The pics are sad ... so listen to The Madcap Laughs and enjoy his work
Brilliant album. Love You is one of my all time favourites; it's so upbeat. Mind you, he had the full range; it's no use listening to Scream Thy Last Scream when you want cheering up.
It's about time Scream Thy Last Scream and Vegetable Man were given an official release. Scream is just mad brilliance and Vegetable Man is such an astute send-up of both himself and how others saw him and the artificiality of 'pop stardom'. For somebody who supposedly became catatonic overnight, VM and Jugband Blues are just too knowing not to be send-ups. There was more to Syd's mental deterioration than the simple "drug casualty" explanation; but it certainly robbed him of his drive and focus. It's hardly surprising that the others dumped him given his unreliability and lack of focus (who could blame them?); after the hit singles they had become men with a mission whereas Syd apparently wanted to get away from the intrusion and demands of pop stardom. There is a lot of merit in his 2 solo albums and they show a marked move away from the childlike evocations of Piper. But ultimately for those of us who love his stuff there will always be that sad feeling of "what if".
Top post from Lincsaddick and I too remember those days. Saw The Jeff Beck group at The Black Prince and it was so loud we had to stand outside! I know it sounds like a "Those were the days" schtick but it really was a golden period for music, whether it gets repeated is questionable but no doubt Syd and the Floyd were well in the vanguard of those times.
As another aside I met Chas Chandler and I can tell you compared to Peter Grant the Led Zep manager he was a pussycat! Now that was a truly scary man.
I remember seeing Eric Clapton and later Elton John (Reg Dwight as he was then) playing keyboards for John Mayall at The Glenlyn Ballrooms in Forest Hill....it's now (sadly) a snooker club.
(Glenlyn Ballroom) Forest Hill – as immortalised in the 'Dedicated to the kids of...' line along the horizon on the back of Quadrophenia.
Top post from Lincsaddick and I too remember those days. Saw The Jeff Beck group at The Black Prince and it was so loud we had to stand outside! I know it sounds like a "Those were the days" schtick but it really was a golden period for music, whether it gets repeated is questionable but no doubt Syd and the Floyd were well in the vanguard of those times.
As another aside I met Chas Chandler and I can tell you compared to Peter Grant the Led Zep manager he was a pussycat! Now that was a truly scary man.
Mmmmm....there's many a story about Chas Chandler and his somewhat 'unconventional' managerial methods!!!! Including the famous one re hanging a certain individual out of an office window in order to 'encourage him' to see things his way.
Well soundas these stories take on a life of their own but it is true that Sharon Osbornes father Don Arden did exactly that to Robert Stigwood when he tried to poach The Small Faces from him, Sharon recounted this story on the Parkinson Show.
Peter Grant was infamous for carrying around suitcases full of money as he would never accept cheques and always had a gun. Never heard anything about Chas but met him at a Slade gig and I have to say he seemed very affable sort of bloke but then I hadn't crossed him, mind you he was as a big bloke.
Top post from Lincsaddick and I too remember those days. Saw The Jeff Beck group at The Black Prince and it was so loud we had to stand outside! I know it sounds like a "Those were the days" schtick but it really was a golden period for music, whether it gets repeated is questionable but no doubt Syd and the Floyd were well in the vanguard of those times.
As another aside I met Chas Chandler and I can tell you compared to Peter Grant the Led Zep manager he was a pussycat! Now that was a truly scary man.
Mmmmm....there's many a story about Chas Chandler and his somewhat 'unconventional' managerial methods!!!! Including the famous one re hanging a certain individual out of an office window in order to 'encourage him' to see things his way.
I always thought that was supposed to be Don Arden? But I am not arguing with one who was there! Really interesting reading your memories Soundas, Dave and Lincs.
Nice summing up of my feelings about Syd from Six-a-bag.
