Syd Barrett

**Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett** (6 January 1946) is an English actor, musician, political activist, singer and songwriter. Once a leading figure in the British underground movement, Barrett was known initially for his whimsical take on psychedelia, free-form playing, and stream-of-consciousness writing style. Distancing himself from music, Barrett became a successful actor starring in different films and television shows in both the United Kingdom and United States.

Originally trained as a painter, Barrett was musically active for a little more than ten years, from co-founding Pink Floyd and Rubber Band, to growing disaffected from his label, Blackhill Records. Quitting music, Syd became an actor, then finding initial success starring as Gregor Samsa on Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Franz Kafka's *The Metamorphosis*. But as soon as he was involved in a car accident, Syd also returned to music as a record producer and as frontman of the Rock Against Racism movement. His return to cinema came with 1979 neo noir film *The Human Factor* as Maurice Castle while his breakthrough came as Stuart Glynn with the 1981 psychological drama *Outtake*.

Despite not releasing any albums since 1974, Syd Barrett remains active in music as a record producer and live performer. Barrett is often credited as the producer of The Damned, The Pretenders, Robyn Hitchcock, Chumbawamba and Elvis Costello. Frequently, Barrett would reunite with Rubber Band, and sometimes touring mostly in the United Kingdom and Europe, being involved in political and cultural movements such as the Rock Against Racism and benefit concerts like Live Aid, Concert for Kampuchea and Tsunami Aid.

## Music career

### Late 1970s (1974–1980)

In 1974, Barrett released his last studio album *I Never Lied to You*, which was met with mixed reviews and harsh criticism, eventually fulfilling his contract with Apple Records three years prior. With a short farewell tour in the United Kingdom and France, as well as a few TV and radio appearances, according to an interview for the Rolling Stone magazine, Barrett considered leaving the music industry 'for good'. Syd Barrett turned to painting and reading as hobbies, focusing on his personal life and family, ultimately becoming a stay-at-home dad.

In 1975, Syd's did his first exhibition at the Kettle's Yard of the University of Cambridge, exhibiting his works done between 1972 and 1975. Throughout the year, Barrett rejected offers to return to record an album and/or to produce other albums. He also kept in contact with Pink Floyd and Soft Machine members, namely David Gilmour, Richard Wright, and Robert Wyatt. A close friend of Mick Farren and part of the inner circle of the remaining underground groups, Syd started to write to the underground magazine *International Times*, where he became first engaged in political activism with Jeff Nuttall and Eddie Woods. He would leave in early 1976, as he moved along with the crew to Austria to film Stanley Kubrick's *The Metamorphosis*.

#### Car accident and music production

After Finishing Filming For The Metamorphosis, On June 21st 1976, Syd Barrett was hospitalised after Losing control and crashing his Chevrolet Caprice into a tree on The Vienna ring road, Vienna, Austria. Barrett Suffered a fractured rib and required 4 facial stitches. He was treated at Vienna General Hospital and was discharged 2 weeks later. Barrett returned back to Cambridge where he would spend the rest of his time to fully recover.

Barrett spoke of the accident in a 1984 interview with Melody Maker; “That whole accident could of been avoided, I had met some friends in a local nightclub and got absolutely stoned. I hadn’t gotten high in a while so my tolerance was down to the fucking floor. On top of that it was raining heavy so that crash was bound to have happened.”

Throughout the rest of the late 1970s Barrett became a sought after producer, especially with the punk movement. Barrett most notably produced for The Damned, The Pretenders, Robyn Hitchcock, Chumbawamba and Elvis Costello

#### Rock Against Racism

In late 1976, Syd Barrett became the first notable rockstar involved with the recently-established Rock Against Racism movement, a political and cultural movement which emerged in 1976 in reaction to a rise in racist attacks in the United Kingdom, the increasing support for the far-right National Front at the ballot box, and as a response to racist statements by well-known rock musicians such as Eric Clapton and Syd's former bandmate David Bowie. Between 1975 and 76, Barrett and Bowie were engaged in a feud, particularly due to Bowie's statements about Adolf Hitler and fascism gaining repercussion, while Syd would frequently appear at the New Music Express rebutting what Bowie said as "nonsensical dumbfuckery", claiming that his former bandmate was "out of his own mind" and recalling the time where he developed addiction to LSD.

