Ross Greenwood had the pleasure of speaking to Roger ahead of the Australian leg of his world tour, asking why they started the band.
Ross also spoke to Roger about new music streaming services and his new album Is This The Life We Really Want.
Ross Greenwood had the pleasure of speaking to Roger ahead of the Australian leg of his world tour, asking why they started the band.
Ross also spoke to Roger about new music streaming services and his new album Is This The Life We Really Want.
The original lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett burst onto the London rock scene in the mid 1960s as a mysterious, charismatic and eccentric figure.
Widely celebrated as a visionary and influential songwriter who laid the groundwork for the psychedelic rock sound, as a guitarist, Barrett remains somewhat underappreciated. While he was never a virtuoso in the mold of Jeff Beck or Eric Clapton, he was a versatile and innovative player who accomplished pioneering work using dissonance, distortion and feedback.
The electric guitar Barrett was most closely associated with was known as the “Mirror Disc Telecaster,” which is a misnomer, because for starters, it wasn’t a Telecaster. It was in fact a 1962 Esquire, and while the metal discs attached to it were reflective, they weren’t mirrors.
Barrett acquired the Esquire, which was originally white, in late 1965. Sometime in 1966 he had it shrink-wrapped in silver plastic film. The discs he attached to it were thin, polished silver metal plates that were in vogue in hippy London at the time; adorning everything from doors and walls, to jeans, dresses and floppy hats.
The Esquire’s cosmetic modifications made the it an important element of Pink Floyd’s otherworldly stage show, the discs reflecting the bubbling, psychedelic lights and projections back at the audience.
Apart from the visual enhancements, the only other mod to Barrett’s Esquire was a raised pickup, which fattened up the guitar’s tone. An early pioneer of creativity over technique, Barrett’s guitar work on Pink Floyd’s early singles and debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was fairly basic, something the simplicity of the Esquire lent itself to nicely.
While some regard it as a poor man’s Tele, the Esquire actually has its own unique wiring. The lack of a neck pickup reduces magnetic pull on the strings. This gives the Esquire better harmonic overtones and helps create a more percussive attack, elements that can be heard in Barrett’s guitar work with Pink Floyd, which swings between between jangly and melodic to edgy, aggressive and near proto-punk.
Towards the end of 1967, Barrett acquired a white Telecaster (probably from the early ‘60s). Although he kept hold of his Esquire through the end of the sessions for the Floyd’s second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, he stopped using it live and typically played the white Tele at gigs.
Although, by that time, spurred on by rampant LSD use and the pressures of coping with pop stardom, Barrett’s psychological troubles had accelerated and his appearances with the band were becoming increasingly infrequent.
Somewhere in the middle of 1968, Barrett traded his beloved ’62 Esquire for a black Telecaster Custom. This would prove the last electric guitar he would ever own. He used it during his remaining time with Pink Floyd, on his two solo albums–1969’s The Madcap Laughs and 1970’s Barrett–and up until he withdrew from music and moved back to his mother’s house in Cambridge in the late 1970s.
So what became of the silver, reflective Esquire? Like Barrett himself, the guitar basically went missing. After it was traded in for the black Telecaster, it was basically lost to history, becoming yet another element of the mystery of how such a charismatic and visionary talent as Syd Barrett could’ve gone off the rails just at a time when he was poised to conquer the world.
Recently Posted On David Gilmour’s Official Facebook Page
“Just been told that Live At Pompeii has been voted Best Multimedia Package of 2017 by the readers of Prog Magazine.
Thank you to everyone who voted.
– David”
Hot off the press since his one off show in Switzerland last October as part of the International Comedy Club, Guy is back with a one off performance in Gloucestershire this March.
Guy Pratt has been a crucial member of the rhythm section of megastars such as Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, Robert Palmer, Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, Jimmy Page, David Coverdale, Womack & Womack, and The Smiths.
