R.I.P. Syd - Shine On

Rest In Peace Syd. First I heard of this was when I went to Snarks website ... less than an hour ago. My first reaction, was to tell my mother. She mentioned that she'd heard it this morning and had meant to tell me. I then watched the TV news in order to see what they had to say. For those who have no idea about who I am talking about, I'm talking about Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd. Syd was an enigma. Most Pink Floyd fans know of Syd, but most of us never got to know him in any sort of intimate way, except through his music. Unlike a lot of Rock Stars who die in tragically early deaths, like plane crashes, motor vehicle accidents or drug overdoses. Syds star was taken from us in a very different way. Syd was removed from the limelight through what they've termed 'Drug burnout'. Physically, he was still here. Mentally though, he disappeared into himself. He became a recluse. After Syd's decline in 1968, many Floyd fans thought Pink Floyd would disappear and just be a footnote on the pages of Rock History. After all, Syd was the singer songwriter of the band. He wrote most of their early singles, and most of the first album, 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn'. One of his songs [Jugband Blues] appeared on the second album 'Saucereful of Secrets'. He released two Solo albums [Barrett & The Madcap Laughs], and a third album of his unreleased songs was came out [Opel], all of which I own. Anyway, it's sort of like he's been taken from us a second time.