Lost Barrett Audio

[Wolfpack]

Here's an attempt to list all Barrett compositions and significant performances which are most likely forever lost...

Live Pink Floyd 1966-10-14
- 'Pink Theme'
- 'Gimme a Break'
- 'Piggy Back'
- 'Stoned Alone'
- 'I Can Tell' (somehow identified as Bo Diddley cover)
- 'Flapdoodle Dealing'

Studio Pink Floyd 1967
- 'She Was a Millionaire' (announced in press as 'Millionaire', B-side of 'Old Woman With a Casket')
- 'Early Morning Henry' (taken away by Norman Smith) (identified as Billy Butler song, actual relation with Barrett unknown)

Home demos solo 1967
- Boon Tune (given to Joe Boyd; maybe resulting in 'Here I go') (submitted to The Purple Gang)

Rehearsal room? Pink Floyd 1968
- 'Have You Got It Yet' (multiple runthroughs, everchanging) (as remembered by Waters)

Home demos solo 1969
- Madcap demos (as remembered by Iggy, if I remember correctly)

Studio demos solo
- 'Living Alone' (taken away by Gilmour) (suggested by some as maybe a version of 'I Never Lied to You')

Gilmour home studio 1971/1972
- sitting on a stool, Gilmour standing behind (as recently remembered by Ginger)

Live 1970s
- Stars (groupname, multiple public live performances)

Hotel 1970s
- unknown tapes collection (reportedly, Barrett gave away a box of tapes which soon got lost)


Barrett's Pink Floyd in studio with tapes on background, 1967

Notes:
- The All Saints Church Hall 1966-10-14 live concert so far has only survived as setlist. Maybe it just was never recorded, as so many of early Pink Floyd live.
- 'I Can Tell' is somehow identified as Diddly cover, apparently without actually having been heard. 'No Good Trying' repeatedly contains the phrase, coincidentally or not.
- 'Old Woman With a Casket' must be what became 'Scream Thy Last Scream', as it repeatedly contains that phrase.
- 'She Was a Millionaire' has been tried again in 1970 by Barrett solo (with Gilmour?), but didn't get further than a studio live instrumental backing track containing a huge mistake which throws the performance temporarily off its rail.
- 'Early Morning Henry' is mentioned on a Pink Floyd studio sheet (1967-10-23), preceded by "super of vibes and voices" work on Waters song 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun'. This session is a mystery concerning any Barrett involvement.
- "Boon Tune", "Boon Tunes"? It's unclear to me if this lost tape contained one or multiple songs. I just remember such a tape being mentioned as lost.
- 'Living Alone' might still exist in Gilmour's private archive. As he's the source of the previously lost song 'Bob Dylan's Blues', on the same studio demo tape reportedly taken by him.
- Ginger about Barrett in Gilmour's home studio: http://atagong.com/iggy/archives/2020/0 ... tapes.html
- At least some of Stars performing live is remembered to have been recorded by Barrett. Maybe a copy of at least some of it was made, but that also got lost.
- Biography 'Syd Barrett & the Dawn of Pink Floyd' (Mike Watkinson & Pete Anderson) mentions Barrett giving away a box of tapes in the 1970s, when he lived in a hotel.

Barrett's mysterious 1970s tape box almost immediately got lost by the recipient. An hotel employee, who forgot it somewhere on his way home...
I call this box "The Holy Barrett Grail", as one can only imagine what treasures it might have contained. Maybe a document of the legendary Stars? Maybe demos for the often overlooked, officially unreleased, unfinished 3rd solo album 1974 sessions? Maybe 'If You Go Don't Be Slow' with lyrics? Maybe just ordinary radio recordings of football matches or whatever? Or maybe Barrett himself erased all tapes, giving them away to anyone to be reused? One can only imagine.
Tapes are said to have been expensive at that time. So, I guess it's not unlikely that someone just recorded anything over whatever these tapes might have contained...

Feel very welcome to give any corrections and additions. This is just what I so far remember having read, without minutiously checking sources.
(And it might also be interesting to make a list of unreleased recordings which are known to have survived, but which so far nonetheless remain unreleased.)

