Syd Barrett: Follow the Acid [PT 3]

I'm sure you've heard of Frankenstein and Dracula, the 2 most iconic fictional monsters in cinematic history. But, did you know that the inspiration for both of these characters was drawn from a very specific location on a very specific month?

[The Villa Diodati is a mansion in the village of Cologny near Lake Geneva in Switzerland, notable because Lord Byron rented it and stayed there with Dr. John Polidori in the summer of 1816.]

Lord Byron, one of the great British poets, rented Villa Diodati from 10 June to 1 November in 1816 with his physician John Polidori [author of "The Vampyre"]. One particularly unrelenting rain storm in June kept the 2 of them indoors for 3 days, along with guests Percy Shelley, Mary Godwin [later to be known as Mary Shelley, author of "Frankenstein"], and Mary's stepsister Claire Claremont. At some point the 5 took turns reading scary stories to each other to pass the time, even devising their own - resulting in the creation of Frankenstein and the Vampyre that would inspire Dracula. This was dramatised in the abstract 1986 Ken Russell horror movie, Gothic.

In 1945, famed French artist Balthus moved into the property for a short period with his children, one of which was Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, aka Prince Stash. The same Prince Stash who claims to have partaken in Syd Barrett's "fatal trip" described in part 2. Prince Stash also claims to be a distant relative of Lord Byron, which feeds very well into the idea that this final "fatal Trip" of Syd's was along the lines of Ken Russell's "Gothic." A surreal drug induced recreational adventure among high society artists.

"we all went to spend the new years transition 67 to 68 at the house in the black mountains of Wales belonging to the management of Pink Floyd...and it was so bizarre because he [Syd] never ever came down from that and then the consequences of everything that happened, happened from that moment on"

Exactly what Syd's mental breakdown was and exactly what caused it seems to be the big enduring mystery surrounding his memory. And yet Prince Stash seems to have rather blatantly laid out a claim solving this mystery as far back as 2011 [Ugly Things Magazine]. But has anyone ever questioned this story or asked themselves why Prince Stash would wait so many years before starting to tell it? Did he wait until Syd died out of respect? Did it simply take the media that long to pull it out of a man who obviously has many interesting stories to share? Is there a larger info-operation surrounding the demise of Syd, related to Pink Floyd directly? Let's not worry about the "why" just yet...

TIMELINE

While it's hard to say whether Syd's "breakdown" happened on a specific day in history, it is generally agreed that the big change occurred around May-July of 1967. We have David Gilmour's recollection of Syd during the recording of "See Emily Play" on May 21st where he said Syd "just looked straight through me, barely acknowledged me that I was there...He’d definitely turned a corner into madness...maybe his friends who’d been with him every day didn’t notice, but I saw a tremendous change."

Richard Wright, who we are told was the band member closest to Syd, pinpoints the big change to the time of Floyd's Top of the Pops appearances [July 1967]. "My memory is that we were recording a radio-one show at the BBC, and Syd didn’t turn up...when they found Syd, which I think was a Sunday or Monday, they told us that “well, something has happened to Syd”, and something HAD happened to him- TOTAL difference. Total difference...Huge change, like he’d gone. He was still looking the same, but he was somewhere else."

Let's revisit Prince Stash's quote above, where he stated: "and it was so bizarre because he [Syd] never ever came down from that and then the consequences of everything that happened, happened from that moment on."

There really is no ambiguity in Prince Stash's statement. He's pointing out the MOMENT that Syd was lost, and he tells this story pretty much the same every time that I have found it [which is 3 times]. That doesn't mean he is telling the truth, but he does seem to have the story STRAIGHT in his head over the years. The only problem is, Stash's story does not match the others timeline-wise.

2020:

"I didn’t know him very well, I got to know him very well because we spent that transition...67 to 68 was spent...we were at a house owned by the management of Pink Floyd in the Black Mountains of Wales."

2024:

"We all went to spend the New Years transition 67 to 68 at the house in the Black Mountains of Wales belonging to the management of Pink Floyd"

I'm not sure why Prince Stash prefers this word "transition" when speaking about the New Year, but I suppose it's just a leftover of groovy hippy lingo. The thought occurred to me though, that he might be speaking in more literal terms about Syd. Was this to be his "spiritual transition?" Whatever the case, we are clearly talking about New Years Eve 1967 to New Year's Day 1968. That's a good 5 months after the Floyd's Top of the Pops appearances. Gilmour, Wright, and others are adamant that Syd seemed to change DRASTICALLY well before his permanent vacation to the Black Mountains.

Before stumbling across Prince Stash's story, I had never heard of The Black Mountains or The Black Hill. This is a real place on the Welsh/British border, and probably would have been an ideal location to trip balls - which it sounds like they did. The Black Hill is also known as "cat's back" because it resembles the side profile of a scared/hissing cat with its back arched. I would imagine this cat is also black, since we are talking about the Black Hill. Black cats are associated with bad luck, the occult, and superstition in general. The Black Mountains are also thought to have been a prolific ancient Pagan/Druid ceremonial location. That might make some "acid heads" a little nervous [or excited?], but if a friend has a private cottage there the choice would be easier. And according to Stash, Pink Floyd's management did.

"Blackhill Enterprises was the main agency of the Third Ear Band. Founded in October 1966 by Peter Jenner and Andrew King, taking the name from King's holiday cottage in Wales ("Blackhill Farmhouse")" - https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com

The Pink Floyd were originally managed by 2 men who formed a company called Blackhill Enterprises. Blackhill was initially Peter Jenner, Andrew King, and the 4 members of Pink Floyd, with Syd. That Andrew King had a holiday cottage on the actual Black Hill is not too hard to believe. We've got it from 3rd Ear Band [who were managed by Blackhill] and Stash. King has also mentioned at least one other property his father owned. There's also the connection of the name with Pink Floyd's management company. I suppose the nickname of Blackhill Enterprises could have been Black Cat Enterprizes?

[Nestling under the steep sides of Black Mountains in the Vale of Ewyas is The Vision Farm, the likely inspiration for Bruce Chatwin's book, 'On The Black Hill'.]

In my research, I found there was a book named after the Black Hill called "On the Black Hill" by Bruce Chatwin. The story speaks about a farm called "The Vision." Despite conflicting reports, this is/was an actual farm that the author apparently stayed at, inspiring his novel. Although the book is fictional and does not seem to dwell much on "the occult" or "tripping on acid," I was curious whether this Vision farm was where the Blackhill Cottage was located.

"it was like a nursery. It had padded walls, lined with acetate satin. Bright colors gold and red…And there was bunch of toys…in this VISION room we found ourselves in."

The above is a snippet from Prince Stash's tale of his trip with Syd, where he speaks of a shared hallucination they found themselves in. I thought his use of the phrase VISION ROOM was interesting, considering the VISION farm spoken about in the aformentioned book. This VISION ROOM is where Stash seems to think Syd basically left his body behind, in whole or in part.

"part of Syd’s being remained in that weird room...then he was looking at me and he picked up this acoustic guitar. Somehow he played completely out of tune, very badly. And he sang out of tune, “she loves you yeah yeah yeah!” You know like that."

This is a very bold assertion that nobody seems to think is all that signifficant! I mean, he even describes Syd's sudden inability to sing or play a pleasing tune - which would account for his struggles in recording songs for the solo albums - which are mostly regarded as unfinished because Syd seemed to have lost the ability to record a proper song all the way through at that point [or did he?].

[Is this where Syd took his "fatal dose"?]

