A concert, a tribute album and a full exhibition are converging on Cambridge this October to mark the Syd Barrett 80th birthday, and the lineup is considerably heavier than anyone might have anticipated, with a previously recorded David Bowie performance among the discoveries waiting on the album.
Barrett, who died in 2006 aged 60, quit Pink Floyd in April 1968 and released two solo albums before retreating entirely from public life. Two decades on from his death, the celebrations (backed by the Barrett family) centre on his home city, the place where he spent most of those reclusive final years.
The Concert: Cambridge Corn Exchange, World Mental Health Day
The tribute show takes place on 10 October at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, the same venue where Barrett gave his last known live performance on 24 February 1972. The date is World Mental Health Day, a choice that reflects a thread running through the entire project: proceeds from the celebrations go to mental health charities.
Performing on the night are Kula Shaker, Soft Machine, Men On The Border, Diana Silveira & The Psychedelic Circus, Radhika and Pünk Floyd, with additional surprise guests still to be announced. Louder Sound reported that tickets went on sale on Friday 19 June, and the show is now sold out.
‘Eighty years after his birth, Syd Barrett’s influence remains as powerful as ever,’ says co-organiser Neil Jones. ‘It’s especially fitting that this celebration takes place in Cambridge, the city at the heart of his story.’
The Album: Bowie, Gilmour and the Syd Barrett 80th Birthday Tribute Record
The album, Clowns And Jugglers: The Songs Of Syd Barrett, is scheduled for release the day before the concert on coloured vinyl and CD. The roster includes Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets, Soft Machine, and Robyn Hitchcock featuring John Paul Jones. Louder Sound has also confirmed that David Bowie appears on a recording of ‘Arnold Layne’ alongside David Gilmour, a pairing that gives the album a genuine archival dimension alongside its specially recorded tracks.
The album’s reach extends further still. Louder Sound reports that Voyage 35, All About Eve, and Tim Bowness are also among the contributors, alongside Rosalie Cunningham, whose reading of ‘Lucifer Sam’ has caught the ear of co-curator Mark Wilkinson. ‘It isn’t just a bunch of oldies,’ Wilkinson says. ‘Some of the best tracks are by the younger artists, I love what Rosalie Cunningham has done with Lucifer Sam, from [Floyd’s debut] Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.’
Wilkinson, who designed sleeve art for Marillion, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, curated the album alongside Syd’s nephew Ian Barrett and Gonzo record label boss Rob Ayling. The project grew out of a chance encounter: Wilkinson exhibited a portrait of Syd at the Bloodstock Festival and fell into conversation with another of Syd’s nephews, Mark Barrett. From that conversation came the album, then the concert, then the exhibition.
Henge’s version of ‘Terrapin’, from Barrett’s solo debut The Madcap Laughs, was pushed by Ian Barrett. ‘Henge are an incredible band,’ he says. ‘For me they are one of the highlights of it all.’
The Exhibition and the Family Perspective
Running from 3–9 October at the Cambridge OpenSpace arts venue, with a further display on 10–11 October at The Cambridge Guildhall, the exhibition turns the spotlight on Barrett’s life, art and cultural impact. It showcases original paintings and sketches by Syd alongside prints of larger works.
Ian Barrett, reflecting on twenty years since his uncle’s death, admits the enduring fascination still catches him slightly off guard. ‘After he died I kind of expected it to fade away slightly,’ he says, ‘but I’m realising that it probably won’t happen. The fascination is as strong as it ever was.’
Ian is also cautiously optimistic about undiscovered material. ‘Everyone’s looking around for it, and it’s possible there might still be some left to discover,’ he says. ‘I’m pretty sure there will be something further, but these things don’t happen quickly.’
Mental health runs as a deliberate thread through all three strands of the project. ‘It helps that there are names for these conditions now,’ Ian says. ‘People can get treatment for it. There’s less of a stigma and hopefully things will get better still in the future.’
Wilkinson quotes a line from journalist Nick Kent to explain what makes Barrett’s short burst of work so enduring: ‘Nick Kent wrote that as an artist Syd emerged from the womb fully formed. There was no lead-in period, it was bang! And he was doing it all straight away.’ As for what Barrett himself might have made of it all, Ian is clear: ‘Syd would have been pleased with it all, I think, especially because there is art involved. Personally, I think of him as an artist that ended up in music. I think he just wanted to paint, really.’ For the full details of the album lineup, visit the Cambridge Corn Exchange and Louder Sound’s coverage.
