Syd Barrett's abrupt exit from Pink Floyd and his quiet life afterward

Syd Barrett didn’t really “leave” Pink Floyd — the band left him. By early 1968, his escalating LSD use and deteriorating mental state made it impossible for him to perform, write, or even communicate reliably. The rest of the group simply stopped picking him up for shows, eventually deciding to move on without him. The official split was announced that April, with Barrett’s friend David Gilmour taking over guitar.

After Pink Floyd, Barrett released two solo albums — The Madcap Laughs and Barrett — both patchwork sessions that capture his fractured brilliance. He then retreated from music entirely, moving back to his mother’s house in Cambridge. For the next three decades, he lived as a reclusive painter and gardener, occasionally spotted riding a bicycle or buying sweets. The band paid him royalties and checked in quietly. He died in 2006 at age 60, largely content but never returning to the public eye.