"Syd Barrett's first trip" is widely regarded to have been filmed in 1966, by then film student/friend Nigel Lesmoire-Gordon in the Gog-Magog Hills. The title itself would seem to indicate that even if this WASN'T Syd's "first trip," it was likely closer to his first than his LAST. He also looks very young and decidedly non-rockstar, which makes sense because this would have been before Pink Floyd signed their first recording contract. Incidentally, this video is usually tacked on with similarly crappy footage of Pink Floyd walking around EMI Records [Abbey Road Studios] grinning about, apparently having signed their first record deal, which was in 1967. Why has "Syd Barrett's First Trip" been connected to footage of the Floyd's signing with EMI?

NLG: Syd Barrett's first trip yes, that is my world famous video...
Q: When was that made?
NLG: sssssssixty eight.
Q: How did you get involved with this project in the first place?
NLG: Well because I'd made this...film with Syd Barrett in '68 Syd Barrett's first trip...

The above question and answer with Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon was taken from a youtube video which is apparently a promotional interview for the film "Remember a Day,"[2000] which is obviously inspired by Syd and his time with Pink Floyd. The interview seems to be scripted to a degree, which is revealed by it's poor editing. This makes me wonder why NLG states that "Syd Barrett's First Trip" was filmed in '68, which we know it wasn't! NLG says this not once, but TWICE in the short exchange.

[Still image from "Syd Barrett's First Trip"]

[Image of Syd taken from sydbarrett.com, labeled 1968]

Syd played his last show with Pink Floyd in January of 1968, presumably due to his very rapid decline. Needless to say, this would not have been the ideal year to film "Syd Barrett's First Trip," nor would it have made much sense! His hair was also longer and more shaggy in 1968, than it is in the image still above, taken from the NLG film. You can also see that he appears to be slightly younger.

"I met Syd Barrett and at the end of 67 we were invited with Nigel and Jenny Lismore Gordon, this girlfriend of mine gay Karen - we all went to spend the new years transition 67 to 68 at the house in the black mountains of Wales belonging to the management of Pink Floyd"

Recall again the quote by Prince Stash where he states Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon AND his wife were with him and Syd when they went to the Black Mountains on NYE 1967. Now it's possible Stash made this story up, but if he did not that means NLG was there when Syd supposedly fried his brain beyond repair. Now why would he then go ahead and film "Syd Barrett's FIRST Trip" at that point? Sounds like he already witnessed Syd's LAST trip right at the top of '68! What REALLY happened that day, if anything?

David Gilmour has claimed that around this time, Barrett began cross-dressing and pondering whether he was homosexual. He also began reading works by occultist Aleister Crowley. A bit of research into Prince Stash will reveal he is deeply into the occult, so that is worth noting.

At the very least, I think 1968 should stand out firmly in NLG's mind, as it did in most who knew Syd, that it was his post LSD burn out year, NOT the year he was frolicking around the hills of Gog Magog playing around gayly with leaves and mushrooms!

SCREAM THY LAST SCREAM

Given there are few interviews with Syd Barrett where he cohesively gets into his own "breakdown" in any sort of detail, we are left with the lyrics of his last few Pink Floyd songs to ponder over.

With pressure from EMI to put out a new single follow-up to "See Emily Play," Syd came up with "Scream thy Last Scream," which literally sounds like a person losing their mind. It's not hard to see why EMI rejected it, and the follow-up Syd penned tune "Vegetable Man," which also kind of sounds like a guy losing his mind! Don't get me wrong, I love both songs, but the older I get - the more disturbing they sound to me, because you come to hear that this is indeed the sound of a person losing their mind and who needs HELP, which he is not getting. If anything, it seems like something or someone is PUSHING Syd to lose his mind!

Though EMI rejected Syd's newer, demented sounding tunes, it's interesting to ponder just what they were expecting from the Floyd when signing them in early 1967. The first single "Arnold Layne" was not yet released, and so the Floyd was mostly famous at the time for being the best underground band to take drugs to while hanging out at the hip UFO club during an all-night rave. They were known for long jam sessions, and so one wonders who at EMI decided this was a band that was going to produce years and years of digestable pop hits? This paradox seems to get passed off as "well, it was the 60s! Nobody really knew what they were doing!"

Let's not forget that Pink Floyd's first album was recorded just down the hall from the Beatles, while they were recording their most psychedelic work to date, "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." EMI WANTED this kind of music put out, but perhaps Syd just took that aspect further than EMI expected, and so became a liability rather than "the psychedelic golden goose" they tried to mold him into.

It’s awfully considerate of you to think of me here
And I’m most obliged to you for making it clear, that I’m not here
And I never knew the moon could be so big
And I never knew the moon could be so blue
And I’m grateful that you threw away my old shoes
And brought me here instead dressed in red
And I’m wondering who could be writing this song

I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
And I don’t care if nothing is mine
And I don’t care if I’m nervous with you
I’ll do my loving in the winter

And the sea isn’t green
And I love the Queen
And what exactly is a dream?
And what exactly is a joke?

The general consensus regarding the above "Jugband Blues" lyrics is that this is as close as Syd gets to telling you exactly what is going on in his world at this crucial time in Floyd history. I tend to agree, and so my big "Syd Theory" is not so different than most. Mine just takes things a few steps further, and it was while watching the promotional video for this song where it really hit me.

The promotional video for the song "Jugband Blues" is one of the great gems of the psychedelic era, if decidedly sad. It was filmed in December of 1967, which was just weeks or perhaps even days before Syd's "fatal trip" with Prince Stash [assuming the story is real, of course]. Everything from the colors, to the lights, the movements, even the expressions on everyone's face...Maybe it's just me, but everyone in the video seems to know what is going on, which is basically some type of energy transition ritual.

We are told the video was actually lost for years, then resurfaced in 1999. It was curiously recorded at The Central Office of Information (COI), a UK government's marketing and communications agency...established in 1946 as the successor to the wartime Ministry of Information, when individual government departments resumed responsibility for information policy. I don't know what this means exactly, that the Jugband Blues promo video was recorded at some sort of Government Intelligence agency, but it certainly doesn't hurt any number of conspiracy theories regarding deep state involvment with manufacturing drug and music culture!

I think it is worth mentioning here as well that there are multiple examples of what I would call possible efforts to control the narrative around Syd and his demise. The implication there being that the truth about Syd has never been fully disclosed, and that some effort has been made by players directly in the know, to mislead the public by exploiting "the legend of Syd." It's also been a brilliant way for Pink Floyd to sell more albums. For example:

1 Pink Floyd's exploitation of Syd's sad story by way of "homage" [Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Wish You Were Here, the character of Pink from the Wall]

2 The general history of the military and intelligence organizations distributing and dosing people both witting, and unwitting for both military and cultural engineering purposes.

3 Prince Stash, and his disturbing tale, seeming to provide the "missing puzzle piece" in the story of Syd's tragic demise. It should be noted that Stash is very interested in the occult and alchemy, which Syd also started getting into around the time of their trip to the Black Mountains - though we know he already had an interest in Eastern Religions.

4 The utter lack of interviews with Syd explaining himself [despite tons of early Floyd footage], the missing Top of the Pops footage [supposedly showing his worst public meltdown], the long missing Jugband Blues promo footage [which took some 30 years to "magically re-appear"], Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon's seemingly intentional mis-dating of the film "Syd Barrett's First Trip."

I'm not going to try really hard to interpret the lyrics to "Jugband Blues," but I think in combination with the video, we can observe some logical generalities...

