The August 10th, 2006, issue (number 1006) of the world renowned magazine Rolling Stone includes a detailed, two page tribute to Syd Barrett.

Rolling Stone, August 10th

In the article, Roger Waters notes: "What was so stunning about Syd's songs, was through the whimsy and the crazy juxtaposition of ideas and words, there was a very powerful grasp of humanity. They were quintessentially human songs. And that is what I've always attempted to aspire to..."

The sadness of Syd's story is summed up by David Gilmour's comments: "[Barrett's life] is a sad story romanticized by people who don't know anything about it. They've made it fashionable, but it's just not that way."

Andrew King and Peter Jenner, who managed the band in the early days, look back with fondness for the man, with some interesting insights into the influences on Syd, and some of the creative processes - in particular looking at how Syd would operate the mixing desk with painterly movements of his hands, and also how he agonized over the lyrics to Arnold Layne for a month.

The magazine is hitting US shelves now, and is available in a number of countries either as an import, or in a domestic version. Domestic versions might not all have the Barrett tribute in them - this depends on the editorial policy of each region.

Our thanks to Nick Urmston for his help with this story.