Syd Barrett's Sister Talks

Some mid-60s artwork by Syd Barrett

Here you can find a recent interview by the late Syd Barrett's sister Rosemary, deconstructing some of those popular myths in circulation about Barrett's post-musical life, but still probably only adding some more to the enigma of Syd Barrett.

It seems, for example, that one could not actually diagnose Barrett as mentally insane but more likely suffering from some sort of autism which made him quite awkward with any social contacts and rather to revert to his own inner world. Also, it becomes all the more obvious that Barrett's late-60s breakdown had far more complicated reasons than his reported huge LSD use; the strains of music business and heavy workload of extensive gigging and recording further contributing to the shattering of a sensitive, introverted mind. And one can speculate endlessly what effect such crucial events reported in most biographies as Barrett's father's early demise, for example, had on Syd's mental balance.

"He always had an extraordinary mind, bordering on the autistic or Aspergic. He had a rare talent to exploit ambiguities in language and also experienced synaesthesia -- the ability to 'see sounds and hear colours' -- which was to be a huge influence on his music in his psychedelic phase."

So Syd Barrett was also a gifted visual artist, and here you can find an art gallery dedicated to his works.