Background
From late 1967 to early 1968, Syd Barrett's erratic behaviour became more apparent, partly as a consequence of his heavy use of drugs. At one performance, Barrett slowly detuned his guitar. The audience seemed to enjoy such antics, unaware of the rest of the band's consternation. Interviewed on Pat Boone's show during this tour, Barrett's reply to Boone's questions was a "blank and totally mute stare". Barrett exhibited similar behaviour during the band's first appearance on Dick Clark's popular TV show American Bandstand. When asked two questions by Clark, Barrett's answers were terse, almost to the point of rudeness (though, as Clark admitted, they had been flying non-stop from London to Los Angeles).
Sometime around Christmas, David Gilmour (Barrett's old school friend) was asked to join the band as a second guitarist to cover for Barrett when his erratic behaviour prevented him from performing. As Barrett had, up until then, written (or save for a few songs; co-written) all the songs on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, as well as the band's three singles up to this point, the initial plan was to keep him in the group as a non-touring member—in similar style to what The Beach Boys had done with Brian Wilson—but this soon proved to be impractical. Upon leaving the Floyd, Barrett said to Melody Maker: "I suppose it was really just a matter of being a little offhand about things".
Read more about this topic: A Saucerful Of Secrets
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