BRITAIN: Syd Barrett, founding member of British rock group Pink Floyd, has died aged 60.
The singer, songwriter and guitarist, who left the band in 1968, died last Friday.
He had been living as a recluse in his home town of Cambridge for the past 35 years, and it is believed his death was caused by complications from diabetes.
"The band are naturally very upset and sad to learn of Syd Barrett's death," said a statement from Pink Floyd.
"Syd was the guiding light of the early band line-up and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire."
"I can't tell you how sad I feel," said David Bowie, a contemporary of Barrett's on the London beat scene of the 1960s, "Syd was a major inspiration for me. The few times I saw him perform in London at UFO and the Marquee clubs during the sixties will forever be etched in my mind. He was so charismatic and such a startlingly original songwriter. Also, along with Anthony Newley, he was the first guy I'd heard to sing pop or rock with a British accent."
Roger Keith Barrett, nicknamed Syd, was a student at Camberwell Art School when he formed Pink Floyd in 1965 with architecture students Roger Waters, Rick Wright and Nick Mason. He wrote the band's Top 20 hit singles, Arnold Layne and See Emily Play, and was the band's singer and guitarist on their ground-breaking debut, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
But excessive drug use - particularly LSD - caused his behaviour to become increasingly bizarre, and he was asked to leave the group in 1968. Over the past 30 years, Barrett has become a cult figure among rock fans, and many young bands have cited him as an influence.
Pink Floyd's song Shine On You Crazy Diamond is a tribute to Barrett, and Dark Side of the Moon's themes of madness are believed to have been inspired by the band's fallen leader.
From their inception, Pink Floyd were leading lights of London's psychedelic scene. Barrett named the band after two American blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, and the group blended old-fashioned blues with psychedelic experimentation.
