# Does the Syd Barrett story freak anyone else out?



## dpdpaulson (Dec 30, 2005)

Apparently Syd Barrett from the original Pink Floyd died today. It's sad. Not just that he died, but that he apparently never found his way out. When you read his biographies, everyone who knew him said how creatiive and gifted he was. And the drugs transformed him. "However, the strain of his position proved too great for a psyche dogged by instability and an indulgence in hallucinogenic drugs."

The BBC has an account of Barrett written by his former producer:

"It was very, very sad for me that having not seen Syd for a couple of months, I met him in June and he had obviously been totally altered in those months.

He was very lifeless. He'd always been very witty, kind of twinkly, very appealing to girls - a dark-eyed, handsome sort of guy."

The scary thing is that he kept saying that he was getting better. At one point he told Rolling Stones that he was completely together, only to not show up for his next shows and become a recluse. He ended up living with his mother and all but forgotten about the potentially dazzling music career he was once destined to have. That to me is the saddest part.

I probably shouldn't think so much about this other guy's problems, but they're just so similar it's scary. Big dreams used to seem so realistic before DP. And as this crap has progressed, I've also little by little reclused. In fact i'm even living with my parents this summer. But I'm constantly thinking I'm just about to get it together and be back on track. Ultimately, I guess I just hope I don't wind up still living at my mother's like Syd did.


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## Dreamland (Jun 1, 2005)

Yes, Sid Barrett's death did catch my attention because I remember hearing the songs on Dark Side of the Moon alluding to mental illness back when I was a teenager. The way I understand it is that he was suffering from the early stages of schizophrenia, and taking acid or any hallucinogenic drug only exacerbates the symptoms-from what I read he took a lot of acid!!


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## felimz (Jul 4, 2006)

He was an acid head. Everyone saw it coming. He just did it too many times and could no longer handle the music business.

But, he also became schizophrenic and was a rebel. I think his condition was far worse from anything most of us here are experiencing.

I have to say, though, that Pink Floyd remains my favorite band of all times, and that albums orchestrated by Syd still give me the chills (i.e. Piper at the Gates of Dawn).


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## jc (Aug 10, 2004)

syd barrett was 'in with the pharmasist' as his old flat mate has said....
he was taking every drug known to man,but he did go on to lead a comfortable life


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## Synapse (Aug 15, 2004)

I read that Syd showed signs of schizophrenia and dementia and had an early breakdown when his flatmate spiked all his drinks with LSD giving him a 24 hour high.


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## Pablo (Sep 1, 2005)

I used to work in a newsagents after school when I was a teenager and this bloke used to come in wearing the same clothes every day asking for the same cigarettes and papers, he could barely even speak a few words and could hardly look after himself, later I found out that it was Syd Barrett. It is sad that he is dead but his condition was not like DP much, he abused drugs severely and had been living this way for over 10 years, he was more like a severe Ozzy Ozbourne than someone with DP and there is no way he could have written what you wrote dpdpaulson so I wouldnt empaphise too much.


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Ya his passing depressed me alot. I would have loved for him to get back with pink floyd for another few songs atleast. His material was definatly the best. They sure beat the hell out of the crap music out nowadays.

There was some talk of him getting back with them for live 8 there the other year. But now unfortunatly nothing like that will ever happen.

I didnt think he was schizophrenic i always thought that he had asperger's syndrome along with hppd. But some of his weird behaviour could be explained by schizophrenia alright.

Lsd wasent the only thing that led to his downfall either. He was also quite found of mandrax aka ludes which was supposedly one of the best and most addictive party drugs ever invented. Ive also heard people say that he a little messed up to begin with. I think the drugs probley just made his mental illness happen faster. Then again eating handfuls of acid over that period of time could make anyone screwed up.


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## Dreamland (Jun 1, 2005)

Mandrax=Qualudes

I remember this group of guys during my first semester freshman year in college-these clowns tripped three to four time a week the whole semester!!!!
I wonder whatever became of them. I ran into one of them about ten years ago and he acted really peculiar.....weird stare in his eyes without blinking, and he still had that 1980's college/Euro-mullet haircut. That's a clue right there that he's messed up in the head.........


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Mandrax also had diphenhydramine as well as methaqualone in it. I dont know the reason they had diphenhydramine in them. Maybe it was to make them metabolize slower or something like that.

Mandrax was what they where marketed in the UK and canada as. In the US they were just qualudes.

They were way before my time but ive heard stories from some older guys about them. They where supposed to be like barbiturates only much more euphoric. Ive heard them described as a mix between being drunk and on exctasy at the same time.

I think they where taken off the market just about everywhere in the early 80's because people abused the hell out of them. Plus the benzodiazepines served pretty much the same purpose as mandrax, had much less abuse potential and they arent lethal in overdose usually. Its the same reason why barbiturates got taken off the market because they where very easy to kill yourself on.

I wouldnt mind trying some if i ever got the chance just to see if they where as good as people say. Maybe its just nostalgia that makes them seem so great now.


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## walkingdead (Jan 28, 2006)

You know where they buried him don't you. The dark side of the moon. Where he requested.


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## jc (Aug 10, 2004)

syd in the newsagent... yep that really is his picture


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## jc (Aug 10, 2004)

a bit of a stalker video clip of syd going about daily life


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## just breathe (Nov 21, 2005)

Shine on you crazy diamond...

You know what irks me...all the musicians who romanticise mental illness....if they felt a month of dp/dr they probably wouldnt have the ambition or motivation to write another song in their life....


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## Guest (Jul 15, 2006)

Alot of the time syd was unwillingly dosed with LSD, Those dumb motherfuckers


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