There is a feeling of not being in control of one's life, situation, or even body. ["And I’m wondering who could be writing this song"] Dissociation. Psychosis. You can see these elements in Syd's facial expressions and movements. These mannerisms might appear common in the eccentric 1980s New Wave era, but here I don't think it's an act.

As far as the rest of the band, I detect a great deal of guilt and sadness in Richard Wright's facial expressions. Almost weeping at moments. Nick Mason plods away in a more tragic sort of dissociated state - like someone chopping a body up and trying to keep from losing their marbles by just plodding robotically along. Whereas Roger seems more determined. "Let's just get this done!"

Then the clunky sounding horns come in, like a sort of nightmare orchestra, providing the soundtrack to some type of terrible inevitability, followed by a fusion of vibrating lights and sound, accompanied with a trance-inducing chant: "la la la la la la la la..."

I don't know if it happened in one terrible moment, in several terrible moments, or if it even happened at all this way - but it seems to me that what is being depicted in the Jugband Blues video is Syd's soul, his ESSENCE, is being robbed of him, and absorbed into the band. This is why Syd's energy continues to haunt the group for so many years after he leaves. This is why all Floyd's future success always seems to have Syd's shadow lurking around it. And this is why Syd looked so bad and hollow for so many years leading up to his death. This would likely involve some sort of Black Magic, and I think a story like Prince Stash's is a subtle admission, which probably leaves a whole lot out.

This very endeavor, to understand Syd, to worship his tragedy, to get sucked into the mystery, it is all part of the same dark spell which sucked him up - and continues to drain the essence of whatever part of his being is left out there in the unverse.

God rest your soul, Roger Keith Barrett.

SOURCES:

Atagong.com
Wikipedia
Youtube
Nigel Lesmoir-Gordan Interview sydbarrett.com
Melody Maker Magazine
Mojo Magazine
New Musical Express/Nick Kent
Joe Boyd Interview
Nick Mason Interview [John Edginton Documentaries]
Rick Wright Interview [John Edginton Documentaries]
"The PINK FLOYD AND SYD BARRETT STORY”
BBC/Radio 1/Top of the Pops
David Gale interview
A Saucerful of Secrets [biography]
Albion Dreaming: A Popular History of LSD in Britain
Prince Stanislas Stash Klossowski De Rola interviews

This blog was researched, written, and continues to be maintained by 1 person. If you enjoyed it and would like to encourage more of them, donations can be made by clicking the button below.

PART 1

PART 2

Related blogs:

ACID, MUSIC, MINDCRIME

THE REAL SGT PEPPER

THE QUEEN'S REICH

Syd Barrett: Follow the Acid [PT 2]

"[Syd] just looked straight through me, barely acknowledged me that I was there...He’d definitely turned a corner into madness...maybe his friends who’d been with him every day didn’t notice, but I saw a tremendous change.” - David Gilmore, recollecting a May 1967 encounter

One of the great difficulties in understanding exactly what caused Syd Barrett's tragic demise is that we don't really have a clear explanation from HIM, in his own words. The paradox in that observation seems to be contained within the assumed "fact" that his diminished mental state would have directly compromised his ability to articulate such things. I would imagine that this widely acknowledged breakdown of his would have resulted in at least a few revealing ramblings which we could today point back towards. Then again, it's probably naive to expect someone's "mental breakdown" to retroactively provide answers we are looking for today.

What we do have is a 1971 interview exerpt from Melody Maker, in which Syd seems to address the issue of his exit from the band in about as much detail as I have found so far:

"...I suppose it was really just a matter of being a little offhand about things. We didn't feel there was one thing which was gonna make the decision at the minute. I mean, we did split up, and there was a lot of trouble. I don't think the Pink Floyd had any trouble, but I had an awful scene, probably self-inflicted, having a mini and going all over England and things. Still...I only know the thing of playing, of being a musician, was very exciting. Obviously, one was better off with a silver guitar with mirrors and things all over it than people who ended up on the floor or anywhere else in London."

As short and vague as the above quote is, it does echo much of the accepted narrative regarding his exit from the group. For example:

The word "offhand" echos Nick Mason's testimony, which states the band would deal with a problem by generally pretending it didn't exist. Until finally, they dealt with the "Syd problem" by not picking him up for practice one day.

Syd seems to put the blame squarly upon his own shoulders through the "self-inflicted" wording. Tying into that is his reference to going around England in a mini [a "mini" is a type of car]. This echoes rumors that he drove around following Pink Floyd to their shows just after being fired, so it sounds like he may be confirming that.

Finally, he sees himself as "only know[ing] the thing of playing, of being a musician," which lines up with the narrative that his "mental breakdown" was at least partially the result of pressure from EMI to put out "hits" and basically have the Floyd behave more like a "commercial" band. Syd's inner artist was, by many accounts, at odds with the rapidly growing commercial interest in the group - although he obviously loved the idea of being a "rock star" initially.

ACID PUSHERS IN BRITAIN

"According to Floyd friend and graphic designer Pearce Marchbank, Britain’s “whole 60s culture” could be traced back to the art schools - “the laboratories that were making rock musicians and designers and painters.” Notting Hill became to London more or less what the Haight was to San Francisco, or the East Village to New York" - Albion Dreaming

It's interesting to note that all members of the Pink Floyd were actually studying to be architects in the 60s. That is, except Syd, who was in art school and was the primary creative force in the group. Following the line of thinking contained within Marchbank's quote above, I'm wondering, was Syd "made in a laboratory" [art school] and put into a musical vehicle, as a sort of continuation of LSD experiements, much like those carried out by British intelligence in other contexts the previous decade? It's a fair question given all of the influencial individuals with all sorts of connections who ran knee deep into London's "Swinging 60s" counterculture movement. Many of whom mingled directly with Syd and company at the infamous 101 Cromwell Road location.

[R.D.Laing, prominent advocate for LSD in pychiatric treatment during London's "Swinging 60s," once recommended to Syd by Roger Waters]

[Michael Hollingshead was a British researcher who studied psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin and LSD, at Harvard University in the mid-20th century.]

According to the book "Albion Dreaming," [A.D.] Ronnie Laing was paid a visit around 1962 by "one of the self-appointed generalissimo-guru-high-priests of the acid revolution". This visitor allegedly revealed a plan to be enacted in America where "a number of people had arranged to distribute 300,000 × 304 μg units of acid (one serious trip) in the form of pills to the 17–20 year olds especially in chosen sections of the Berkley-Bay area" and was sort of pitching the idea to Laing. Meaning: "let's do this in London too!" This visitor is thought to have been Michael Hollingshead. But whoever it was, and given that Laing was working with Tavistock at the time, it seems there was an Intelligence Operation underway to begin dosing the British Public. And while Laing claims he completely declined the proposition, it obviously occured anyway - in the very tangeable form of London's Swinging 60s psychedelic movement.

[Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon, friend and associate of Pink Floyd in the 1960s and beyond. He introduced LSD to Cambridge, according to A.D.]

In early 1965 Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon [NLG] entered the London School of Film Technique, and moved into the infamous 101 Cromwell Road flat in West London. This location became one of the early hubs of LSD distribution and consumption by the hip young individuals of the Swinging 60s scene, including Syd Barrett - who frequented there in 1965, moving into the top floor at some point. Some even state the Pink Floyd rehearsed there at times and that other members of the band may also have lived there - which is odd since none of the other members seemed to share Syd's interest in LSD.