And when he’s not been parading his talents live on the stages of every stadium, concert hall and festival around the world, he has been a favourite studio bassist and accompanying singer for the biggest recording artists including Switzerland’s Florian Ast, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Iggy Pop,The Pretenders, Echo and The Bunnymen and McFly.
His one man show is all about life at the pointy end of the music business; Guy regales audiences with stories from behind the scenes. His self-deprecating wit is irresistible and his rip-roaring anecdotes are brilliant and outrageous.
This is an evening which is both funny and frank with enough insider’s references to satisfy even aficionados – and he’ll be bringing his beloved vintage Fender bass to demonstrate his craft.
The show is taking place on the 9th March 2018, 8pm at the The Marshall Rooms, 27 Nelson Street, GL5 2HH Stroud, Gloucestershire
Tickets are now on sale now for the event, Which is priced at the very reasonable rate of £10 plus £1 booking fee.
You can purchase your tickets online for this performance by clicking here.
As part of our sites 20th aniversary we have decided to bring back one of the original games featured on our site when it was launched in 1998,
Back in the nineties the game was hugely popular and was a main attraction for alot of our visitors. Now in 2018 we thought it would be appropriate to bring it back in its original form.
(We have adapted it slightly to make it work on our new system, At the time of writing i can confirm it is compatible with IOS and Android Devices)
From all of us at A Fleeting Glimpse we want to send Nick Mason our very best wishes and hope he has a great day celebrating his 74th Birthday.
11:00am Friday 26th January, BBC Radio 4 is setting out on an exploration of the creative mind.
Gerald Scarfe‘s drawings have intrigued and alarmed for more than fifty years but where do his ideas come from? Professor Vincent Walsh of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience has a theory he wants to pursue. Vincent is an expert in the workings of the visual brain; he thinks that two specific areas may be talking to each other in an unexpected way, resulting in recognisable faces being mixed up with recognisable objects, hence Mrs Thatcher as an axe, a handbag, and even a shark.
Now, cartoonist and neuroscientist are going to meet.
“I for one would be fascinated to know what’s going on in my brain – please pursue this,” says Gerald Scarfe.
Dave Harris has just released an update on his social media regarding the release of the Zee – Identity project which was scheduled for a release in Decemer 2017 but was pushed back for various reasons, it appears now we know the answers why.
“ Hi ZEE Friends and followers. Happy 2018. Here we go again!
I must apologize for the time it has taken to get the album released. There has been a lot of work involved along the way and now we have reached the point of legal wrangling. As you might know I have taken meetings with Gala and Jamie who now control ‘Richard Wright music’ and they are very happy regarding the digitization of the original album and the new track, which has been completed from a demo idea Rick and I had at the time.
At present the lawyers of ‘Pink Floyd music’ are also working on an agreement as they are the company who own the rights to ‘Identity’.
This is after a meeting at the beginning of the New Year. That is something I cannot push at this time…….. Obviously PFM is a very large company, but I am told there should be no problems.
So, that is where we are at! I will keep you posted as we go along. Please bear with me and I feel positive of a release or pre release date soon. I thank you for your patience, for me it has been very frustrating too, but I am sure the end result will be well worth the wait.
With love,Dave “
Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon
by Bill Kopp
(Rowman & Littlefield 2018, 200 pgs.)
For Pink Floyd fans, the 2016 release of The Early Years 1965-1972 boxset was a way in which to finally, near-comprehensively, possess officially-sanctioned completitist status for roughly one-third of the band’s storied history, including an era (which I refer to as “Transitional Floyd”) which is alternately derided and cherished by fans and band members alike. It also granted an opportunity for cultural critics to closely examine the historical movement of a band looking to evolve in all ways: artistically, musically, financially. Music journalist Bill Kopp is one of the first to do so with his book Reinventing Pink Floyd, which traces the trajectory of the band’s history through a primarily musical analysis of the years 1966 through 1973, from their professional debut with the early singles and the album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn to the worldwide popularity and iconic status as granted by the release and success of the 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon.
