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

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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..."

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PART 1

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