The LSD supply which fueled NLG's 101 Cromwell operation seemed to ultimately come from Michael Hollingshead, through a chain of individuals, writer Alexander Trocchi being one of the major distributors in London at the time. The operation to dose the public was officially on, and London's psychedelic underground scene seemed to coincide with it - as did the appearance, and rapid ascent of the Pink Floyd.

[Alexander Trocchi (1925-1984), one of the first major distributors of LSD in Britain]

["Syd Barrett's First Trip," a silent short film by NLG]

The general entheuthiasm at the time to "take LSD" seemed to manifest itself pretty clearly in NLG's highly amateur film, unambiguisly titled "Syd Barrett's First Trip." Also in this video are Storm Thorgerson [designer of Floyd's album covers] and David Gale [playwright, also lived at 101 Cromwell Road for a time]. The 2nd half of the video seems to have been edited in later, and shows Pink Floyd at the EMI Records building just after having signed a deal in 1967.

”LSD came to Cambridge, and it was absolutely imperative that you take it; you had to whether you wanted or not.” David Gale, playwright and friend of Syd

"There is no way that I could play music and take any kind of drug at the same time." - Richard Wright

To say that taking acid was the "hip" thing to do in this new subculture seems like an understatement. Yet Syd seemed to be the only member of the early Pink Floyd partaking somewhat regularly of it, becoming a form of celebrity or symbol of the counterculture movement occuring around it. By extention, that made Pink Floyd an important vehicle in this short but historically significant era, and Syd appeared to be its Captain. At least, that's how it seemed in the beginning.

[Some of the Pink Floyd's earliest recordings are featured in "Tonight Let's all Make Love in London"]

Their earliest recordings seemed to coincide with the sudden influx of LSD and documentary films which were created specifically to capture [or help manufacture] the Swinging 60s: the films "San Francisco," "London '66-'67," and "Tonight Let's all make Love in London."

[Joe Boyd is an American Record Producer who did Pink Floyd's first single]

An American Record producer by the name of Joe Boyd came to London in 1964 to establish Elektra Record's UK wing [The Doors were on Elektra.] He also helped establish the famous UFO club, where Pink Floyd found their audience and made a name for themsleves. Boyd then pitched the group to Elektra, and their first big deal was in the works. Although Boyd produced "Arnold Lane," the band ended up getting snatched up by the UK based EMI records, who ultimately released it. Right about here is where the trouble with Syd begins to start.

MAY DAY

The "Games for May" Festival was Pink Floyd's first major concert. It is also regarded by some to be Syd's last performance before noticeably changing.

"[Syd] just looked straight through me, barely acknowledged me that I was there...He’d definitely turned a corner into madness...maybe his friends who’d been with him every day didn’t notice, but I saw a tremendous change.” - David Gilmore, after visiting Syd in May 1967

"No one can pinpoint exactly when Syd’s personality changed, but people tend to agree it was around April 1967, when Barrett, then with girlfriend Lindsay Corner, moved to 101 Cromwell Road, a large, dilapidated townhouse in Earl’s Court divided into flats" - Mojo

"My memory is that we were recording a radio-one show at the BBC, and Syd didn’t turn up. I think it was a Friday and no-one could find him. So we waited and waited and I think we had to cancel the recording…and then the managers went off trying to find him. And when they found Syd, which I think was a Sunday or Monday, they told us that “well, something has happened to Syd”, and something HAD happened to him- TOTAL difference. Total difference. And the summary is, and I don’t know, that he was living with a whole sort of community of people [101 Cromwell RD] who were very much believing like Timothy Leary, that acid can…get to the truth and all that stuff. And I think he may have been with this group of people and…he took too much. There were other people said, people were spiking his cups of tea…with acid. I do believe that he took a huge overdose. In my memory that- up into that point, he was outgoing, charming, wonderful, friendly, you name it…wonderful man and…for me it was a huge change, seeing him after that. The “lost weekend” where Syd was lost. Huge change, like he’d gone. He was still looking the same, but he was somewhere else…" - Richard Wright

"We couldn't find him...I mean, telling the BBC erm, sorry, we can't find the lead singer? It was unheard of! You can chart his decline through those 3 weeks. The first one he looks loveley, the last one he looks rough." - Joe Boyd, Mojo

Most of you have no doubt heard all or part of the quotes above - which pinpoint Syd's decline to within a pretty narrow window of 1967. While an overdose on LSD is presumed by many to be a key factor, that is disputed even by some close to and within the group. Where everyone is in agreement is that SOMETHING happened around this time, resulting in a major change in Syd's behavior.

[The 1970s film "the Wicker Man" has gained a cult status among fans of horror, depicting a Pagan community who tricks a visitor into playing their sacrificial lamb, in order to bring forth a successful harvest]

Pink Floyd's first major concert occured on May 12th 1967, where they debuted their as-yet unrecorded 2nd single "See Emily Play." Confusingly, the song is also known as "Games for May," which shares the name of the Festival they debuted the song at - highlighting the presumed importance of the title [or rather the season of May?]. This Festival was signifficant for many reasons - besides being Syd's last "sane" concert and Floyd's new single debut, it featured Britain's first Quadrephonic Concert Sound system, designed by EMI.

I think the significance of May is something worth pondering, from a Pagan Spiritualistic point of view. Was there something larger and more spiritual going on with Syd's situation? Was Syd perhaps being LEAD to some inevitable fate, like the character in the Wicker Man, who ends up playing the starring role in the ironic drama of his own demise?

"And I'm most obliged to you for making it clear that I'm not here..."

[Syd with Pink Floyd on BBC1]

2 days after the Games of May Festival, Pink Floyd appeared on the BBC's "Look of the Week." They perform a song or 2 and are then interviewed briefly. Syd seems perfectly normal and serene.

By July 6th 1967 reports of Syd's off behavior were now well documented, and so the above image still taken from their Top of the Pops appearance that day would seem to be the first video footage of Syd on the decline. To be fair, Syd's displeasure with doing the Top of the Pops is well documented, and so any "off" behavior detected within the above video could easily be attributed to that. However, only the first of these 3 TOTP recordings has seen the light of day, and the July 27th recording is the one we are told Syd did not show up at all to. This seems to be when the problem of Syd's behavior was officially acknowledged by their management. It should also be mentioned that one of these Top of the Pops recordings, I'm guessing the 2nd one on July 13th, was the infamous show where Syd was fed up with his hair and put a ton of hair cream in it, which ended up streaming down his face as he vacantly stared out through the hot lights on stage [The footage showing this is long gone, or othewrwise unavailable as far as I know]. In some versions of this story, Syd is said to have crumbled Mandrax pills into his hair as well - but one begins to wonder where the line between fact and fiction is drawn with these stories, given the passage of time and people's tendency to exagerrate [or forget in some cases].

THE FATAL TRIP

"When he fell off the map, it was as if he committed suicide. Suicides leave waves of guilt behind them…As you can still see I feel guilty about it all to this day. And I’m sure others do too." - Andrew King

"Perhaps he regarded his earlier self as an odd memory, Perhaps he knew it was him and perhaps he knew that if he thought about it too much it made him feel uneasy, which kind of proved it was him…you imagine this rather kind of intimidating figure with a stare. Kind of inhabited by the ghost of his former self, keeping it at bay all the time. Or else you imagine something far sadder and less exciting which is the bloke damaged his brain." - David Gale

There are roughly 2 narratives regarding Syd's mental breakdown/exit from the Floyd:

1 - Syd got too caught up with the LSD crowd at 101 Cromwell Road, and most likely took far too much LSD, either self administered, unwittingly, or both. This either caused perminent mental damage, caused a latent mental condition to manifest itself rapidly, or a combination of the two. An additional addiction to Mandrax, and possibly other drugs, fueled his descent further, even as his former bandmates seemed to try and help him record solo material.

