Syd was schizophrenic. Im sure she did a shit load of mind altering substances that didnt help with his condition, but I dont think acid caused his problems.

acid didn't cause his problems but it most likely exacerbated them

Exactly. People are so black and white about LSD, and sometimes even marijuana in this regard. No, it's not safe for everyone. I say this as someone who loves his weed and acid.

It largely depends on your brain chemistry, and other underlying psychological factors. It can exacerbate or "unlock" hidden psychological imbalances you had before.

But that's not everyone. In my opinion, these bad trips and breakdowns are reliant on previous trauma, or an underlying genetic issue.

As far as I know they were still relatively unknown when Syd lost his shit, he only wrote and recorded one with Pink Floyd album.

I didn't google it, I'm just a fan of psychedelic rock. According to the remaining band members Syd was always a strange individual and was unable to deal with much pressure, he probably had gone mad anyway without the use of drugs.

Just a sad case of mental illness (most artist genius are), too many hallucinogenic drugs and the inability to handle praise/admiration from the public. I would’ve liked to hear what the band would’ve been like had he remained relatively “sane”.

I don’t think it was just the drugs. Obviously there was already something wrong with him. I mean, the Grateful Dead and the merry pranksters have probably done enough acid to fill a common public swimming pool and many made it to old age just fine.

As a certified psychonaut who lost count of how many times I've tripped years ago, I can say for sure that people are built differently and react to different substances in different ways. Schizophrenics and LSD do not mix well. Just cause something works for you does not mean it won't devastate someone else. I'm all for legalization but the whole "EVERYONE just needs to take LSD" thing is just dumb. Proceed with caution with LSD and other drugs. If you're not open to what it gives you, it will be painful and traumatic. For some people, a bad psychedelic experience changes their life for the better and rewires them in a better and lasting way. For some people, it sends them into a black hole of darkness from which they aren't equipped to return from.

If you want all the benefits of LSD without the possible side effects, start meditating regularly.

http://beingthere723.blogspot.com/2012/01/flying-saucer-full-of-secrets.html

Who knows the real story

Jack pot.

http://visupview.blogspot.com/2011/04/syd-barrett-against-gates-of-dawn.html

This is what I meant to send originally

Interesting read, thanks!

I own "Piper At the Gates of Dawn." I happen to be a vinyl hipster and a huge fan of psychedelic rock. It's the only album the band released with Syd Barrett. It's very experimental, and while I think there are a lot of great things in there and some interesting ideas, not all of the experiments work and a lot of it is just noise. Here's probably the best example of what I'm talking about. It wasn't until after Gilmore joined and Barrett left the band that they turned some of those experiments into a more melodic sound and created what would be "The Wall" and "Dark Side of The Moon." (The Wall was written about and in honor of Syd Barrett).

What's your conspiracy?

Syd Barrett wasn't part of the MKUltra tests. He was living in Great Britain at the time. The most famous person who was known to have been a subject of the MKUltra tests is Ken Kesey, author of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and leader of a group of hippies known as "The Merry Pranksters."

Was Syd Barrett's issues with the drug the cause of laws against LSD? I guess possibly, but LSD was already illegal in the UK two years before Barrett left Pink Floyd and his drug issues became known, and he wasn't popular in the U.S. at that time, at least not in comparison to the Beatles or the Beach Boys who had both publicly admitted to being under the influence of LSD by that time.

What's your conspiracy?

I'm not saying you're full of shit. I can't say that, because I don't know what you're saying, period.

I'm willing to have an open mind here. And I'm willing to change my mind and opinions when presented with new and compelling facts.

So, you're saying that the CIA, or the freemasons created the band Pink Floyd, and then before they crossed over to America, kicked out Syd Barrett in order to use him as a propaganda tool to turn the American public away from LSD, and then replaced him with a CIA plant in Gilmore who influenced the band away from Syd Barretts vision and toward promoting the CIA's agenda?

You come off pretty condescending, which probably makes people not want to listen to you. Might want to work on how you present your thoughts.

Comparing PF to Kanye us an instant way to make me dismiss your entire premise.

You might think you've peeped the scene. You haven't, the real one's far too mean. The watered down one, the one you know, was made up centuries ago. Twisted fiction, sick addiction, well gather 'round children, zip it, listen

Arguing about taste in music is such a redundant thing to do,

For clarity: Kanye is just as, if not MORE influential to his audience than PF ever were, purely down to the world we live in today. IMO.

Shine on you Crazy Diamond. Lets be honest, Syd's music was terrible. "I've got a bike, you can ride it if you like" crap. Gilmour and Waters were the geniuses.
Almost every band had a reject just before they went big, the Beatles, Rush, Genesis, are 3 more off the top of my head.

and genesis' reject was who?

Peter Gabriel

false

not rejected he left

Gabriel's departure from Genesis on 15 August 1975[7][8], which stunned fans of the group and left many commentators wondering if the band could survive, was the result of several factors. His stature as the lead singer of the band and the added attention garnered by his flamboyant stage persona led to tensions within the band.[30] Genesis had always operated more or less as a collective, and Gabriel's burgeoning public profile led to fears within the group that he was being unfairly singled out as the creative hub. The band also began to feel confined by the reputation (and fans' expectations) attached to their famously elaborate theatrical performances, believing that the visual element of their performances was receiving more attention than their music.

