Syd was no acid casualty or recluse

[flashback]

I read it the way you wrote it SydsMadcapGirl and understood what you ment.Normal,what is normal?Normal for 1 maybe crazy for another.It doesn't really matter at this point seeing how he has passed from this world.

[blueeyes]

But... her version of Syd just conflicts with everyone elses. We all have a tendency to put people we have loved and lost on a pedestal and forget their shortcomings, even in the face of people who know otherwise.

Of all accounts we, the fans, have read about Roger Barrett, the man, Rosemary is the only one who actually KNOWS him.

We can read all we want about him being an "acid casualty"...but according to WHO? People who hadn't seen him in 30+ years?

I'm 28. I'd hate to think that people would still view me as they did even 5 years ago. People grow and change and it happens.

My 9 year old son has Asperger's syndrome. He, at times, is very vain about his hair. He won't let me touch it...and if I do it anyway, he'll go to great lengths to put it back the way it was. However, about a month and a half ago, he inexplicably went into the kitchen, got out the meat scissors, and chopped off a huge chunk of hair off of the top of his head. When asked why he did such a thing (he doesn't generally do strange things like that anymore...he did a lot when he was younger) he just said that he didn't know. I asked if he'd gotten gum stuck in his hair, and he said no, he just couldn't figure out why he did it.

If Rosemary suspected Roger had Asperger's syndrome...there is no explanation, then, for some of the things he'd have done. Answering the door in his underwear could be chocked up to that, had that been the case. It doesn't mean that in general (or when in a certain phase) he wasn't concerned with his appearance.

And who are we to be so ridiculous and demanding that we'd believe there MUST BE a photographer at the ready, waiting in the wings, every time the man left his house? Sure, he looks somewhat disheveled in some recent photos, but he looks quite nice in others.

Remember, we have only a very limited perception of the man and his life. We believe things because the media tells us so. It's in our nature. The recent photos of Mr. Barrett are few and far between...and don't forget, only extremely brief glances into his daily life. I'm sitting at the PC right now in only a long comfortable skirt and a bra, my hair thrown messily into pigtails, wearing glasses (which I *NEVER* wear in public) and the skin cream I wear at nights.....if someone were to photograph me right this instant, I'd be QUITE embarrassed. And when I go out in the mornings down the street to 7-11 for my daily coffee, I'm certainly not looking my best then either. I'm generally wearing an oversized messy t shirt that I'd wear around the house, ugly cut off shorts or comfortable skirts, or sweat pants. My hair always looks like crap and I'm not wearing any make up. That being said, I *DO* care about my appearance on the whole. I just don't feel the need to look my best when I'm sitting around the house or going out down the street to the convenience store. If someone published pictures of me from those little trips in a newspaper or magazine, people could easily look at these photos and say I'm a slob and I don't take care of myself. That's just simply not the truth, though. When I go out to work or to socialize, THEN I'll put an effort into how I look.

What can I say? People are people. Even former rock stars who just want to live a normal life (normal being subjective) are people too.

Well put. Very.

[froobydoob]

Good Evening.

I wasn't planning to respond to my previous post but before I vanish into the ether I'd like the make the following points.

1. In my late teens and early twenties I could, at times, be found in a state where I couldn't hold a rational conversation with somebody and I'm sure, on occasions, people thought I wasn't quite there. Unfortunately, for me, I wasn't in a situation where I could sustain such a state for any length of time (for both financial and obligational reasons). Had I been a successful musician in an era where such behavior was positively encouraged, then I probably would have gone full steam ahead.

2. I'm not aware of the absolute statistics but a significant proportion of the adult population suffer from mental problems at some point in their lives. I know several people who have been in mental institutions and, after the event, I wouldn't consider them any less stable than the rest of us. My (or your) mental issues are, possibly, still waiting to happen.

3. Roger lived with his mother. And? Lots of people are still living with their parents in their thirties, some for financial reasons others for convenience. Again, I know people who live with their parents and, sure, we might ridicule them, but it doesn't make them mentally abnormal. They might be more emotionally vulnerable and attached that the rest of us but I'm not convinced it's a sure sign of a mental condition.

4. In later times his sister would check up on him. How many men do you know who get their partners to cook, clean and buy their clothes? A fair few, I'd guess. If you've always lived around people who have cared for you, it's difficult to cope on your own. Especially so if you've been through an emotional time.