Syd's support to the movement gained repercussion between groups that were influenced by him, spreading the word about the movement towards a larger mainstream audience and to the growing punk scene in Britain. Despite not appearing in the first gigs, Syd helped to organise a large-scale concert in London, where he performed for the first time in more than three years.

## Acting career

### Early acting career (1974–1981)

Barrett says he was first encouraged to start acting by his sister Rosemary, who said that he “certainly had the amount of charisma to do it.” Barrett would secure auditions via his management which then led to him gaining his first role in the Cyril Frankel film Permission To Kill starring as Alan Curtis

The film gained mixed to favourable reviews in the press, praising barrett’s “intriguing performance.” Barrett is said to have nearly quit acting after the films release but it wasn’t until he got a phone call from Stanley Kubrick, that he decided to continue his career into acting. Barrett spoke to an American journalist in 1997 saying; “I had gotten a phone call at ten o’clock at night from someone who’d claimed to be stanley kubrick. Saying he loved my performance in ‘Permission To Kill’ and that he’s working on a film called The Metamorphosis . Considering that I was a big fan of A Clockwork Orange I was all in.”

#### *Stanley Kubrick's The Metamorphosis* and newfound success

During the shooting of the film it is known that Barrett’s erratic behaviour from his early days began to show again. Barrett later said that “Stanley was such a pain in the arse to work with. That man put me through torture and quite simply i was tired of his shit.”

Cheryl Ladd, who played Grete Samsa, said of Barrett; “I feel like Syd was under a lot of pressure from Stanley, I remember one day on set he just snapped and went ‘ah fuck this’ and stormed off. Later that night, he phoned me and said ‘I’m done I Quit.’ It took a good amount of convincing to make him come back.”

The Metamorphosis was released on April 3rd 1977 and received widespread critical acclaim, Later receiving an Oscar nomination in 1978

#### Return to filming

His return to cinema came with 1979 neo noir film *The Human Factor* as Maurice Castle while his breakthrough came as Stuart Glynn with the 1981 psychological drama *Outtake*.

### Golden years (1981–1994)

Barrett’s breakthrough start of the 1980s came with his role in the psychological drama *Outtake*By this point, Barrett became a well known pop culture figure within the film and music industry. By 1982, a resurgence in Barrett’s albums began to sell increasingly, With Clowns & Jugglers selling 400,000 copies.

After the release of the 1984 Thriller Body Double, Barrett became one of the most sought out actors in the film industry.

Barrett later said in a 1986 interview; “I had never intended to become a serious full time actor. For me, my main goal was always art, but then eventually music began to take over. Once i finished my career in music i decided to take up acting. It’s always been one creative ambition after the other.” Barrett got to show his versatility in the 1986 romantic crime drama film Mona Lisa and 1988’s A fish called Wanda

### Later years (1994–present)

In 1994, Oliver Stone offered Barrett to do a complete soundtrack for the film Natural Born Killers. Barrett at first accepted but later on declined. In favour, Barrett gave the studio the rights to use his song “Interstellar Overdrive”

In 1996, Barrett made a cameo appearance in the Danny Boyle film Trainspotting as a Dealer

After appearing on the cover of NME in 1999, Barrett told a journalist after being asked when his next big role will be: “I don’t know really, there are some really good films coming out at the moment and i feel like i’ve done my piece.”

when asked what he will do next he responded; “probably art or something, but definitely not music.”

## Personal life

Barrett had relationships with various women, such as Libby Gausden; Lindsay Korner; Jenny Spires; and Pakistani-born Evelyn "Iggy" Rose (1947–2017) (aka "Iggy the Eskimo", "Iggy the Inuit"). Barrett eventually married model Gayla Pinion in 1972, later relocating to Oxford. The couple share a son and daughter together, Samuel and Emily.

## Discography

Main article: *Syd Barrett discography*
With Rubber Band
* *There is a Happy Land* (1967)
* *The Piper at the Gates of Dawn* (1968)

Solo albums
* *Rooftop in a Thunderstorm Row Missing the Point* (1968)
* *Clowns and Jugglers* (1969)
* *Have You Got It Yet?* (1971)
* *Syd Barrett* (1972)
* *I Never Lied to You* (1974)