A Very Irregular Head - The Life of Syd Barrett

“I don't think I'm easy to talk about. I've got a very irregular head. And I'm not anything that you think I am anyway.”—Syd Barrett’s last interview, Rolling Stone, 1971 Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett (1946–2006) was, by all accounts, the very definition of a golden boy. Blessed with good looks and a natural aptitude for painting and music, he was a charismatic, elfin child beloved by all, who fast became a teenage leader in Cambridge, England, where a burgeoning bohemian scene was flourishing in the early 1960s. Along with three friends and collaborators—Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason—he formed what would soon become Pink Floyd, and rock ’n’ roll was never the same. Starting as a typical British cover band aping approximations of American rhythm ’n’ blues, they soon pioneered an entirely new sound, and British psychedelic rock was born. With early, trippy, Barrett-penned pop hits such as “Arnold Layne” (about a clothesline-thieving cross-dresser) and “See Emily Play” (written specifically for the epochal “Games For May” concert), Pink Floyd, with Syd Barrett as their main creative visionary, captured the zeitgeist of “Swinging” London in all its Technicolor glory. But there was a dark side to all this new-found freedom. Barrett, like so many around him, began ingesting large quantities of a revolutionary new drug, LSD, and his already-fragile mental state—coupled with a personality inherently unsuited to the life of a pop star—began to unravel. The once bright-eyed lad was quickly replaced, seemingly overnight, by a glowering, sinister, dead-eyed shadow of his former self, given to erratic, highly eccentric, reclusive, and sometimes violent behavior. Inevitably sacked from the band, Barrett retreated from London to his mother’s house in Cambridge, where he would remain until his death, only rarely seen or heard, further fueling the mystery. In the meantime, Pink Floyd emerged from the underground to become one of the biggest international rock bands of all time, releasing multi-platinum albums, many that dealt thematically with the loss of their friend Syd Barrett: The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall are all, on many levels, about him. In A Very Irregular Head, journalist Rob Chapman lifts the veil of secrecy that has surrounded the legend of Syd Barrett for nearly four decades, drawing on exclusive access to family, friends, archives, journals, letters, and artwork to create the definitive portrait of a brilliant and tragic artist. Besides capturing all the promise of Barrett’s youthful years, Chapman challenges the oft-held notion that Barrett was a hopelessly lost recluse in his later years, and creates a portrait of a true British eccentric who is rightfully placed within a rich literary lineage that stretches through Kenneth Graham, Hilaire Belloc, Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, John Lennon, David Bowie, and on up to the pioneers of Britpop. A tragic, affectionate, and compelling portrait of a singular artist, A Very Irregular Head will stand as the authoritative word on this very English genius for years to come.

 

 

chapman-rob (Author)  

PF All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track

 

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Music Legends Pink Floyd Reflections and Echoes-The Definitive History

 

 

 

 

Comfortably Numb - The Inside Story of PF

The acclaimed, definitive biography of Pink Floyd, from their iconic beginnings in psychedelic, Swinging London to their historic reunion at the Live8 concert ("The most complete, insightful, and current account of Pink Floyd...nearly as essential as the music itself."--Austin Chronicle)

Mark Blake draws on his own interviews with band members as well as the group's friends, road crew, musical contemporaries, former housemates, and university colleagues to produce a riveting history of one of the biggest rock bands of all time. We follow Pink Floyd from the early psychedelic nights at UFO, to the stadium-rock and concept-album zenith of the seventies, to the acrimonious schisms of the late '80s and '90s. Along the way there are fascinating new revelations about Syd Barrett's chaotic life at the time of Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the band's painstaking and Byzantine recording sessions at Abbey Road, and the fractious negotiations to bring about their fragile, tantalizing reunion in Hyde Park. Meticulous, exacting, and ambitious as any Pink Floyd album, Comfortably Numb is the definitive account of this most adventurous--and most English--rock band.

