Even when he was out of the group people kept coming around and he would actually lock himself in his room. Like if he made the mistake of answering the front door before he'd locked himself in his room, he found it very difficult to say no. He'd have these girls pounding on his bedroom door all night, literally, and he'd be locked inside, trapped. He did rather encourage that behavior to a certain extent, but then he didn't know what to do with it; he would resent it.
When he gave up the group he took up painting again for a bit, but he never enjoyed it. He didn't really have a sense of direction. He used to lie in bed every morning, and I would get this feeling like the wall between our rooms didn't quite exist, because I'd know that Syd was lying in bed thinking, 'What do I do today ? Shall I get out of bed ? If I get out of bed, I can do this, and I can do that - or I can do that, or I could do that.' He had the world at his feet, all the possibilities, and he just couldn't choose. He had great problems committing himself to any action. As for committing himself to doing anything for any length of time - he was the kind of person who'd change in the middle. He'd set off, lose his motivation, and start questioning what he was doing - which might just be walking down the street.
Sometimes he'd be completely jolly and then just snap - you could never tell what he was like. He could be fabulous. He was the sort of person who had amazing charm; if he wanted your attention, he'd get it. He was very bright. After he left the group he was very much aware of being a failure. I think that was quite difficult, coming to terms with that.
(Syd, unable to tolerate the parasites and hangers-on any longer, went back to Cambridge) He just left them, and then rang me up and said that I had to get rid of them. I said he had to get rid of them, bit I actually did in the end. I said, 'Look, Syd wants you out; he's coming back!' They were a bit frightened of him because he did have a violent side.
He really didn't have to have that much control before, but when you have to provide you own motivation all the time it is difficult, certainly in terms of writing a song. When it came down to recording there were always problems. He was not at his most together recording 'The Madcap Laughs'. He had to be taken there sometimes, and he had to be got. It didn't seem to make any difference whether it was making him happy or unhappy; he'd been through that, the excitement of it, the first time around.
(on running into Barrett in London's Speakeasy club) I wasn't sure he recognized me. I was with some people he'd known for years; we talked for about five minutes, but did he really know who we were ? That was when he was starting to get heavy, and he didn't look like the same kind of person at all.
(On Syd's plan to become a doctor) Yes, a doctor, and he and Gayla Pinion were going to get married and live in Oxford. He had a bit of the suburban dream. That was a very bizarre sort of thing underlying him. He had lots of concepts that he found very attractive like that; he didn't really like all the one-night stands; he wanted the marriage and that bit, in the back of his head.
Jay Whitten: bperet@yahoo.com