Although the late Syd Barrett was an undisputable legend, even a great like he could not stop himself from being starstruck on occasion. While the original Pink Floyd leader was of such a standing that he made a direct impact on some of his most revered peers including Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, and David Bowie, being in the presence of one of the 1960s’ other biggest stars meant that he was reduced to being nothing more than an excitable fanboy.
1967 was the year of psychedelic rock. Those 12 consequential months saw the release of many classics of the genre, including the debuts by both Pink Floyd and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Given their psychedelic proclivities, innovative sounds, and the fact that both acts were based in London, the powers that be worked together to secure Pink Floyd as the support act for Hendrix’s tour of the UK.
While this was a pivotal run for Pink Floyd, as it saw Barrett’s mental health issues come to the fore, and him being replaced by David O’List for the run – a sign of things to come – it still remained a highlight of the frontman’s life. This is because he got to be in the presence of Jimi Hendrix every day, the man he described as “a perfect guitarist”.
“I toured with him you know, Lindsay (an old girlfriend) and I used to sit on the back of the bus, with him up front; he would film us,” a post-Floyd Barrett told Melody Maker in 1971. “But we never spoke really. It was like this. Very polite. He was better than people really knew. But very self-conscious about his consciousness. He’d lock himself in the dressing room with a TV and wouldn’t let anyone in.”
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He continued: “Hendrix was a perfect guitarist. And that’s all I wanted to do as a kid. Play a guitar properly and jump around. But too many people got in the way. It’s always been too slow for me. Playing. The pace of things. I mean, I’m a fast sprinter. The trouble was, after playing in the group for a few months, I couldn’t reach that point.”
After leaving Pink Floyd in 1968, Barrett released two cult solo albums in 1970, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, which remain clear embodiments of both his talent and the psychological morass he was in at the time.
Explaining his lack of output following the pair of albums, the former Pink Floyd icon told the publication that he was creatively “frustrated” at that point. He explained: “I may seem to get hung-up, that’s because I am frustrated work-wise, terribly. The fact is I haven’t done anything this year, I’ve probably been chattering, explaining that away like anything. But the other bit about not working is that you do get to think theoretically.”
