Twenty years after his death and in the year in which he would have turned eighty, the city of Cambridge will pay tribute to Syd Barrett with a series of initiatives dedicated to the founder of Pink Floyd. The main event will be a tribute concert scheduled for October 10th at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, a historic venue which also hosted Barrett's last public performance in 1972. The date also coincides with World Mental Health Day.
Several artists linked to the psychedelic and progressive scene will take to the stage, including Kula Shaker, Soft Machine, Men On The Border, Diana Silveira & The Psychedelic Circus, Radhika and Pünk Floyd.
Neil Jones, one of the organizers of the event, explained to the BBC: “Eighty years after her birth, Syd Barrett's influence remains as powerful as ever. Her music, her creativity and her unique vision continue to inspire artists and audiences across generations.”
The musician's sister, Rosemary Breen, also wanted to remember his artistic legacy: “Syd would have been delighted and honored to know that his music is still appreciated in Cambridge.”
The celebrations will also include the release, on October 9, of a tribute album available on colored vinyl and CD, containing new interpretations and previously unreleased material. Participants include Kula Shaker, All About Eve, Mystery Jets, Rosalie Cunningham, David Gilmour and Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets.
Furthermore, from 3 to 9 October, the Cambridge Openspace will host an exhibition dedicated to Barrett's artistic activity, with paintings, original sketches and reproductions of large-format works.
The entire project will also have a charitable purpose: the proceeds from the initiatives will be donated to organizations operating in the mental health field.
The concert will take place in Cambridge on 10 October.
Syd Barrett was the first leader of Pink Floyd, as well as the eminence grise of the entire psychedelic movement across the Channel (and beyond). It is practically impossible to list all the bands that in some way drew inspiration from the lysergic visions of the Cambridge “testamatta”. Yet, his two solo works (both released in 1970, on the Harvest label) were also the last flame of a defeated man, who was nearing the end of his creativity. Conceived in a progressive state of depression, managed recklessly with massive doses of a powerful psychotropic drug like Mandrax, they will in a certain way mark the definitive separation between Barrett's universe and the real world.
Barrett was the creative soul of the first incarnation floydianathe one not yet a millionaire, who enjoyed experimenting, between acoustic ballads, dazed nursery rhymes and suite instrumental.
A formula that was born with the debut LP “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” in which Barrett immersed himself in a formidable journey into the mind, between drugs and hallucinations, and which then weakened over time, starting from his departure from the band in 1968.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