The Falcon at Falconwood.....Tigers Head Catford/Downham.....King Alfred Downham. El Partido Lewisham.......The Iron Curtain St Marys Cray....Three Tuns Beckenham and there are quite a few more.....I simply can't remember them all now.
Thought I'd post my pennyworth here. As you can probably tell by my username I'm a bit of a Syd fan (I was also on the Charlton mailing list years ago as The Peterborough Addick). Rick Wright was sacked during the recording of The Wall, alledgedly due to his penchant for the Columbian marching powder. The line "A grand piano to prop up his mortal remains" is a direct reference to this. Waters, Gilmour & Barrett all knew each other as schoolboys in Cambridge so Gilmour was a natural replacement for Syd, originally as part of a 5 piece to play his parts when Syd was incapable. The idea was for Syd to become a "Brian Wilson-like" figure, writing and partaking of the studio recordings while Gilmour played his part on stage. The story of Syd's breakdown is a lot more complex than just an excess of LSD. Mandrax etc. This has been addressed many times in print and no-one has yet to come up with a definite reason for it happening. The book "Lost in the Woods" and it's updated version "Dark Globe", both written by Julian Palacios, probably gets nearest but the only person who really knew the truth, Syd himself, never told. The song "Here I Go" (Madcap Laughs) references "that old band". Whether Syd was mad is open to debate - maybe he was or maybe he just saw so many of his contempories (Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin et al) succumb to the rock & roll madness that he just decided to get out while he still could.
In passing I was in the seats that collapsed at Earls Court. It seemed to happen in slow motion just as Shine On was starting and we all thought it was part of the show. It was only when we looked round and saw feet where heads should be that we realised something was wrong. By way of compensation we were given a t-shirt with our block & seat numbers on the sleeve and a letter of apology from the band. Unfortunately this was a photocopy so no genuine signatures!
I went to the Bromley Court Hotel several times to see Cream, Rod Stewart, John Mayall and Hendrix was just out of this world. I am amazed by the Glenlyn ballroom info. I lived in Forest Hill but never went in there thinking it was a dump. One of my few regrets is not going to the 100 club to see Syd with the Pink Floyd Sound. But Kevin Ayers was equally wonderful in his heyday.
Comments
Scream is just mad brilliance and Vegetable Man is such an astute send-up of both himself and how others saw him and the artificiality of 'pop stardom'.
For somebody who supposedly became catatonic overnight, VM and Jugband Blues are just too knowing not to be send-ups.
There was more to Syd's mental deterioration than the simple "drug casualty" explanation; but it certainly robbed him of his drive and focus.
It's hardly surprising that the others dumped him given his unreliability and lack of focus (who could blame them?); after the hit singles they had become men with a mission whereas Syd apparently wanted to get away from the intrusion and demands of pop stardom.
There is a lot of merit in his 2 solo albums and they show a marked move away from the childlike evocations of Piper.
But ultimately for those of us who love his stuff there will always be that sad feeling of "what if".
As another aside I met Chas Chandler and I can tell you compared to Peter Grant the Led Zep manager he was a pussycat! Now that was a truly scary man.
Including the famous one re hanging a certain individual out of an office window in order to 'encourage him' to see things his way.
Peter Grant was infamous for carrying around suitcases full of money as he would never accept cheques and always had a gun. Never heard anything about Chas but met him at a Slade gig and I have to say he seemed very affable sort of bloke but then I hadn't crossed him, mind you he was as a big bloke.
Nice summing up of my feelings about Syd from Six-a-bag.
El Partido Lewisham.......The Iron Curtain St Marys Cray....Three Tuns Beckenham and there are quite a few more.....I simply can't remember them all now.
I am amazed by the Glenlyn ballroom info. I lived in Forest Hill but never went in there thinking it was a dump.
One of my few regrets is not going to the 100 club to see Syd with the Pink Floyd Sound. But Kevin Ayers was equally wonderful in his heyday.
I guess it's the documentary referred to in the opening post. Cracking film, well worth a watch.