Tensions were heightened by the ambitious album and tour of the concept work The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, a Gabriel-created concept piece that saw him taking on the lion's share of the lyric writing. During the writing and recording of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Gabriel was approached by director William Friedkin, allegedly because Friedkin had found Gabriel's short story in the liner notes to Genesis Live interesting. Gabriel left Genesis to pursue a film project with Friedkin, only to rejoin a week later.[29] The decision to quit the band was made before the tour supporting The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, with Gabriel explaining his decision to the band while keeping it from the press until the conclusion of that tour. Bassist Mike Rutherford recalled that they all "could see it coming".[29] Although tensions were high, both Gabriel and the remaining members of Genesis have stated publicly that Gabriel left the band on good terms.

Ok. Don't really care. Thanks for the down vote though.

Have you got it yet? My favorite Syd Barrett story. http://thebigfootdiaries.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-story-behind-song-have-you-got-it.html?m=1

They didn't scare everybody. As best as I recall the go to tripping music when I was in college was Pink Floyd. Ummagumma was big. Manchester Meadow was big.

Maybe you had to be there.

His relationship with Tavistock is all I need to know.

Has anyone heard the story (not sure if it is urban legend or truth) but the tale goes something like Shine on was written about Syd and whilst they were recording it in the studio Syd walked into the studio right as they were recording that track which was the first time in many years that anyone had even seen him due to his illness he was basically hiding out in his parents basement or something like that. Everyone was astonished that he in an act of sheer kismet walked in in that very moment and then left back into the abyss....Big if true..

The story is they didn't recognize him when he came in the studio because he put on so much weight. Anti-phychotics especially first generation ones cause massive wieght gain as a side effect

But had it not been a while and a totally random moment that he walked in? That I found quite amazing. As far as weight and the psych pills go its no doubt a side effect as you could clearly see it in the picture on that blog.Its a reason many people go "off their meds" sadly.

http://www.pink-floyd.org/barrett/quotes.html

Rick Wright: I walked into the studio at Abbey Road, Roger was sitting, mixing at the desk, and I saw this big bald guy sitting on the couch behind. About 16 stone: huge, bald, fat guy. And I didn't think anything of it. In those days it was quite norm al for strangers to wander into our sessions. I thought, 'He looks a bit...strange' Anyway, so I sat down with Roger at the desk and we worked for about ten minutes, and this guy kept on getting up and brushing his teeth and then sitting, doing really w eird things, but keeping quiet. And I said to Roger, 'Who is he?' and Roger said 'I don't know.' and I said 'Well, I assumed he was a friend of yours,' and he said 'No, I don't know who he is.' Anyway, it took me a long time, and then suddenly I realize d it was Syd, after maybe 45 minutes. He came in as we were doing the vocals for 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond,' which was basically about Syd. He just for some incredible reason picked the very day that we were doing a song which was about him. It was a huge shock, because I hadn't seen him for about six years. He kept standing up and brushing his teeth, putting his toothbrush away and sitting down. Then at one point he stood up and said, 'Right, when do I put my guitar on?' And of course he didn't h ave a guitar with him. And we said, 'Sorry Syd, the guitar's all done'. That's what's so incredibly...weird about this guy. And a bit disturbing, as well, particularly when you see a guy and you don't recognize him. And then for him to pick the very day we start putting vocals on a song about him. Very strange.

Can't really blame them for not recognizing him. The timing is pretty crazy though.

damn.

his eyes look like a dead soul.

Somebody had a cool link in these comments, but otherwise I have no idea what is happening in this thread.

The CIA, who basically created the LSD craze, wants to shut down Syd Barrett and early Floyd cuz he was making LSD too popular?

Or, the CIA put Barrett in MKUltra to create a front man for a boyband and they lost control of Syd so had to bring in Gilmour?

If Pink Floyd was not a MKUltra creation it would be an anomaly. Zepplin, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Sabbath...

Got any reading about the other bands being linked to ultra?

Not off hand on a computer, no. I listed them in order of available info. Loads of info on Zepplin/plant/page being occultists, Crowleyian, etc.

Triangle light prism logo, huh

The Wall has lots of references to mind control.

I think it was shut down because mind control with LSD basically just led to creating generations of schizophrenics.

Syd once tried to get off drugs with his girlfriend and decided to do that by living in his drug dealers house. the drug dealer laced all their food and drink with lsd for weeks without their knowing before someone found them.

another time a journalist was at someones house and heard banging upstairs, he asked what it was and was told that it was syd locked in the closet. it was where they put him when he was having a bad trip.

/r/NotHowDrugsWork

in what sense?

In the sense that only someone who is literally brain dead would not notice that they are on an acid trip, let alone being dosed constantly throughout weeks. It's asinine. And it's not like LSD is addictive in any sense of the word, so what would be the point? To fuck Syd's mind up for no reason? Fuck that.

yeah, i watched a little of wormwood last night where the CIA were dropping lsd into that guys drink, made me think of this thread for a moment n sids dealer. Even if not directly touched by CIA you could still argue that he is a victim of MK Ultra from their pushing of LSD at that time.