The Day Roger Waters Drove Syd Barrett to a Psychiatric Hospital

By early 1968, Syd Barrett’s descent into psychosis had made him nearly impossible to work with. After a show where Syd simply stood on stage, strumming one chord and staring into space, the band had had enough. Roger Waters volunteered to drive him to a psychiatric clinic—some say it was after a particularly disastrous gig at the UFO Club, others point to a rehearsal where Syd tried to teach the band a new song that consisted of the same riff for 20 minutes. Waters pulled up to the hospital, helped Syd inside, and left him there. Syd’s stay was short; he emerged no better, and the band never officially fired him—they just stopped picking him up for shows.

The other members handled Syd’s decline very differently. Rick Wright was the most sympathetic, often trying to coax Syd into playing or covering for him during fuck-ups. Nick Mason tried to mediate, hoping the problem would pass. David