Am J Psychiatry 164:1028, July 2007
doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.164.7.1028
© 2007 American Psychiatric Association


Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (1946–2006)
Paolo Fusar-Poli, M.D.

Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett was both the founding member
of one of the most legendary rock bands and probably
the most famous rock star to develop psychosis. He
formed the band that would become Pink Floyd in 1965,
amalgamating the first names of two American bluesmen,
Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Recorded at Abbey
Road Studios, inspired by LSD (1), and driven by
Barrett’s songwriting, singing, and otherworldly
guitar solos, the first album, "The Piper at the Gates
of Dawn" (1967), alchemized the whimsical bohemian
spirit of the "summer of love" and influenced
generations of musicians with its sonic inventions and
surreal lyrics. Music journalists have called him "the
golden boy of the mind-melting late-60s psychedelic
era, its brightest star and ultimately its most tragic
victim" (2). In fact after two haunting solo albums,
"The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett," which showed the
last flickering lights of his genius, his eccentric
and creative personality drifted into a psychotic
reclusive state, forcing him to withdraw from public
view in 1974 (3–5). However, Pink Floyd would pay
tribute to Barrett and would include madness as an
ongoing theme on their best and most successful
albums, "Dark Side of the Moon" (1973) and "The Wall"
(1979), speaking to Syd directly in the songs "Wish
You Were Here" and "Shine on You Crazy Diamond."
Barrett spent the rest of his life in his mother’s
house in Cambridge, painting and gardening.
There are no other rock bands as intimate as Pink
Floyd with the impact of psychosis on music and art.
We hope to see the many musicians who have benefited
from his talent promote artistic events supporting
psychosis research and to allow the many other "crazy
diamonds" in the rough to shine as Syd Barrett did,
while at the same time reducing the stigma of mental
illness.
Footnotes
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr.
Fusar-Poli, Neuroimaging Section, Division of
Psychological Medicine PO67, Institute of Psychiatry,
De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF UK;
p.fusar@... (e-mail). Image courtesy of Stampa
Alternativa/Nuovi Equilibri (5).

The author thanks Dr. Paul Allen for revising a draft
of the article.

References
Vardy MM, Kay SR: LSD psychosis or LSD-induced
schizophrenia? a multimethod inquiry. Arch Gen
Psychiatry 1983; 40:877–883[Abstract]
Shine on You Crazy Diamond. Guardian Unlimited, July
12, 2006.
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1818250,00.html
Willis T: Madcap—The Half Life of Syd Barrett—Pink
Floyd’s Lost Genius. London, Short Books, 2002
Watkinson M, Anderson P: Syd Barrett: Crazy Diamond:
The Dawn of Pink Floyd, rev ed. London, Omnibus Press,
2007
Ferrari L: Syd Barrett: A Fish Out of Water. Viterbo,
Italy, Stampa Alternativa/Nuovi Equilibri, 1996



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