Sheer Melody

As Mumbai was dogged by serial blasts, news floated in of the death of Syd Barrett. He had been suffering from diabetes for several years.

Barrett was one of the co-founders of Pink Floyd in 1965 with Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright, and was the leading light behind most of the band's earlier songs. Famous for most of the earlier hits, especially the largely lyrical and critically-acclaimed Pipers at the Gates of Dawn. Unfortunately, Barrett couldn't draw a mental line on his use of LSD, and became a victim of the madness of which he had written so many songs. He had to quit the group five years before the release of Pink Floyd's most successful, and arguably, best album The Dark Side of the Moon. He released two solo albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, before withdrawing from the music business altogether. The rest of his life was spent living quietly in his hometown of Cambridge, England. He is famous for taking short trips to nearby grocery-stores on his cycle and not talking to curious fans and journalists who tried to talk to him.

Considered a rather mentally fragile musicians, this man was the inspiration behind several of Pink Floyd's later songs and albums, more specifically Shine on you crazy diamond and Wish you were here. He was a big inspiration for David Bowie and his song See Emily Play.