Nicky, Ricky, Roger, and Davey were in the van on a way to a gig on this day in 1968.  "Shall we pick Syd up?" one of them asked. "Let's not bother." was the answer. It's not like he was still an active member of the band. He had long since ceased to contribute both in the studio and on stage....unless his stage presence was supposed to provide a focal point for the freak show. After writing and singing most of their first album, he only wrote one song on the second and played on two more. Another pair of songs were recorded but for release as a single, but remained unreleased until 2016.  At first they discussed keeping Syd on as a non-performing member, writing songs like Brian Wilson did for the Beach Boys. What might that have sounded like? He only had one song on  A Saucerful of Secrets  , and it is debatable whether the inclusion of the unreleased single would have improved it.  What about  More ? It has a spacey, folksy songs interspersed with the ...

On this day in 1975, Pink Floyd released Wish You Were Here . One of the songs  - which many fans had heard during that summer's tour - now featured a guest vocalist, Roy Harper. The same Roy Harper to whom Led Zeppelin tipped their hats with 3:40 of nonsense on Led Zeppelin III . His composition, " Another Day ", is one of the songs on the first This Mortal Coil album. He's a bit of a big deal, or was, among the rock elite in England. He opened up for Led Zeppelin, but the crowds just thought he was a weirdo. Each of his albums throughout the 1970s would have one song where he'd be backed by big names. Moon, Page, and Ronnie Lane back him on "Male Chauvinist Pig Blues". David Gilmour (returning the favor for "Cigar") and John Paul Jones play on " The Game ". " One of Those Days in England " features not only Paul and Linda, but Ronnie Lane, Alvin Lee and Jimmy McCulloch. Jimmy Page accompanies him on " Bank of the D...

June 5, 1975....45 years ago, Syd Barrett showed up in the studio, unannounced, during the recording of Wish You Were Here   announcing he was ready to do his bit. The band hadn't seen him in five or six years. He had shaved his head (like Pink in The Wall film) and put on a lot of weight. They didn't recognize him at first. He also brought a toothbrush and brushed his teeth while jumping up and down. It is one of the last sad, crazy Syd stories. After writing most of the first album, Syd only wrote one song to the follow-up and added some Zippo slide guitar to two of the others. After that, he made two solo albums. The Madcap Laughs , took over a year and three sets of sessions, produced, by Malcolm Jones, Peter Jones, and the last by Waters and Gilmore. The second, Barrett , was produced by Gilmore and Wright. Malcolm Jones tells a story of a lucid Syd, able to nail songs in one take. He expressed disbelief in the chaotic nature of parts of the album, insinuating tha...