2 - Syd was an artist through and through, and though the idea of being a rockstar/performer appealed to him initially, being locked into a contract with EMI and carrying out the routine of writing hits and touring rock venues nonstop just went against his artistic nature. His rebellion manifested itself in various ways, the most perplexing example being his attempt to show the band a song by the title of "Have You Got it Yet?" This was a song he changed everytime he showed it to the band, and eventually Roger Waters put his bass down and said "yeah. ok I've got it now."

I have a 3rd theory, but will save it for part 3, because it builds off of the last section below.

We are told that the picture on the left above was taken when Syd showed up unannounced to EMI/Abby Road Studios during the recording or mixing of the song "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," which is a song about him. This sad image of Syd partially inspired the character "Pink", in the film "The Wall." What do you suppose is going on in Syd's head in that picture? He looks profoundly lost, as if his soul has been sucked from his body. In fact, we are told it took some time for anyone to recognize him initially. They thought he was some stranger who wandered in, and they were discussing what to do about it just before realizing who he was! Who he...WAS.

[Prince Stanislas Stash Klossowski De Rola – AKA Prince Stash, allegedly accompanied Syd and a few others on his "FATAL" 1967 TRIP]

[Prince Stash, more recently]

I was going to wrap this blog series up here and give my final theory on Syd's demise, until I came across this extraordinary bit of footage of a man I had never heard of before, Prince Stanislas Stash Klossowski De Rola, aka Prince Stash. You can look him up for yourself, and you will find his life history is about as extravagant as his name suggests. I'm going to end part 2 with a story he seemed to begin telling around the year 2011. He has told it at least 2 more times since then, most recently last year [2024].

"I met Syd Barrett at the end of [19]67, we were invited with Nigel and Jenny Lesmoire Gordon, [and] this girlfriend of mine - we all went to spend the new years transition '67 to '68 at the house in the Black Mountains of Wales belonging to the management of Pink Floyd...we decided to take this fatal acid trip. Syd had a girlfriend that happened to be a strange vibe in this group of people."

"At some point Syd and I were jousting…on this trip like medieval knights [laughs] and at one point I remember that I lost my focus within the trip which was very much a magical dimension. We found ourselves in a room…it was like a nursery. It had padded walls, lined with acetate satin. Bright colors gold and red…And there was [a] bunch of toys…in this VISION room we found ourselves in. And I looked over across this nursery. There was this huge life-sized teddybear. And on top of the teddybear was Syd’s head…"

"And then we came out of it, but Syd, part of Syd’s being remained in that weird room. To the point where Syd was suddenly acting...he was looking at me and he picked up this acoustic guitar. Somehow he played completely out of tune, very badly. And he sang out of tune, “she loves you yeah yeah yeah!” You know like that. And was acting really weird and his girlfriend said “what’s the matter with you Syd you look like some wierd big Teddy bear!” And that struck [him] and it was so bizarre because he never ever came down from that and then the consequences of everything that happened, happened from that moment on..."

This blog was researched, written, and continues to be maintained by 1 person. If you enjoyed it and would like to encourage more of them, donations can be made by clicking the button below.

PART 1

Related blogs:

ACID, MUSIC, MINDCRIME

THE REAL SGT PEPPER

THE QUEEN'S REICH

Syd Barrett: Follow the Acid [PT 1]

Most people have heard of Pink Floyd, one of the most popular British rock bands of all time. But fewer are familiar with their early days, which were very much tied to the 1960s underground British psychedelic movement. In contrast to the somewhat faceless monolithic hit making machine we are more familiar with, the early Floyd had a very clear face, personality, frontman/sex symbol: Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett

Syd seemed to achieve mythical Rock Star status in Britain's underground before most people even knew the moon had a side which was always dark. His exit from the group in 1968 due to some kind of personal decline only fed the mystique more, and to this day nobody seems to know exactly what happened to him. The "Syd myth" was further propagated by the band itself over the years following his exit, within songs like "Wish You Were Here," "Shine on you Crazy Diamond," and many aspects of the Rock Opera "The Wall."

In cliche Rock history, our heroes must typically die before we elevate them to a certain legendary status. But in this case, our hero checked out "mentally," yet persisted physically all the way up to the year 2003 - managing to be "dead" to the world in a sense for all those years. It's actually a very sad story, a cautionary tale which is still being pondered, and who's moral probably has yet to be completely discerned.

LSD IN BRITAIN

Most reading this are probably somewhat aware of LSD's prominent role in the 1960s Psychedelic Hippy Movement and San Francisco's "Summer of Love." Some of you might even remember a statement by Acid Guru Timothy Leary:

["I give the CIA a total credit for sponsoring and initiating the entire consciousness movement counterculture events of the 1960s...The CIA funded and supported and encouraged hundreds of young psychiatrists to experiment with this drug..."]

But how many of you knew that LSD was also being used by Britain's military intelligence on both witting and unwitting participants in the 1960s AND EARLIER? A fascinating book called "Albion Dreaming: A Popular History of LSD in Britain" by Andy Roberts sheds light upon this previously murky history, leading up to the 1960s counterculture movement of Britain's underground - where Pink Floyd originally emerged. But before getting into the latter, I wanted to go back in history and attempt to trace Syd's "fatal dose" to its origin.

M.O.D. - The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serves as the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. - wiki

MOD - Mod, from the word modernist, is a subculture that began in late 1950s London and spread throughout Great Britain, eventually influencing fashions and trends in other countries. - wiki

J.I.B. - A "Joint Intelligence Bureau" (JIB) or "Joint Intelligence Center" (JIC) is a centralized intelligence gathering and analysis unit within a country's military, often operating at the strategic level. - Google

The original motivation behind both the USA and Britain's intelligence services taking an interest in LSD seems to stem from fears regarding Russia's then apparent lead, in using it as some sort of "truth serum" or other military application. LSD needed to be better understood and incorporated into the arsenal so that Russia would not have an "upper hand" militarily speaking, I suppose.

According to Albion Dreaming [AD], the first person to bring LSD into Britain was a psychiatrist named Ronnie Sandison, who worked at Worchester’s Powick Hospital. In September of 1952 he accepted an offer to tour the Swiss Mental Hospital Sandoz, where he discussed with an Albert Hoffman, the results of tests they'd been conducting upon patients there, dosed with LSD. Apparently this was all very exciting breakthrough medicine to Sandison, and upon completion of his 2nd visit a couple months later, Hoffman sent him home with a gift: a box of ampoules, each containing 100 μg of LSD, under the trade name Delysid.

[Ronald Sanison [1916-2010) "Pychiatrist who pioneered the clinical use of LSD in Britain and remained convinced of it's benefits" - The Daily Telegraph]

[Albert Hoffman (1906-2008) "the Father of LSD" - New York Times.]

Around the same time, a colleague of Sandison's named Dr. Joel Elkes was also exploring LSD's potential outside of Powick. In 1951 Elkes founded Birmingham University’s Department of Experimental Psychology and had a special interest in the effects of drugs on consciousness. In 1956 Sandison approached Birmingham University to host/fund a special LSD unit, which they were suspiciously quick to support. Sandison seemed to believe that Dr Elkes was the main reason the LSD unit got such quick and vast funding, though he didn't know what his motives were in supporting it. Unbeknownst to Sandison at the time, Dr Elkes had connections to the M.O.D., who considered Dr Elkes an expert in the field. It seems likely that his motivation in pushing LSD research was probably linked to a covert operation within the M.O.D.