[space triangle]

- 'She Was a Millionaire' (announced in press as 'Millionaire', B-side of 'Old Woman With a Casket')

- 'She Was a Millionaire' has been tried again in 1970 by Barrett solo (with Gilmour?), but didn't get further than a studio live instrumental backing track

How is this all connected to the: ...



Also the bass line here sounds a lot like like Corporal Clegg?

[Wolfpack]

"'One in a Million" (unofficial title) (live 1967-09-13) is a different song, in 4/4. Assumed to be written by Waters.
Shamefully, its only known surviving performance still remains unreleased. Excluded from 'Early Years'.

'She's a Millionaire' is remembered as possibly a waltz in 6/8 time,
on page 55 in David Parker's book 'Random Precision' (2001).

Andrew King: "Oh yes, a very good song...(recites) 'She was a millionaire, they had some time to spare, and they had a lovely time together...' something like that. It never got finished. I think it was...everything was going pear shaped by then. It's a waltz. 'She Was A Millionaire', in 6/8 time I think."

Peter Bown: "I don't remember that all...They would sometimes have a go at a track and just say: 'This is not going to happen...scrub it.'"

Peter Jenner: "I don't know if they ever recorded it, or whether it was just a demo and we needed a song. It was one of those songs that we wanted him to do and it was going to be a single. A very good song."

After 'See Emily Play', I guess about June/July 1967, the next single was planned as 'Old Woman With a Casket' with 'Millionaire' as its B-side.
At least, I remember having seen a picture of that article. Maybe as reprinted in a book.

So, '(She Was a) Millionaire' at least got as far as being publicly announced at the time. Pink Floyd's next release!
Apparently, this loud announcement was done was before the songs were finished recordings...
The A-side, 'Old Woman With a Casket' turned into recording 'Scream Thy Last Scream'. At least months later.

I don't know if 'Scream Thy Last Scream' was ever meant as a single with 'Vegetable Man' as its B-side, in autumn 1967.
If so, plans must have changed. As 'Millionaire' is proven to be announced as part of a single - if only I could find that article.

[Felix Atagong]

Home demos solo 1967
- Boon Tune (given to Joe Boyd; maybe resulting in 'Here I go') (submitted to The Purple Gang)

That tape also had an early version of Jugband Blues.

From the Purple Gang autobiography:
There’s a tape of some of his [Syd Barrett, note from FA] songs and we think a good, quick follow-up to Granny is on there. Syd thinks Boon Tune is the one for you. There are several. There’s one called Jugband Blues but he’s still working on that.

There is also the Syd Barrett The Committee soundtrack that has been lost, probably an early version of Rhamadan.
Max Steuer claims Peter Jenner has it, Peter Jenner says the opposite. So probably lost.

[hallucalation]

Whatever stuff Jenner had was all lost in Blackhill flood in mid-70's. Thankfully Bernard White had copied some stuff (Scream, Vegetable Man & 74 sessions) before it had happened.

[Wolfpack]

Thanks for the additions! Well, not really thanks... as it's all just bad news, knowing what's lost...

I guess I'll never hear 'Flapdoodle Dealing'...

I've edited my post about the somehow surviving, mysterious "One in a Million" definitely not being the lost 'She Was a Millionaire'.
Adding some quotes of people trying to remember the song.

She was a millionaire,
they had some time to spare,
and they had a lovely time together...
("something like that" - Andrew King)

[Wolfpack]

That tape [containing "Boon Tune"] also had an early version of Jugband Blues.

From the Purple Gang autobiography:
There’s a tape of some of his [Syd Barrett, note from FA] songs and we think a good, quick follow-up to Granny is on there. Syd thinks Boon Tune is the one for you. There are several. There’s one called Jugband Blues but he’s still working on that.

I seem to remember you writing about this in the Iggy Church. Do you have a link?

There is also the Syd Barrett The Committee soundtrack that has been lost, probably an early version of Rhamadan.
Max Steuer claims Peter Jenner has it, Peter Jenner says the opposite. So probably lost.

Same. Do you have a link to Iggy Church?

Whatever stuff Jenner had was all lost in Blackhill flood in mid-70's. Thankfully Bernard White had copied some stuff (Scream, Vegetable Man & 74 sessions) before it had happened.

Blackhill flood? Do you have more information about this disaster?

