~
vinyl LP record label, side 1
photo by Styrous®
It
is Mid-December, 1982. I am in the Caribbean off the coast of Grand Cayman on a scuba diving
trip as a
photographer's assistant to Gene Weber who is photographing underwater
plants, animals, etc., on the coral reefs
to be used at a future time for a diving magazine. I have also been his
model for a motorcycle photo shoot and other projects. Gene as well as Peter Munekee and Jim Stewart have shot some of my performances (links below). Gene's work is in the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Collection at the San Francisco Public Library.
We
have had three dives today, one mid-morning and the second
mid-afternoon for photographing. The third dive was in the evening to catch lobsters
for dinner, so, we have moved out to sea to deeper water and dropped anchor where land
is not visible in ANY direction. There has always been land of some kind
in sight on any dive I have been on; this is the first time I have been
in this situation and it is a bit disorienting for me!
Six
of us dove into the pitch black water with weights attached to help us
sink to the sea floor. Eventually, with our search lights, we
spotted a pod of lobsters. It was the strangest sight I've ever seen; they
scurried along the small sandy hills and valleys of the sea floor in single-file making a long undulating chain of living crustaceans (link below).
We caught a couple and had a delicious lobster
dinner. During the evening a wind storm has been building up creating
large waves that make the boat heave from side to side. As usual, after dinner and cleaning
up, we passed a joint around then I took a quick shower
to wash off the dried sea salt still on me and my swim suit from the dive. I have come up to the flybridge above the pilot cabin, the very highest point of the boat, to dry
off; everyone is below so it is empty. Although it is December, the wind
is warm so I slipped off my wet-from-the-shower swim suit and laid down on the deck. I feel the Caribbean wind slowly evaporate the water droplets from my body, relax and let
the doobie have it's way with me.
The
sky is empty of clouds with a bright moon and, as we are out to sea
with no city lights, the stars are
brilliant and sparkle against the sky like diamonds on black velvet;
they and the moon give enough light to see things but all that can be
seen are the large waves around the boat tossing it around. As I lay
here I gaze up at the millions of stars
and am transfixed with awe as
the boat rocks side to side.
Then the strangest things begin to
happen.
Almost
imperceptibly, the rocking of the boat slows down and the boat becomes
absolutely still, solid as a rock; as this is happening the
stars, with the same pace, slowly begin to swing back and forth over
me. The boat and the sky have switched behavior, it is now THEY that are
moving, NOT the boat and me, they are now swaying back and forth
overhead; I assume this is an effect of being stoned, so, I am
delighted, thrilled and I enjoy it!
I
hear someone come up on deck, soon I hear the click of the shutter of a
camera. I glance over and see it is Gene who is photographing me
without a flash,
only by the light of the moon and the stars.
photo by Gene Weber
As
I slowly sink into my fantasy I make a resolution. I will solve the rest of the audio
mystery, the discovery of what this other worldly music is that's
playing, later.
38 years later
This was my introduction to Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. And I have since realized the lobster
dinner that night was THE most delicious I would EVER have in my life.
Also,
of the thousands of photos Gene took on that diving trip he only sold
one. A shot of me feeding an enormous school of fish; there must have
been hundreds of them. The only thing that can be seen is a huge ball of
fish and two legs and feet with fins sticking out from the bottom of
the ball. He asked me if I wanted the shot but as there was no way to
tell it was me, I said no. I wish I had said yes. If you find a 1983
scuba diving magazine with a shot like that, that's me.
So, I must get to the point, Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd. I had been a devoted fan of Pink Floyd since I discovered my first find by them, Meddle, in the early seventies. I had heard The Dark Side of the Moon when it was released in 1973 and it had become my all-time favorite album. Although Wish You Were Here
was released in 1975, for some reason I had completely missed it until
that night of bliss in 1982. Wish has superseded Dark Side and is now my VERY favorite Pink Floyd and belongs on my 'desert island' vinyl LP list (link below). Shine On You Crazy Diamond might be the greatest rock song ever written.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond was written by David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright as a tribute to original Pink Floyd founder, guitarist and primary songwriter for Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett.
In 1965, Barrett belonged to a group called the Tea Set (sometimes spelled T-Set).
