{"product_id":"a-very-irregular-head","title":"A Very Irregular Head","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e“I don't think I'm easy to talk about. I've got a very irregular head. And I'm not anything that you think I am anyway.”—Syd Barrett’s last interview \u003ci\u003eRolling Stone \u003c\/i\u003e1971\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eRoger Keith “Syd” Barrett (1946–2006) was by all accounts the very definition of a golden boy. Blessed with good looks and a natural aptitude for painting and music he was a charismatic elfin child beloved by all who fast became a teenage leader in Cambridge England where a burgeoning bohemian scene was flourishing in the early 1960s. Along with three friends and collaborators—Roger Waters Richard Wright and Nick Mason—he formed what would soon become Pink Floyd and rock ’n’ roll was never the same. Starting as a typical British cover band aping approximations of American rhythm ’n’ blues they soon pioneered an entirely new sound and British psychedelic rock was born. With early trippy Barrett-penned pop hits such as “Arnold Layne” (about a clothesline-thieving cross-dresser) and “See Emily Play” (written specifically for the epochal “Games For May” concert) Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett as their main creative visionary captured the zeitgeist of “Swinging” London in all its Technicolor glory.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eBut there was a dark side to all this new-found freedom. Barrett like so many around him began ingesting large quantities of a revolutionary new drug LSD and his already-fragile mental state—coupled with a personality inherently unsuited to the life of a pop star—began to unravel. The once bright-eyed lad was quickly replaced seemingly overnight by a glowering sinister dead-eyed shadow of his former self given to erratic highly eccentric reclusive and sometimes violent behavior. Inevitably sacked from the band Barrett retreated from London to his mother’s house in Cambridge where he would remain until his death only rarely seen or heard further fueling the mystery.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eIn the meantime Pink Floyd emerged from the underground to become one of the biggest international rock bands of all time releasing multi-platinum albums many that dealt thematically with the loss of their friend Syd Barrett: \u003ci\u003eThe Dark Side of the Moon Wish You Were Here \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Wall\u003c\/i\u003e are all on many levels about him.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eA Very Irregular Head\u003c\/i\u003e journalist Rob Chapman lifts the veil of secrecy that has surrounded the legend of Syd Barrett for nearly four decades drawing on exclusive access to family friends archives journals letters and artwork to create the definitive portrait of a brilliant and tragic artist. Besides capturing all the promise of Barrett’s youthful years Chapman challenges the oft-held notion that Barrett was a hopelessly lost recluse in his later years and creates a portrait of a true British eccentric who is rightfully placed within a rich literary lineage that stretches through Kenneth Graham Hilaire Belloc Edward Lear Lewis Carroll John Lennon David Bowie and on up to the pioneers of Britpop.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eA tragic affectionate and compelling portrait of a singular artist \u003ci\u003eA Very Irregular Head\u003c\/i\u003e will stand as the authoritative word on this very English genius for years to come.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u0026gt;","brand":"Oxfordbookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44788840267955,"sku":"9780306821431","price":1340.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0718\/4164\/4723\/files\/blk_imp_17478017039780306821431.jpg?v=1762834513","url":"https:\/\/oxfordbookstore.com\/products\/a-very-irregular-head","provider":"Oxfordbookstore ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}