[Dr. Joel Elkes (1913-2015) "A pioneer of neuropsychopharmacology" - The Pharmaceudical Journal]

"A 1956 M.O.D. report titled “Abreactive Drugs”, prepared for the Defence Research Policy Committee, notes LSD first came to the attention of the Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB) “some 4 years ago. This formal discussion about LSD took place during Professor Henry Beecher’s visit to Britain in the spring of 1952. The Harvard Professor of Anaesthesiology had a controversial involvement with psychedelic drugs, having first been involved in secret CIA mescaline experiments in Germany after World War II. Beecher saw a role for these drugs and wanted to spread the word among the Allied intelligence agencies." -AD

PHASE I: LABORATORY TESTS

Britain's first military LSD tests were carried out at Porton Down, commissioned by the Secret Intelligence Services (SIS) also known as MI6. This facility on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire carried out research into chemical weapons since its founding in 1916. During these LSD trials of 1953-54, Sandoz was the only known manufacturer of the drug, over in Basel, Switzerland. Yes, the same Sandoz who's Dr Albert Hoffman gave Ronnie Sandison a free box of LSD right about that same time - and who continued to donate free LSD to Sandison until he left Powick in 1964.

"We stopped the trials ... when it was reported that in a few people it might produce suicidal tendencies." - Harry Collumbine, Porton Down Scientist

[A nerve agent trial at Porton Down - Historyworkshop.org.uk]

"The whole area of chemical research was an active field in the 1950s. I was co-operating with MI6 in a joint programme to investigate how far the hallucinatory drug LSD could be used in interrogations, and extensive trials took place at Porton. I even volunteered as a guinea pig on one occasion" - Peter Wright, ex-MI5 Operative

Both Collumbine and Dr Elkes were present during a November 23rd 1955 meeting in which Elkes mentions the responses of subjects to 50–100 μg of LSD who were "quite unaware they'd been given anything." A transcript of the meeting states: "Dr. Collumbine was of the opinion that subjects to whom the drug had been administered without their knowledge were affected to the extent that their reactions were beyond their control when subjected to interrogation by a skilled interrogator experienced in the application of this drug." This "minor detail" of subjects who were drugged without being informed beforehand seems to go unmentioned in the Department of Experimental Psychology archives.

A Professor Gaddum stated "a few doses did not cause problems with the testing of human subjects, but repeated doses might produce an IRREVERSABLE EFFECT." This seems to have lead to a brief pause in the LSD experiments, until it was decided to resume in 1961 after subjects had been properly screened ahead of time. The implication being that certain individuals of a certain psychological profile were more prone to adverse reaction to LSD than others. That's funny, don't remember any of my friends mentioning that when I was a young Acid-Head!

Sandison reported in his 1964 paper that: “We have found that about one half of our cases required extensive rehabilitation involving the establishment of a new set of conditioned social responses.” Does this sound like a drug that should be freely given out indiscriminently to the general public?

Many other doctors in Britain were treating their patients with LSD by the mid 50s - like Roffey Park in Surrey, the Marlborough Day Hospital and Guy’s Hospital in London, Netley Hospital in Southampton, Bromley Psychiatric clinic and others.

PHASE II: MILITARY FIELD CONDITIONS

The inital phase of British LSD reseach seemed to be mostly restricted to laboratory environments - where it was determined that the drug could cause people to lose control of their own reactions to stimuli. It was also found that certain individuals suffered IRREVERSABLE effects, and even induced suicidal tendencies in others. Although specific responses seemed to be a bit elusive so far, the drug was clearly an incapacitating agent. So the next step was to observe how it would affect troops out in the field.

[James Ketchum (1931-2019) a psychiatrist and U.S. Army Medical Corps officer who worked for almost a decade (1960–1969) on the U.S. military’s top secret psychochemical warfare program at the Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, which researched chemicals to be used to "incapacitate the minds" of adversaries.]

Between November and December of 1964, Operartion Moneybags took place at Porton Down. 41 Royal Marine Commandos were filmed in order to observe their responses on LSD during field conditions. A psychiatrist named Ketchum saw the footage, and commented: “No doubt about it – LSD could disrupt even the most elite troops…“ [It is worth noting that Ketchum worked at America's Edgewood Arsenal, a chemical warefare facility where Francis Vincent Zappa, father of Frank, also worked for a time.]

Despite the questionable ethics of these trials, Moneybags was considered a success. Operation Recount was then initiated in 1966, the year LSD was made illegal in Britain. And if you are a Beatles fan, this is also about the same time they began pushing drug use in their music. It's also the year "Paul is Dead" rumors began, incidentally.

During Operation Recount, men from the Royal Artillery's 37th Heavy Air Defense Regiment were not told what drug they would be given or what affects it might have upon them. This was done specifically to observe how they would respond to being caught off guard by the drug.

The US Army supplied Porton Down with 20 grams of LSD from December 1965 to June 1966. Since the M.O.D. claims only of handful of individuals were involved, and that these experiments ceased entirely by 1969, A.D. asks the question "what happened to the stockpile of LSD Porton must have held at the end of the Sixties?"

The detrimental effects of these tests upon human subjects seems to have been vastly downplayed, or completely unmentioned in government documents concerning Porton Down's activities during this time frame.

"In 1953 and 1954 the Secret Intelligence Service commissioned Porton Down to conduct tests on military service volunteers, and also on Porton scientists themselves, to examine their reactions to LSD." - Secretary of State for Defence, Jack Straw

The reason we know what we do about these covert tests, and that they even existed at all, is probably due to pressure upon the British Government and British Intelligence entities for more transparency. Operation Antler was initiated to investigate allegations of malfeasance at Porton Down. Though we know much more today than people did many years ago, the full extent of experiments sponsored by the intelligence services in the early Fifties remains cloaked in mystery.

[Ronald David Laing (1927-1989)"The Psychiatrist who wanted to make madness normal" - BBC

PHASE III: THE GENERAL PUBLIC

In 1956, Ronald Laing got a grant to train at the Tavistock Clinic in London, widely known as a centre for the study and practice of psychotherapy (particularly psychoanalysis). He remained at the Tavistock Clinic until 1964. He also spent a couple of years as a psychiatrist in the British Army Psychiatric Unit at Netley.

Laing's time at Tavistock is noteworthy here, as it was (and probably still is) a major think tank that was likely behind the Beatles and "The British Invasion". For more on this, see the book "Tavistock Institute: Social Engineering the Masses," or check out the work of Mike Williams aka "Sage of Quay" on Rumble.com.

In 1960 Laing was given his first dose of LSD by a Dr Richard Gelfer, who believed it mimicked psychosis. Laing was so impressed that he immediately began using it on (and with) his patients, becoming one of the many Doctors utilizing LSD in their therapy sessions (or whatever you want to call them). One patient remarked, "dropping acid with R.D. Laing was both exhilarating and liberating".

R.D. Laing seemed to have become one of the first Doctors in Britain to connect, in a very public way, with the LSD counterculture - even partaking of the Swinging London nightlife and various counter culture events. The hype seemed to peak when he treated the then very famous James Bond actor, Sean Connery.

Given all of the above, the question comes to mind, "was Syd Barrett simply another casualty in the next phase of inhumane LSD experiments upon people?" I've heard theories on his demise approached from just about every angle EXCEPT this one, so we will dive into that in part 2.