When they found themselves playing a concert with another band of the
same name, Barrett came up with "The Pink Floyd Sound" (also known as
"The Pink Floyd Blues Band", later "The Pink Floyd"). The name is derived from the given names of two blues musicians whose Piedmont blues records Barrett had in his collection, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Barrett was ousted from the band by the other members in 1968 due to mental illness, and his excessive use of psychedelic drugs, both of which had affected his ability to
integrate with the rest of the band and perform and create as a
musician. He was replaced by Gilmour who had initially been brought in as second guitar. The remaining
band members felt guilty for removing him, but they viewed it as
necessary; while they acknowledged Barrett's creativity they were concerned about his
severe mental decline.
Syd Barrett - 1969
photo by Aubrey Powell
Barrett produced some solo albums but in 1972, he left the music industry, retired from public life and
strictly guarded his privacy. He continued painting and
dedicated himself to gardening.
1961 - 1962
The Syd Barrett ~ Self-Portrait painting utilizes an impasto technique. It is almost abstract with a stylized image of
the young Barrett staring out at the viewer. It is typical of the
art college style, at Camberwell in the early 1960’s. On Saturday, April 9, 2011, the painting was stolen from the Idea Generation Gallery in the Shoreditch district in the East End of London
where it was on display. The singer’s former girlfriend, Libby Gausden,
pleaded for its safe return and offered a award of £2,000; the painting was
returned about a week later (links below).
Pink Floyd recorded several tributes and
homages to him in addition to the 1975 song suite Shine On You Crazy Diamond and the 1979 rock opera The Wall. In 1988, EMI released an album of unreleased tracks and outtakes, Opel, with Barrett's approval.
One story of how he acquired the nickname "Syd" is that at the age of 14 he was named after an old local Cambridge jazz
double bassist, Sid "The Beat" Barrett, which claims Syd Barrett
changed the spelling to differentiate himself from his
namesake.
In 1972 he joined in a performance with the marvelous English progressive rock band, Nektar (German for Nectar) which was originally based in Germany.
Syd Barrett never married or had children. After suffering from diabetes for several years, he died of pancreatic cancer on July 7, 2006, at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England.
A star-packed tribute concert followed on October 5, 2007, at the Barbican Theatre in London. David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason performed the early Pink Floyd classic Arnold Layne, and fellow Floyd alum Roger Waters also appeared. The bill included Kevin Ayers, Damon Albarn of Blur, Captain Sensible of the Damned, Mike Heron of Incredible String Band, Robyn Hitchcock, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, among others (link below).
On Tuesday, September 9, 2011, there was a radio broadcast that discussed the mental breakdown of Syd Barrett as told by Record producer Peter Jenner, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, David Gilmour and Syd's Sister, Rosemarie (link below).
On the vinyl LP, Shine On You Crazy Diamond is performed by Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason with Venetta Fields and Carlena Williams on backing vocals and Dick Parry playing the most incredible sax ever!
The Official music video for the song, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, is on YouTube and the visuals in it totally convey my first experience with it.
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
Side 1:
1. - "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V)”, Roger Waters David Gilmour Richard Wright, Waters - 13:32
2. - "Welcome to the Machine”, Waters, Gilmour - 7:28
Total length: 21:00
2. - "Welcome to the Machine”, Waters, Gilmour - 7:28
Total length: 21:00
Side 2:
1. "Have a Cigar" (featuring Roy Harper), Waters, Harper - 5:08
2. "Wish You Were Here”, Waters Gilmour, Gilmour - 5:35
3. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI–IX)”, WrightGilmourWaters(Parts VI–VIII, Wright (Part IX), Waters - 12:28
Total length: 23:11
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
Clash Music ~ Syd Barrett Painting Returned
Louder Sound ~ The real Syd Barrett
NME ~ Stolen Barrett painting returned to London art gallery
RollingStone ~ 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Syd Barrett
Ultimate Rock Classics ~ The Day Pink Floyd founder died
YouTube links:
Sid Barrett ~
Barbican Tribute Concert (2007) ~
Barbican Tribute Concert (complete)
On Syd Barrett ~
Syd Barrett & Acid (1966)
Up Close & Personal (56 mins.)
Pink Floyd ~ Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Official Music Video)
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (complete suite Video) (25: 33)
Shine on you crazy diamond!
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