R.I.P., Syd Barrett

One of the sadder lives in rock 'n' roll has come to an end, as original Pink Floyd guitarist Syd Barrett has died at the age of 60. His whimsy and musical genius produced a mere handful of recordings before drugs and mental illness forced him to retreat from public life and live in seclusion for most of the past 38 years. Pink Floyd, one of the greatest bands in rock history, has evolved through many different sounds over the years, but Barrett's psychedelia was the original. Let's hope he can finally rest in peace.

Here are the BBC's official obituary and a tribute.

Update: In 2002 The Observer had a good, long article about a brief encounter with Syd and some stories about his life.