This blog was researched, written, and continues to be maintained by 1 person. If you enjoyed it and would like to encourage more of them, donations can be made by clicking the button below.

PART 2

Related blogs:

ACID, MUSIC, MINDCRIME

THE REAL SGT PEPPER

THE QUEEN'S REICH

Paul is Dead (In Seattle?) [PT 3]

Someone recently asked me, "why does it matter if Paul McCartney is actually dead and was secretly replaced?" I responded by first asking if she believed the Beatles had a profound impact upon our culture, which was a rhetorical question.

You don't have to have been alive when the Beatles were still around to recognize their influence upon the major cultures of the world. There is plenty of documented history illustrating this fact for anyone to see who chooses to look into it.

They had us singing "all you need is love", while encouraging us the experience [L]ucy in the [S]ky with [D]iamonds. John Lennon got the press comparing the Beatle's popularity with that of Jesus Christ. George Harrison got people chanting "Hari Krisna" who had never even heard of Hinduism. Songs like "Revolution 9," "Imagine," and "Give Peace a Chance" convinced the listening audience that they could change the world. Then there was Charles Manson, who's "Manson Murders" were often associated with his decidedly unhealthy intepretation of Beatles lyrics.

I suppose you can't blame fans for experiencing a bit of cognative dissonance when unexpectedly confronted with the possibility that the "peace, love, and freedom" they thought was integral to it all was actually a deliberate form of covert mass mind control. It's understandable that the knee jerk reaction to information like this is typically, "yeah I don't buy all that, I just like the music." But as I told my friend - you can't make an INFORMED decision about something you haven't taken a sincere look into.

We're not talking about the existence of Alien grays from outer space here - or whether George Bush Sr was a shape shifting reptilian being. We're talking about a mountain of evidence suggesting that Paul is Dead. So I guess my answer to the original question is that if the individuals producing massive cultural phenomenons such as Beatlemania are willing to kill one of their own in an elaborate sacrificial manner, replace him, then tell us all about it in code - shouldn't they be investigated for their exceedingly depraved criminal acts, rather than being worshipped and rewarded continuously for their occult art? Shouldn't we maybe re-evaluate our own participation in this cultural phemoninon?

Don't get me wrong, I love the music of the Beatles, maybe even more than the average fan. But it is possible to appreciate the music while also acknowledging the fact that most of the popular media we consume and assimilate into our lives is largely propaganda on some level. It doesn't mean that real people with real feelings weren't involved, but it does complicate the once blissfully simple state of being "just a fan." All I am ultimately suggesting here is for people to think about this stuff for a minute and consider the implications.

WHERE IS PAUL BURIED?

In PART 2 I get into Sharon Clemon's incredible book "Forbidden Fruit," which appears to crack many mysteries surrounding Biological Paul's death in 1966. She traces it to America's Pacific Northwest, of all places. Even designating Seattle as a major location in this elaborate puzzle.

Why don't we do it in the road? No one will be watching us

The Beatle's song "Why don't we do it in the Road" is a "Paul is Dead" [PID] song, according to "The Memoires of Billy Shears" [TMOBS]. Sharon Clemons believes that the song itself is describing the STAGED car accident regarding Paul's death, done out in the open [he blew his mind out in a car]. This happened of course on the "long and winding road" mentioned in the previous blog, CR 9205, just East of Seattle.

Paul, [is] really dead, I really want it out!

The above message can be heard during the song "Why don't we do it in the Road" when played backwards, at the 0:49 second mark.

Another song with encoded PID messages is of course "Strawberry Fields Foerever." Ever wonder what those strange noises at the end of the song are? According to Clemons, sounds of a moving train can be heard while John says "I Buried Paul" [masked with the phrase "cranberry sauce," which is a bit creepy when you consider the color and consistency of cranberry sauce]. The "train" sounds may not be as obvious as the the bus drive-by in "Magical Mystery Tour," but I'd say it's at least plausible. And if so, where is the train going and what is the significance?

During the very strange video for "Strawberry Fields Forever," we see the Beatles preparing a piano to be hung from a tree, it's "internal organs" [inner strings] torn out, and eventually used to hang itself. This is similar in concept to the video for "Blue Jay Way," where a Cello is more or less "sacrificed" and set on fire. The videos are quite odd, and don't seem to make much sense. Until you assume that the instruments being "sacrificed" are actually metaphors for biological Paul, and what happened to him.

You might recall a somewhat Monty Python-esque scene from the "Blue Jay Way" video, where 3 of the Beatles come out of nowhere and start tossing a ball around as if it's a hot potato. Meanwhile, John is off in the backround madly fiddling a cello, almost like he's trying to cut it in half with the bow.

If the cello represents a body, what does the ball represent?

During the video for "Strawberry Fields" we get a few close-up shots of the members of the band. According to Sharon Clemons, Biological Paul's eyes were brown and William Shepard's are green. Here you can clearly see, his eyes appear to be hazel blue-green.

If you spend some time looking around on the internet, you will see some images of pre-1966 Paul with dark brown eyes, but also some with a similar color to William's. Sharon Clemons believes many old pictures of Paul have been "doctored up" to match William's.

I could easily fill this entire blog with PID information limited to the one album, "Abbey Road." But as it applies here, we need only look at the cover. John represents the priest for a funeral. Ringo is the undertaker. Paul is the corpse, which is why he is the only one with no shoes. He's also got his right foot forward, as opposed to all the other members. George is the gravedigger.

Abbey Road is the street that EMI records' main studio was on. That is where the Beatles were "born," and so I guess they are leaving to go bury Paul and "die" in this picture?

My baby says she's trav'ling on the one after 909
I said move over honey I'm travelling on that line
I said move over once, move over twice
Come on baby don't be cold as ice.

The song "One after 909" seems to be another reference to a train and Paul's death. The "woman" refered to in the song is actually a thinly veiled reference to Paul, who'd be dead and "cold as ice" at this point. According to Clemons [and Wikipedia], the Northern Pacific Railroad line ran ALCO diesel-electric locomotives between Spokane and Seattle, marked with numbers 900-917.

So we sailed on to the sun
'Til we found a sea of green
And we lived beneath the waves
In our yellow submarine

[Hood Canal, just West of Seattle]

Hood Canal is a body of water which is part of the "Salish Sea." The canal's green color is due to the presence of photoplankton, which shrouds itself in round, shiny plates of calcite. When they are plentiful and the sun shines upon them, the water appears a brilliant green or greenish-blue.

The US Naval Submarine Base-Bangor was also located along Hood Canal at the time "Yellow Submarine" was written. We also find a place called "Octopus Hole" in this same location.

THE OCTOPUS GARDEN

[Screenshot from the Beatle's 1988 Rock and Roll hall of fame induction ceremony]

In person The Beatles had a way of striking the perfect balance between humor, sincerity, intelligence, and sarcasm. This trend continues in their 1988 Hall of Fame induction speech, despite the lack of John and Paul's presence. During the ceremony, George and Ringo have a particularly interesting exchange, relavant to the topic at hand.

Early during George's speech he jokes "it's unfortunate that Paul's not here because he was the one who had the speech in his pocket." While the audience is laughing at that, Ringo asks "and why didn't we play "Octopus' Garden?" To which George responds "we'll talk about that later." George then takes a more somber tone and states "we all know why John can't be here...it's hard really to stand here supposedly representing the Beatles. It's what's left I'm afraid...we all loved him [John] so much and we all love Paul very much"

The song "Octopus's Garden" plays a strong role in Sharon Clemon's book on the topic of PID, but for the moment let's just take note of the cryptic reference to the song just after George states that Paul is not present.

