Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Press

“The era of Syd being in the band,” Pink Floyd‘s David Gilmour shares during podcast The Lost Art of Conversation, “was something completely different.”

“It’s chalk and cheese, the different periods,” he adds.

Syd Barrett left the band as an acid casualty in 1968 after suffering a legendary mental collapse.

The end of his tenure in the group marks what fans consider the first three distinct periods of Pink Floyd’s history.

(The second being Roger Waters‘ years as the band’s principal creative visionary and the third is the later period following Waters’ exit after falling out with the rest of band in 1985.)

“But you know Syd was a friend of mine,” Gilmour states, “and his talent was exceptional. A quirky original sort of thing.”

Gilmour was a friend of Barrett’s before Syd joined an earlier iteration of Pink Floyd known as The Tea Set in 1965.

Even though Gilmour entered the band at roughly the same time Syd was unceremoniously pushed out, the guitarist would work with Syd on solo albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett in 1970.

David and the rest of the band had no contact with Syd following a surprise visit to Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here recording sessions in 1975.

This said he and all of Pink Floyd’s surviving members did pay tribute to Syd at a special 2007 concert at London’s Barbican Center titled The Madcap’s Last Laugh following Syd’s death in 2006.

“Sometimes we were able to do a little bit of his material,” Gilmour reflects warmly.  “That was enormous fun doing that little tribute show.”

In the same episode of The Lost Art of Conversation Gilmour recalls his band’s extravagant Venice performance in 1989 and teases that the music Pink Floyd fans have heard so far may not be the last.

You can listen to the full podcast here.