What Syd Barrett said about Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were” album

Written by Roger Waters and released by Pink Floyd on their successful 1975 album “Wish You Were Here”, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” became one of the band’s signature songs. But it’s not famous only because of it’s a great track, also due to the lyrics’ background story.

It was inspired by the band’s original guitarist and singer Syd Barrett, who was fired in the late 60s due to the use of drugs and a possible undiagnosed schizophrenia. Roger wrote that song with Syd in mind and he was the “Crazy Diamond” described in the lyrics. But what was Syd’s opinion on that album?  Pink Floyd’s guitarist and singer David Gilmour once revealed what the late Syd Barrett said after hearing what the band was recording during the sessions for that album.

What Syd Barrett said about Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were” album

Barrett was fired from Pink Floyd in 1968 but the band members helped him to record the only two solo albums he ever made. They were “The Madcap Laughs” and “Barrett”, both released in 1970. After those recordings they didn’t have contact with him anymore. But years later he suddenly appeared without being invited at the Abbey Road studios when the band was recording the album “Wish You Were Here”. It was exactly when they were working on the track “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”.

In an interview with Uncut magazine back in 2008, David Gilmour recalled that they showed Syd what they were wroking on and he gave his opinion. “Roger would always disappear for a few days to write lyrics and he came up with this tribute to Syd. They’re beautiful words and it’s a heartfelt tribute that speaks for us all. It had been four or five years since we’d last seen him. I think it was all tied up with our feelings of regret and possibly guilt.”

He continued:

“It was a remarkable coincidence that, not long after we’d finished recording “Shine On…”, Syd wandered into the studio at Abbey Road. Everyone’s memory of the event is a bit hazy. My memory is of a rather plump chap wandering around No3 studio while we were mixing in the control booth.”

“God knows how he managed to get past security. It was pretty tight then and I’d imagine that it’d be impossible nowadays! And it took us all a while to work out who it was. We were all a bit shaken as to how different he looked. We had a chat with him. When we played him some of the stuff we were working on he thought it was really good ‘but a bit long’. Ha!” David Gilmour said.

Most Pink Floyd members never saw Syd Barrett anymore after that day. His family told them to leave him alone because anything that could remind him of Pink Floyd could trigger bad feelings. Waters was the only one who saw him once more. It was at a grocery store but Syd didn’t talk to him and went away.

Barrett passed away in 2006 at the age of 60, a victim of pancreatic cancer. He was the one who gave Pink Floyd their name and for many fans is one of the architects of Progressive Rock music.