After acknowledging the fact that John is dead, George refers to the individuals in attendance when he says "it's what's left I'm afraid." Now think about that statement for a second...If Paul was indeed still alive in 1988, why is George referring to himself and Ringo as "what's left" of the Beatles? George said Paul couldn't make it, he didn't say he was DEAD! But of course, if Paul WAS in fact dead, George's statement would make perfect sense! He then states that "we all loved him [John] so much" [past tense] "and we all love Paul" [present tense]. Now, the fact that George said "we all love Paul" in the present tense, doesn't necesarilly assume Paul was still living at the time. I'm sure many of us still "love" [present tense] people who are no longer alive. Many people "love" Jimi Hendrix [present tense], for example, even though he's been dead since 1970. Was George spilling the beans right in our faces while we were completely oblivious?

We would be warm below the storm
In our little hideaway beneath the waves
Resting our head on the seabed
In an octopus's garden near a cave

[Apparently, Octopus build "gardens" out of stones for protection. I'm not sure if the image above depicts Octopus' clinging to stones or their huge eggs, but it gives a good visual concerning the concept of an "octopus garden" and how it got it's name.]

Hood Canal is where Octopus Hole is. Octopus Hole is in Mason county [hmm, Mason?] This is where a “Octopus Garden” can be found, as described in the song of the same name. Octopus’ like to gather stones on a lake bed. Given all of the refences in the PID conspiracy to Paul being decapitated, Sharon Clemons seems to think Paul's head might have ended up down in this place. Is this the cryptic reference Ringo and George are making in their 1988 induction speech? With this in mind, consider the line "resting our head on the seabed" from the song "Octopus' Garden"...

In the video for "Yellow Submarine," taken from the film of the same name, there is an odd moment where we see 2 Pauls. One which is in the submarine with the rest of the band, and the HEAD of Paul seen through a window with a GREEN background. Is this symbolising that Paul's head is outside the submarine, within the "sea of green?" The presence of "2 Pauls" simply indicates that William is playing the role of Paul inside the submarine.

We would sing and dance around
Because we know, we can't be found

We would shout and swim about
The coral that lies beneath the waves (lies beneath the ocean waves)
Oh, what joy for every girl and boy
Knowing they're happy, and they're safe (happy, and they're safe)

Sharon Clemons further suggests that the lyrics to "Octopus's Garden" references the "hiding place" of Paul's decapitated head. But why would his head be buried seperate from his body? Perhaps if his body had been found in the Stawberry Fields, the head would be missing and so it'd be harder to identify? The head would be "safe" and "can't be found" beneath the waves.

My question regarding the above is that if they didn't want the body or the head being found, why didn't they just burn them? Perhaps that wouldn't be as easy of a task as one would think in 1966, but I'd think that destroying the evidence would have been a consideration? Of course, it's easy to forget that we are dealing with very sick and evil minds, so the symbolic/ritualistic aspect of all of this would surely be a factor in all respects. Logic and reasoning only goes so far when trying to understand the actions of twisted individuals.

SHOOT ME

Shoot me
Right!
Come, come, come, come, come
He roller-coaster, he got early warnin'
He got muddy water, he one mojo filter
He say, "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-lookin' 'cause he's so hard to see

We took a look at the lyrics to the first song on Abbey Road, "Come Together," from the PID perspective in part 2, but there are many more clues I didn't point out that are more relavant here.

The title itself indicates that we "come together" over Paul. In order to do that, he'd have to be on or in the ground. Dead and lying down at a funeral perhaps, as the album cover hints?

I still can't believe I never noticed that they say "shoot me" at the beginning of this song! I just thought it was some funny noise they were making, like "shush!" [Using voice to create sound effects was common in 60s psychedelic music after all] This in itself shows that there is something very odd about this song! When does someone say "shoot me?" This is something someone who wants to die would say. Why would John or Paul or any other Beatle want to die? Was something WORSE than death happening?

Water down at the bottom of an Octopus Garden would be thick with sediment, where silt stays a long time before settling, with little to no current. If you were down there people would say you "got muddy water."

"mojo filter" plays off of a similar line we examined in part 2, "ju-ju eyeball." These both can be considered voodoo or black magic terminology. If Paul is a "mojo filter" I guess that means the voodoo is absorbed through him at some point?

"Early Warnin" might indicate what William states in TMOBS, which is that Paul knew his death was coming ahead of time.

"one and one and one is 3," the number of Beatles left after Paul is dead.

"Got to be good lookin cause he so hard to see" is not a line I feel I've confidentally cracked, but the "good lookin" could reference Paul's face. Paul was known early on as "the cute Beatle." Murky muddy water could account for him being "so hard to see."

THE P.I.D. MOSAIC

It would be nice, paradise
In an octopus' garden in the shade
-early rehearsal version of "Octopus' Garden"

According to Clemons' book, Skagit and Whatcom county produce the most strawberries in Washington State. The town of Ferndale [Whatcom County] was mostly farmland in the 1960s, and probably had [and still has] lots of Strawberry Fields. Ferndale also has a cemetary, located at the cross of Paradise Rd and Abbey Road. Now you might be thinking, "who cares, lots of places have streets/roads with those names!" Sure, but do they also have a record of land ownership by someone named William Campbell?

When I first started reading TMOBS, I mentioned it to a friend who also happens to be a Beatles fan. Like most Beatles fans, he'd heard of the "myth," and even the name "William Campbell." Now, I don't recall hearing the name William Campbell until my friend mentioned it. But it turns out this was the name originally rumored to be that of Paul's replacement back in October of 1969. This rumor can be traced back to an article written by a Fred LaBour, who later claimed he made the name up. But was all of this a ruse consistent with the "car accident" narrative?

Like a large detailed mosaic, the PID picture must be viewed from a distance to fully appreciate. And while I find much of this compelling, there is a fatigue that kicks in when I spend too much time on it, and that's when I must step back for a bit. It is when I come back from such a break that the picture is most clear and perhaps less tainted by the mesmerizing fascination that can come with this type of research.

You might think that I prescribe to most of the theories I've outlined here, but that is not necesarilly true. While I find much of it very compelling and endlessly entertaining, I am fully aware that there might be an elaborate game being played with my mind and many others. The extent and detail put into this "game" by William, the Beatles, or whoever, is proof enough that SOMETHING very odd is going on, and has been going on with the Beatles for many years. It is this GAME, this riddle itself I am most curious about. While much of this cannot be proven, I believe the riddle itself has been revealed to exist, and this begs a whole other set of questions, due to the massive scale of it all.

Put aside your beliefs about whether Paul is dead or not, and just ask yourself who in the hell was able to plant all of this information within the Beatles' music, album art, videos, and other media? And who could possibly reveal it all in such a detailed manner, and so many years later, but a person directly involved? I don't know if I even believe it is possible for anyone to have come up with the material in Billy's book, Clemon's book, and possibly even Mike Williams' videos - without the designer of this great riddle having helped them out. I think this riddle was intended to be revealed many years AFTER. In other words, now. But why? Why why why???

This blog was researched, written, and continues to be maintained by 1 person. If you enjoyed it and would like to encourage more of them, donations can be made by clicking the button below.

PART 1

PART 2

Related blogs:

THE REAL SGT PEPPER

THE QUEEN'S REICH