 

 

 

Mark Blake (Author) 

 

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A behind-the-scenes, in-depth look at the making of one of the greatest sonic masterpieces and most commercially successful albums of all time. Over three decades after its release, PȊNK﮳FLØYD's 'The DΔRK﮳SȊDƐ of the Moon' remains one of the most acclaimed albums of all time. Its sales total around 30 million copies worldwide. In its first run, it took up residence in the US charts for a mind-boggling 724 weeks. According to recent estimates, one in five British households owns a copy. This, however, is only a fraction of the story. 'DΔRK﮳SȊDƐ' is rock's most fully realised and elegant concept album, based on themes of madness, anxiety and alienation that were rooted in the band's history -- and particularly in the tragic tale of their one -- time leader Syd Barrett. Drawing on original interviews with bass guitarist and chief songwriter Roger Waters, guitarist David Gilmour, and the album's supporting cast ,'The DΔRK﮳SȊDƐ of the Moon' is a must-have for the millions of devoted fans who desire to know more about one of the most timeless, compelling, commercially successful, and mysterious albums ever made.

 

John Harris (Autor) 

 

Pink Floyd: Album by Album

 

This stunning look back at Pink Floyd’s discography comprises a series of in-depth, frank, and entertaining conversations about all of the band's studio albums, including their soundtrack efforts and the instrumental/ambient The Endless River. Inside, prolific rock journalist Martin Popoff moderates discussions on each album with rock journalists and musicians who offer insights, opinions, and anecdotes about every release.

Together, the conversations comprise a unique historical overview of the band, covering everything from early albums with the iconic Syd Barrett to the songwriting tandem of Roger Waters and David Gilmour; the impeccable talents of drummer Nick Mason and multi-instrumentalist Richard Wright; those mega tours undertaken in support of the LPs; the monster success of breakthrough LP Dark Side of the Moon; interpersonal conflict; the band following Waters’ 1985 departure; and much more.

Popoff also includes sidebars that provide complete track listings, album personnel, and studios and dates. Every page is illustrated with thoughtfully curated performance and offstage photography, as well as rare memorabilia.

 

Roger Waters Paredes y puentes: el cerebro de Pink Floyd

 

En la prehistoria de la psicodelia británica de fines de los años 60, Pink Floyd inauguró una forma de hacer música que dinamitó los fundamentos del pop, aquel que lideraba los charts y que el grupo de Londres contaminó con su delirio audiovisual. La nave, comandada por Syd Barrett —estrella distante del rock—, encalló pronto: su mentor principal perdió la cabeza por el LSD. Roger Waters emergió del naufragio para convertir aquella embarcación desquiciada en un crucero que terminó dando la vuelta al mundo. En pocos años, Pink Floyd estilizó el rock y le otorgó un aura conceptual que hizo escuela; del progresismo espacial de El lado oscuro de la luna a la genial aproximación a sus propias miserias en The Wall, Waters imprimió su sello y condujo al grupo a su cenit musical.

Fiel a su costumbre y con la minuciosidad que lo caracteriza, Sergio Marchi aporta un documento esencial para comprender los cómo y los porqué de un fenómeno que, cuarenta años después de su enloquecido bautismo, sigue tan vigente como en sus inicios: Roger Waters. Paredes y puentes: el cerebro de Pink Floyd.

 

Sergio Marchi (Autor) 

 

Roger Waters and Pink Floyd: The Concept Albums

 

 

 

Beyond its elucidation and critique of traditional ‘notation-centric’ musicology, this book's primary emphasis is on the negotiation and construction of meaning within the extended musical multimedia works of the classic British group Pink Floyd. Encompassing the concept albums that the group released from 1973 to 1983, during Roger Waters’ final period with the band, chapters are devoted to Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979) and The Final Cut (1983), along with Waters’ third solo album Amused to Death (1993). This book's analysis of album covers, lyrics, music and film makes use of techniques of literary and film criticism, while employing the combined lenses of musical hermeneutics and discourse analysis, so as to illustrate how sonic and musical information contribute to listeners’ interpretations of the discerning messages of these monumental musical artifacts. Ultimately, it demonstrates how their words, sounds, and images work together in order to communicate one fundamental concern, which—to paraphrase the music journalist Karl Dallas—is to affirm human values against everything in life that should conspire against them. 

 

Phil Rose (Author) 

 

Inside Outː A Personal History of PF

 

The definitive history of PF by founding member.