Syd Barrett photo auction shows obsessive side of Pink Floyd lovers

Nov 5, 2009 More articles: Music (7); Psych/prog CDs (5); Psych/prog vinyl (7); Syd Barrett CDs (1); Syd Barrett vinyl (1)

Three photographs of Syd Barrett taken by Mick Rock in 1969 are going to be offered for auction in a large music-themed event on November 21 by London auction/art dealers Phillips de Pury and Company.

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The first picture is a fantastic black and white closeup of Syd in his London flat, where he lived and took drugs after being ousted from Pink Floyd. Syd has an addled but confident look, staring directly at the camera with an intriguing, above-it-all smirk. The print is hand-numbered 11 of 50, and is expected to bring up to $3,300.

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The second is numbered 18 of 50, and is another black and white picture showing Syd reclined on the hood of a very large car on the street outside (or near) his flat. His expression is darker than the first black and white, and the photo shows his famously dark eyes and usual pained, confused facial expression around this time. This print is expected to yield the same bid amount, roughly, as the first black and white.

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madcap Mick Rock's third photograph of Syd in the auction is likely to be the most popular, as it's the only color photo, is part of a smaller series (numbered 1 of 25), and has a striking shot of Syd at close range in his apartment, the camera looking down on his shirtless form as he kneels on the floor next to his record player. (An LP is visible on the turntable but it is not possible to tell what it is.) The boards of his wooden floor are painted alternately in purple and orange, something Syd did himself for his famous The Madcap Laughs album cover. The look on Syd's face is genuinely haunting; very dark eyes and a very pitiful image overall. This digital color print is expected to reach bidding of up to US$4,100.

Having released no new music since 1970, and having recorded no new music as far as anyone knows since 1974 (some recordings from those abandoned sessions have been made available on bootlegs), Syd fans and psychedelic music enthusiasts clamor for new items, however tangential, from Syd and his demonic muses. These photographs, rarely seen until now, appear overpriced but are undeniably interesting relics from a very infamous and dreadful time in Syd Barrett's life.

You can bid online or see the other stuff for auction at the Phillips de Pury and Company website.

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