5. Choosing to stay at home, do some gardening, a touch of DIY, a bit of painting, maybe? Or get up at the crack of dawn, put a suit on, get on a packed train and head of down to London to sit in an office all day. Who is sane?

I don't know if Roger suffered some form of breakdown, it's certainly possible he did given what he went through. But, I do believe he came through the other side, rationally looked at his options and made his choice. From that point on, he was as normal and down to earth as the rest of us (probably more so).

As I said in my last post, he just got on with his life. I can understand his confusion about people obsessing about his previous life. Today I've read lots of posts and articles going back several years regarding Roger and the same old stuff gets dragged up over and over again. The same theories get constructed and de-constructed, repeatedly, ad-infinitum. I'm beginning to wonder who had the mental issues here, Roger or the fans? See, even I'm starting to get sucked in!

So me? I'm shrugging my shoulders, hitting that post button one more time and heading off to enjoy a peaceful, summer's evening in this quiet Cambridge backwater.

[Sonic Destruction]

I read your post SydsMadcapGirl, and it encouraged me to write my own, which in turn noone has read (sigh). It has also been really good to read some of the stuff from froobydoob which has helped put Syd's life and surroundings in some kind of context. Thanks and I appreciate your willingness to share your own experiences (and I hope that last sentence does not sound too naff!!!).

I wonder whether this would be a good time to lock this thread so that, as J Ed and MassedGadgets have suggested, we can concentrate on the great musical achievements of Syd Barrett, and leave the family of Roger Keith Barrett to grieve in peace.

[blueeyes]

5. Choosing to stay at home, do some gardening, a touch of DIY, a bit of painting, maybe? Or get up at the crack of dawn, put a suit on, get on a packed train and head of down to London to sit in an office all day. Who is sane?

I like this statement. Is the sane one really the one who begins every morning by tying a noose round his neck, my grandpa always said while putting on his tie to go to the office.

He'd have much rather stayed home to work in the garden or build something, same as me. Come to think of it, people thought I was 'unbalanced' all my life.

[Violet-Abyss]

I don't see why this thread should be locked, it was meant to be a postive article. It was meant to shine some light on the fact that Roger has passed away and to show that his life before he died was good and he enjoyed his life though some people felt sorry for him and think it's sad that he left the group and went "crazy", but it was to show that he was doing fine and that people should not feel sad, people have seemed to turned this article into a negative thing, which was not intended at all.

[goldeneagle33]

I think a lot of Syd's talent did come him being somewhat "different"- I think a lot of artistic geniuses have a different way of looking and experiencing this world. And I wonder how many are made normal by medications that make them more functional but remove them from that artistic edge. Would syd have been able to write what he did if he was on prozac or something stronger? I'm sure he was on some such medication in his later life, that is probably how he could survive day to day but probably look like he was not all there. I wonder when they stopped shock treatments in england? Maybe he had a series of those in the late 70's.

[J Ed]

thiswas the thread with the article anlyzing his musical achievements,
interestingly dropping like a stone beneath all the mental illness type threads

anyways, the article that started this thread is actually pretty good
tells us what our hero's been doing for the last 36 years
if his sisters PoV is biased, she's also the only one with an inside scoop

re the "normal" question, I would say he's definitely aspiring to lead a normal life, normal as opposed to the glamorous rockstar life he obviously did not like, normal as opposed to being forced to live up to all the Madcap mythologizing his fans kept demanding of him
of course holding down a 9to5 job he hated just to pay the bills would be more normal still,
but he had earned his income needed to cover cost-of-living long ago, thus was free to do the things a person should be able to do in life

if I ever won the lottery, or came into a surprise inheritence, I too would spend my remaining years puttering in the garden, going for a bit of a stroll, taking the train into the big city to visit museums - thats the sort of thing we should be free to do in life, the fact many of us cant afford to has more to do with the fashionable 60hour work week, 2hour commute, and all the other conspicuous workaholic trappings society now expects of us...

