Syd was not interested in the money or the commercial side of making music, but just in making music. It is the same case for Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
If that were true, Syd would have kept making music. He didn't do anything because of his illness.
Agreed
@@TheFergyme But Peter Green did continue to make music and sometimes play on stage. Maybe Syd used to sit alone playing music and singing at home?
I don't think so, if it was true, there wouldn't be «Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!», Welcome To The Machine and Have a Cigar...
And Syd was a VISUAL ARTIST first, that's what makes his music so interesting.
@4:00 "Astronomy Domino…". Oh dear. And you can see on Roger Waters his face. He’s thinking "this idiot doesn’t know what he’s talking about."
HELP FR 💀
Or mixing up Piper and Saucerful of Secrets.
To be fair he did pinpoint Roger's two main song themes.
Roger Waters was born to be a band leader. The problem is, so was David Gilmour. And at the beginning, so was Syd. So, multiple cooks in the kitchen can make some amazing dishes, until the inevitable self destruction of the entire restaurant.
Haha. Sadly...
I would like to make an important point. Schizophrenia is genetic. There are very clear genetic markers that specifically outline it. It is not at all unclear or vague.
To be clear Syd was never actually diagnosed with schizophrenia, in spite of Roger’s statements. Syd’s sister Rosemary has always said that Syd’s doctors never diagnosed his condition as schizophrenia.
@@JOHNEDGINTONDOCUMENTARIES I suspect he may have taken an insane amount of lsd more than once or twice and never fully came back.
@@charlespancamo9771 Very likely.
It is not ONLY genetic. Having a close relative with it makes one predisposed to having it. Different percentage chance of having it depending on which relative. Plenty of schizophrenics have ZERO family history.
You don’t know what you are talking about .
3:20, come on Rog, course Syd did lots of songs for Saucerful but you made sure they never got on the album doncha remember?
Vegetable Man was Syds warning kids about the psychedelic lifestyle and Roger didn't like that appearing to want as many wrecked as possible instead whilst he stayed straight and redirected most of the bands income towards himself of course.
Where did you read that ??
As well as scream thy last scream
@@MrHankulley Read what? my interpretation of the song?
Have you got it yet? was a great joke. I don't think Roger appreciated it at the time.
I think Stipe was not "innocently" singing (a cappella!) Dark Globe after ignoring Waters backstage. He was making a statement.
Mmmm, I seem to remember REM had released Dark Globe as a B side shortly before and it was a common encore over the tour.
@@robertpierce4069 Hmmmm. Then I don't know.
10:09
what exactly is a joke?
I'd like to hear of any evidence of skitzophrenia before the drug breakdown. As far as I know he was a perfectly well adjusted boy.
I feel syd may have been a high functioning autistic more than schizophrenic.
His symptoms fit perfectly on the criteria of schizophrenia
The age typical schizophrenic symptoms start showing is late teens/ early 20s. He likely wouldn't have had symptoms prior to the LSD. So, could be the acid exacerbated the illness, preceded the illness, or sped up the full on expression but unlikely the LSD caused a mental illness. He may not have even had a mental illness and it was all acid side effects, we'll never know. But millions of an entire generation did acid and many did lots of it, and came out the other side fine. Everyone is different.
The work of others? How about Echos, Roger? Sound anything like Across The Universe for The Beatles??? Give it a listen...
You’ve just got ‘inviting and inciting me’ in your mind
@@leetannock5613Woah
Pat Krenwinkle
The band only drank at the time Syd was the drug taker I think the band didn’t relate to him a lot coming from that fact and it was easy to say he was drugged out
Consider also at this time the difference in British entertainment as opposed to American entertainment, with the band taking on television appearances and also being onstage, not only that but being seen by mass audiences may have been one root cause for his attitude and silly behavior. Imagine if you will that you are a musical artist who is trying to earn a living entertaining by playing original music. So you struggle with the challenge of expressing something unique to catch a leprechaun, and once you have an ear, they invite you to be exploited on tv, but you have to do all of this miming and 'lip synching' and it isn't artistic expressionism any longer. What a boring hassle with the intentions of the whole experience the band presented to an audience being subject to these awkward limitations. Who's driving the vehicle? Dick Clark? Pat Boone? Let's hire the Floyd to do covers of John Denver, while this monkey hands out cigarettes...
All lies and excuses and accusations!
SYD BARRETT WAS PINK FLOYD JUST LIKE TONY JACKSON WAS THE SEARCHERS AND LENNON WAS THE BEATLES ,!!!!!!!!
I agree and I loved Syd but Dark Side of the Moon had no Syd and it was their best and in my opinion the best album ever created..better than the white album..but what is funny is Syd inspired Dark side as well as all the other albums. So your right in essence, without Syd u have no Floyd..he didnt need to play anymore with them because he still inspired the band and ALL the music they created after he was left or stayed home..however u see the end and how it happened.