Browsing through Parker's book, I found another lost recording.
A version of 'Milky Way', done for/by Malcolm Jones (page 171)

Malcolm Jones: "Syd did a tape of this for me, but the documentation is a bit blurred. Whoever made THIS tape it's typically Syd...a little ragged but charming...(this) 'Milky Way' is not the version that I did."

According to Parker, Jones is referring to the 'Milky Way' recorded as take 5 on 7 June 1970.
All of the other takes (1-4) being false starts labelled 'No Good' on the tape box.
Before recording 'Millionaire' (take 1-2), at the same session.

Barrett's solo session 'Millionaire' take 1 appears to be just a false start.
'Millionaire' take 2 (bass, drums, acoustic guitar, piano) (4:30) is described by Parker as having a part "strangely familar due to the emergence of the "I'm trying..." chord sequence from 'Opel'", at one point hearing Barrett singing off-microphone: "...to find you...". (page 172)
Parker's describes Wright as managing to have a leading role on keyboards, appearing to be "the most familiar with the song".
The recording apparently mostly suffers from Barrett doing "one of his famous 'drop half a beat and then carry on' chord changes" and so "the band falling over in a bit of a heap behind him". I guess this chaos is the reason why this recording, although just instrumental as backing track, still remains unreleased.

[Felix Atagong]

The Purple Gang Jugband Blues story:
http://atagong.com/iggy/archives/2014/1 ... n.html#CJB

Rhamadan + Committee
http://atagong.com/iggy/archives/2017/0 ... ction.html

[scarecrow]

Re:Jugband Blues etc

Yes it is quite interesting that this may have been mostly written earlier in 1967. And Boon Tune/ Here I Go can be paired with Jugband Blues in as much as them both seeming to raise the issue of being an individual within/ vs a band ('a big band is far better than you' etc)

As ever, some brilliantly detailed analysis, Felix

I hadn't spotted the 'green and submarine' reference in Echoes... yes, kind of a stretch, but then again Waters certainly liked to throw in these sort of Baby Blue, Time to go etc sort of direct references to Barrett.

I would add that if the song dynamic seems to represent a journey through altered consciousness (which I agree it does), then the mysterious end section seems to be the post-trip comedown? And also that 'what exactly is a dream?' enigmatically references 'wandering and dreaming, the words have different meaning...' I don't have much of an idea at what he's getting at with either though.

This reminds me that I did get on a train of thought a few months ago, relating to Waters' statement that '"My big fight in Pink Floyd was to try and drag it, kicking and screaming, back from the whimsy that Syd was into - as beautiful as it is - into my concerns, which were more political and philosophical. Even now, people talk about 'space'. What the fuck is that? None of it had anything to do with that. I don't know what's wrong with people. [Dismissively] Space - what the fuck are they talking about?"
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/ ... popandrock

Looking at various Waters lyrics 68-73, there's various things where perhaps the starting point was writing something not-necessarily 'anti-Syd', but anti-cult-of-Syd perhaps. Grantchester Meadows, for example, conjuring a mix of pastoral and spooky imagery but also plainly descriptive, with little room for misinterpretation. Echoes conjures some pretty imagery, a sense of historical continuum but against this backdrop is saying, 'the I Ching, ancient Chinese poetry or whatever won't bring any answers'

On this tack, does 'breathe in the air, don't be afraid to care' reference 'I don't care if the sun don't shine'?

Anyway, I'm not too interested in speculating on Barrett vs Waters stuff... although am a little curious about Barrett presenting songs and them being rejected. There is very little detail anywhere about this? Mostly I think bands are often difficult and require a bit of fighting one's corner, and also having a song 'rejected' can change how one feels about the collaboration quickly and dramatically (see also The Final Cut etc). I think of it like, it's valid to not like peanut butter (for example) but telling a chef you won't eat their food is like attacking their very core.

I can see how 'Here I Go' or say 'Love You' (hypothetically) could be seen as not fitting the Floyd sound... but then again a band like the Fugs (who Syd apparently liked) having that sort of mix of styles where they sat within the 'counterculture', were psychedelic in some ways but also did old-timey style songs. (Perhaps also relevant that Barrett didn't limit his visual art practice to a single style)