I like the list of music he listens to, cuz its much of what I listen to when not listening to my Floyd boots: Miles, Monk, Charlie Parker, Django Rheinhardt
then theres the bit about the art he likes: nothing after Impressionism
I was thinking, this cutoff in historic styles is almost analogous to his disinterest in music following his own stylistic innovations (nothing after the early Stones, ie no psychedelic rock)
what followed Impressionism was Cubism, Futurism, and Dadaism
visually violent, increasingly abstract styles that were a deliberate, avowedly revolutionary affront to conventional ways of seeing the world
ie similar to the goals of the musical movement he himself was at the forefront of

so did Syd become a conservative? or had he already done the hardwork of creating a radical new musical style, and earned his right to study his predecessors accomplishments in peace?

[tea-set]

this thread started out so nice but has descended into a horrible pile of crap.

no-one on this site knew him and i think only one (moom i think?) even met the guy

we all have a huge respect for the guy and i for one would rather believe rosmarys account of syds life because its a much better way to think of him. As a happy guy who did what HE wanted EVERY day for the last 35 years. he didnt need to work so he painted and as others have said didnt bother getting dressed up everyday.

i know when i have been out in the day as soon as i get back i take my jeans/t-shirt off and throw on some shorts.


lets stop trying to strip down the layers of a very complicated man and celebrate what we do know and have, THE MUSIC, THE PAINTINGS, THE LEGACY

[Keith Jordan]

Well said tea-set!

Truth is... most of us only know what other 3rd parties have said and that is not very reliable.

I am more inclined to believe 100% Rosemary Breen.


havent read it myself, but apparently there are two interviews with Rosemary in A Fish Out Of Water and she says Roger Barrett didn't like Roger Waters for throwing him out of his band where his creative energies were released.

http://www.neptunepinkfloyd.co.uk/galle ... ater-Book/

Anyone read this other account from Rosemary?

[SydsMadcapGirl]

[quote="Pat Albertson"]I read your post SydsMadcapGirl, and it encouraged me to write my own, which in turn noone has read (sigh)./quote]

Actually I read your post, and understood exactly what you meant.

[moom]

It is simply the greatest article ever! Inspired me...

to what?

[JT]

Good Evening.
3. Roger lived with his mother. And? Lots of people are still living with their parents in their thirties, some for financial reasons others for convenience. Again, I know people who live with their parents and, sure, we might ridicule them, but it doesn't make them mentally abnormal. They might be more emotionally vulnerable and attached that the rest of us but I'm not convinced it's a sure sign of a mental condition.

4. In later times his sister would check up on him. How many men do you know who get their partners to cook, clean and buy their clothes? A fair few, I'd guess. If you've always lived around people who have cared for you, it's difficult to cope on your own. Especially so if you've been through an emotional time.
.

If you have the means (I don't think he had financial reasons to live with Mom) but you live with Mom because you cannot emotionally handle living out on your own then you definitely have some sort of condition that requires help. I don't see any way that this could be considered normal or healthy. Grown men in their 30's and 40's do not live with their Mom out of convenience, they may say it's out of convenience but that doesn't make it so. If Mom is sick and needs care, or maybe you and your spouse move Mom into your house when she's older and Dad passes... I can see those as reasonable circumstances for living with Mom.

Most people I know share responsibility with their partner ..... but even if your wife happens to cook for you and do your laundry that is certainly not the same thing as a bachelor who's sister has to check up on him daily and take him shopping for his clothes as if he were a child.

Say what you want about getting up and going to work everyday and is that sane .... blah, blah, blah .... but that is part of life. I know we all don't want to have to work everyday.

We don't have to call him names like "Crazy" and "recluse" ..... but he sure lived a reclusive life, and he certainly was anything but a stable independent person.

The fact that you hold him in high regard should not preclude you from simply looking at the facts and realising that this article, while it's intentions were good, in no way shows him being a mentally stable person. And I don't think it's the fault of the people writing in this thread that making it negative, the article is what it is and people are giving their opinions of it.

[PublicImage]

It is simply the greatest article ever! Inspired me...

to what?

To put the article on the main NPF site.

[2066]

I think a lot of Syd's talent did come him being somewhat "different"- I think a lot of artistic geniuses have a different way of looking and experiencing this world. And I wonder how many are made normal by medications that make them more functional but remove them from that artistic edge. Would syd have been able to write what he did if he was on prozac or something stronger? I'm sure he was on some such medication in his later life, that is probably how he could survive day to day but probably look like he was not all there. I wonder when they stopped shock treatments in england? Maybe he had a series of those in the late 70's.

"Happy, well-adjusted" people do not make the best tunes. They become accountants.