Syd Barrett and David Gilmour on Stage Together: The Unraveling of Pink Floyd’s Original Frontman

By late 1967, Syd Barrett’s mental state had deteriorated so badly that he sometimes played a single chord for an entire set or just stood motionless on stage. Pink Floyd’s management brought in David Gilmour as a second guitarist to cover for Syd’s increasingly erratic live performances—and to eventually replace him.

Barrett reportedly didn’t protest Gilmour’s arrival. He seemed indifferent, even relieved to have someone else carry the load. But the on-stage dynamic was bizarre: the two guitarists rarely interacted; Syd would occasionally wander off or play something completely different from the rest of the band. Gilmour has said they barely knew each other, and their “dual guitar” period lasted only a few months before Barrett was formally ejected from the group in early 1968.

What’s often overlooked is that Barrett agreed to stay on as a non-performing songwriter after Gilmour joined—a plan that quickly failed because Syd would either show up with different musicians or