A blue plaque to commemorate former student Syd Barrett, one of the founder members of Pink Floyd, has been unveiled outside the Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University’s campus on East Road.

The plaque was unveiled on BBC Music Day on Thursday, 15 June by members of Syd’s family, including his sister Rosemary. The unveiling was broadcast live by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on Jeremy Sallis’s Lunchtime Live show.

Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett, was born in 1946 and died in 2006. It is thought he picked up the nickname Syd as a 12 year old. He met fellow Pink Floyd members Roger Waters at primary school in Cambridge and David Gilmour, also a former Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology student, as a teenager.

By the time Syd attended the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, which is now part of the Cambridge School of Art and Anglia Ruskin University, he was already known on the local music scene.

David Harvey, editor of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, said:

The plaque was one of a number unveiled across the country to mark BBC Music Day. The final list, covering a wide range of musical genres from pop, to rock, folk and classical, was whittled down from BBC Local Radio listeners’ suggestions made up of music industry experts and BBC representatives.