What occurred between these points has been previously chronicled by other journalists and archivists, but more from a perspective of personal and cultural history, and less so in terms of musical analysis and artistic development. The only other book extant which focuses on this particular period of the band’s evolution is Barry Miles’ The Early Years, published in 2006.
As I’ve noted, Kopp’s chronicle is focused squarely on the music – as he states in his introduction (cleverly-titled “Why (Another Book About) Pink Floyd?”), his thesis is directly presented to the reader, who may or may not consider themselves thoroughly familiar with the band’s history. “The goal of…[the book]…is to explore that little-known period, discovering clues to the band’s eventual direction by examining what Pink Floyd did in those years.”
Pink Floyd could be considered to have an organic evolution as an artistic entity, initially gaining notice as a live act (although one which not everyone believed they understood) and then as a group with an eccentric charismatic leader directing their early output then withdrawing from public life and potential ascendancy almost as quickly as he had been awarded acclaim.
In the years to follow the band would gain a new guitarist and work collaboratively to experiment with style, structure, mood and the expressive concerns which would come to inform what is considered the greatest output of their oeuvre. As Kopp states: “The Dark Side of the Moon didn’t create itself out of nothing,” and the albums, side projects and performances all contain indicators of what was to finally coalesce in the grand statement of DSotM.
Those five years between Syd Barrett’s departure and the release of Dark Side is full of activity and interesting experiments in an era which was much more indulgent of such creative wandering. Besides the albums there are sections dealing with other notable projects, such as “The Man and The Journey” and “Embryo,” which were each performed live but never officially released on record. The involvement of the band (save Nick Mason) on Syd Barrett’s two solo albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett is also detailed and analyzed.
Kopp’s book leads the reader through each year of the chosen span, each section covers a single year (although 1970 is broken up into two sections, while the years 1971-1973 are combined into two sections) chronicling the major artistic developments, assessing each project, and also commenting upon all the band’s performances on BBC Radio, championed as they were by such national tastemakers as John Peel. In each section all of the music is examined from stylistic and thematic perspectives in terms of how it developed and was utilized, as well as a critical examination of its’ inherent potential or lack thereof.
Kopp’s style is thoroughly professional – well-written and with a polished flow – weaving together chronology and critical commentary, supporting quotes from historical sources, and the perspective of those involved to create an informative and interesting document of the era, which should allow long-time fans to perhaps reassess their own opinions of the period, and illustrating for newer fans that there is inherent value to those formative experiments – even those which are considered rather outre and indulgent.
The book contains insightful comments from associates of the band – such as Peter Jenner, Ron Geesin, Jerry Shirley (who also provides an forward to the book) and Willie Wilson, as well as contemporaries such as guitarists Steve Howe (whose ‘60s-era band Tomorrow shared a booking agent with Pink Floyd) and Davy O’List, and also musician Robyn Hitchcock who as most fans know is considered an devotee of and expert on the work of Syd Barrett. Kopp also speaks with several musicians who are engaged in the cottage industry of Pink Floyd tribute bands and broadcaster Craig Bailey whose syndicated radio show Floydian Slip has been nourishing the faithful for over 20 years.
As fans make their way through all of the minutiae on offer courtesy of The Early Years boxset, one could consider Kopp’s book an essential accompanying commentary featuring details which illustrate that whatever the outcome of the various paths and methodology which Pink Floyd followed to attain their creative zenith and commercial success, their interstitial labors proved the zeitgeist moment via The Dark Side of the Moon was no fluke – their artistry was meant to find its’ way into our shared cultural consciousness, continuing to resonate for generations to come.
Reinventing Pink Floyd will be published in hardcover on February 15th.
AFG has managed to secure an exclusive Interview with author Bill Kopp to be conducted by Julie which shall be published online very shortly.
Our extreme gratitude go out to Julie Skaggs for all her hard work and contributions.