What was Syd Barrett's Net Worth?
Syd Barrett was an English musician and artist who had a net worth of $500 thousand at the time of his death. Syd Barrett was best known as the co-founder and original frontman of the English rock band Pink Floyd. He recorded four singles with the band, as well as its debut album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and parts of its second album, "A Saucerful of Secrets." After being ousted from Pink Floyd on account of his copious psychedelic drug use and unstable behavior, Barrett had a brief solo career before retiring from public life entirely in 1972.
In 1964, Barrett enrolled at the Camberwell College of Arts to study painting. That year, he formed the band that would eventually become Pink Floyd. Barrett was part of the band's debut album and contributed to four singles and parts of the second album before he left the group in 1968 and was hospitalized. A year later, he released his solo single, "Octopus", off his own debut album "The Madcap Laughs", which came out in 1970. He released his second album, "Barrett", later that year. Following that album's release, Barrett disappeared from the music scene and focused on painting and gardening. Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" album is a tribute to Barrett, who attended the recording of the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" as a surprise.
In 1998, his label released several of his previously unheard tracks on the collection "Opel". He died on July 7, 2006, in Cambridge, England, at the age of 60 from pancreatic cancer.
Early Life and Education
Syd Barrett was born as Roger Barrett on January 6, 1946 in Cambridge, England as the fourth of five siblings. His father, Arthur, was a prominent pathologist. Barrett was very involved in music as a child, playing a variety of instruments including the ukulele, piano, and guitar. He was educated at Morley Memorial Junior School and Cambridgeshire High School for Boys, where he formed the band Geoff Mott and the Mottoes. Barrett went on to attend the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, where he met future Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour. In 1964, he enrolled at Camberwell College of Arts in London to study painting.
Pink Floyd
In 1965, Barrett formed Pink Floyd with Roger Waters, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright. With Barrett as the frontman and primary songwriter, the band released two charting singles before releasing its debut album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," in 1967. The album was a hit in the UK, reaching number six on the albums chart. Pink Floyd soon added guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour, and recorded the album "A Saucerful of Secrets." However, in the spring of 1968, Barrett was ousted from the band amid his increasing abuse of psychedelic drugs and deteriorating health. His behavior had become highly erratic, and he was often unable to perform. Barrett suffered further misfortune that summer when he was rejected from Sant Mat, a Sikh sect.
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Solo Career
After being forced out of Pink Floyd, Barrett fled from the public eye for a while and embarked on a solo recording career. He returned in 1970 with the release of his debut solo album, "The Madcap Laughs," which peaked at number 40 in the UK. It featured production by his former Pink Floyd bandmates David Gilmour and Roger Waters. Later in 1970, Barrett released his self-titled second album, which would also be his last. It was produced by Gilmour and Richard Wright. Ultimately, the album failed to chart in the UK. Barrett subsequently did some performances on the radio before taking a hiatus.
Stars
In early 1972, Barrett, Jack Monck, and ex-Pink Fairies member Twink formed the supergroup Stars. The band had success performing at local venues at first, but was soon derailed by a disastrous gig at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge. This led to the dissolution of Stars just months after the group was formed.
Retirement and Seclusion
Freed from his EMI contract in May of 1972, Barrett officially ended his legal and financial association with Pink Floyd. The next year, he returned to London and lived in various hotels there while maintaining scarce contact with others. In the summer of 1974, Barrett was persuaded by manager Peter Jenner to return to Abbey Road Studios to record another album. He ended up recording eleven tracks, only one of which was titled. Barrett went on to permanently retire from the music industry after that, despite multiple attempts to employ him as a record producer. In 1975, he made a surprise appearance at a Pink Floyd recording session and saw his former bandmates work on the final mix of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," which was written about him. By this time, Barrett was overweight and had shaved his head and eyebrows, and was almost unrecognizable.
Having run out of money in 1978, Barrett moved back to Cambridge to live with his mother in a semi-detached home, and shielded himself from public life. He spent much of his time painting and gardening; what little contact he had was mostly with his sister Rosemary, who lived nearby. Barrett's health gradually declined during his years as a recluse, as he suffered from type 2 diabetes and stomach ulcers. In 1996, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd, but did not attend the ceremony. Barrett made his final public acknowledgement in 2002 when he autographed 320 copies of Mick Rock's book "Psychedelic Renegades," which includes pictures of Barrett.
Personal Life and Death
Barrett dated many women during his life, including Libby Gausden, Jenny Spires, and Evelyn Rose, who was nicknamed "Iggy the Eskimo." He never married or had children, although he was briefly engaged to Gayla Pinion.
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Barrett passed away in July of 2006 at the age of 60. Many tributes poured in, and the following year a tribute concert was held at the Barbican Centre in London. Later, in 2008, a series of events were held in Cambridge celebrating Barrett's life and career.
