If Syd never left Pink Floyd

All discussion related to Roger Keith (Syd) Barrett.
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jtull
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If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by jtull »

I know this is just a speculation, but I was just wondering what you think would have hapaned if Syd never left the band? What would the music be like if Syd had never taken any drugs and stayed clean in the band a whole time? Would there be a DSOTM or Wall. Do you think there albums would be more like a Piper or a Saucerful?

Any thoughts? :)
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by Jimi Dean Barrett »

Well they wouldn't be called Pink Floyd if She had never taken drugs.
Would the band have adopted the two girl saxophonists?
I think they would of remained a lesser Rhythm 'n' B!yes act and faded into obscurity as the world turned on and freaked out!
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by Bigmanpigman »

Although Syd was a hugely charismatic and talented guy I really don't think he'd have been a match for Roger at his most belligerent. So it is my belief that there would have been a split anyway. Presumably Nick would have gone off with Roger, and maybe Rick with Syd. Also it's entirely possible, even probable, that David would never have been involved, although I'm pretty sure he would have made his mark in the rock business elsewhere. So you have to say those classic albums would never have seen the light of day.
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by Follix »

I think Floyd would have stayed an underground band and split somewhere in the 70's... Like most psychedelic bands of the 60's.
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by dgsyd1 »

FWIW , I made a playlist made up of of songs from the Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, and Barrett albums, plus a couple of other track from that era, to make a rough approximation of a 1969/70 5 man Floyd album. Not as good as what we actually got, but I quite like it.

Baby Lemonade
If
Summer '68
Dominoes
Fat Old Sun
Biding My Time
Gigolo Aunt
Grantchester Meadows
The Narrow Way (Part 3)
Embryo
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by Hudini »

That song list is highly unlikely though. Had Syd been in condition to continue working, there would be no need for David to join the band, so there go 'Fat Old Sun' and 'The Narrow Way'. And with Syd still in the band, Roger wouldn't need to mimic his songwriting style for continuity, thus we probably wouldn't have 'If' and 'Grantchester Meadows' as well, or even 'Embryo' if we're talking strictly studio versions.

I believe that with Syd remaining in the band Roger would have stuck to spacey/edgy/rock stuff like he used to write with 'Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk', 'Let There Be More Light', 'Corporal Clegg', or even 'Point Me At The Sky' or 'The Nile Song' and we wouldn't have Pink Floyd the way we know them today. The thing is, without Syd Barrett leaving Pink Floyd Roger Waters wouldn't have evolved as a songwriter and Pink Floyd most probably wouldn't survive the 1960s, and one can argue that the hype about Syd's alleged insanity only helped them gain more popularity in the late 1967 and early 1968.
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by jtull »

Hudini wrote:I believe that with Syd remaining in the band Roger would have stuck to spacey/edgy/rock stuff like he used to write with 'Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk', 'Let There Be More Light', 'Corporal Clegg', or even 'Point Me At The Sky'..
I would add 'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun' as well. It's a real space rock anathem Imho.
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by Wolfpack »

Hudini wrote:And with Syd still in the band, Roger wouldn't need to mimic his songwriting style for continuity, thus we probably wouldn't have 'If' and 'Grantchester Meadows' as well, or even 'Embryo' if we're talking strictly studio versions.
Waters wrote 'Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun' in 1967 or earlier, when Barrett was still in Pink Floyd.
And, in 1965 or earlier, he wrote 'Walk with Me Sydney'.
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by jtull »

Waters wrote even 'Let There Be More Light' in the end of 1967, I believe.
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by Wolfpack »

jtull wrote:Waters wrote even 'Let There Be More Light' in the end of 1967, I believe.
I guess 'Let There Be More Light' would be his Waters's first new song during the autumn/winter band crisis that resulted in Barrett leaving Pink Floyd.
(In the summer band crisis, when recording of 'Set the Controls' began, Barrett was sent on a holiday.)
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by jtull »

And he wrote the Corporal Clegg about same time, I guess.
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by flippikat »

The two artists that were closest in style to Syd's solo career 1969-70 IMO were Marc Bolan and Kevin Ayers - based on how their styles evolved into the mid 1970s, Pink Floyd with Syd could've been anything from wistfully eccentric to glam rock!
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by Bigmanpigman »

flippikat wrote:The two artists that were closest in style to Syd's solo career 1969-70 IMO were Marc Bolan and Kevin Ayers - based on how their styles evolved into the mid 1970s, Pink Floyd with Syd could've been anything from wistfully eccentric to glam rock!

Bolan was very aware of the early Pink Floyd and he just completely stole Syd's visual image. I would say his music was a million miles away from the type of stuff Syd put together.
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by Jimi Dean Barrett »

Bigmanpigman wrote:
flippikat wrote:The two artists that were closest in style to Syd's solo career 1969-70 IMO were Marc Bolan and Kevin Ayers - based on how their styles evolved into the mid 1970s, Pink Floyd with Syd could've been anything from wistfully eccentric to glam rock!

Bolan was very aware of the early Pink Floyd and he just completely stole Syd's visual image. I would say his music was a million miles away from the type of stuff Syd put together.
Thank you Bigmanpigman! I fucking hate the way Nolan is described as innovative when all the tosser did was smash and grab Syd's look! I thought I was banging my head against a wall on that one!
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Re: If Syd never left Pink Floyd

Post by Psychedelic600 »

I think that if Syd had embraced his pop star image, he could have made a carreer like Bowie, with the floyd as more of a backing band. Think about it, the band was relying on his songwriting and his role as a front man was in many ways inevitable.