The Early David Bowie Single Syd Barrett “Liked” and Even Reviewed for ‘Melody Maker’ in 1967

“I was passionately in love with the writing of Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd,” revealed David Bowie in the 2007 BBC documentary Seven Ages of Rock. “There was something slightly not-quite-with-us about Syd that really appealed to me strongly. There was a Peter Pan quality about him.”

In 2003, Bowie even listed Barrett’s 1970 solo album, The Madcap Laughs, as one of his favorite albums.

“Syd will always be the Pink Floyd for some of us older fans,” Bowie told Vanity Fair. “He made this album, according to legend, while fragile and precariously out of control. Malcolm Jones, one of his producers at the time, denies this vehemently. I will go with Jones, as he was there. [The] highlight track for me is ‘Dark Globe,’ gloriously disturbing and poignant all at once.”

In 1967, UK music magazine Melody Maker asked Barrett to review some recent singles. At the time, Pink Floyd already had two charting singles in the U.K., “Arnold Layne” and “See Emily Play.” They were mere weeks from releasing their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, when Barrett delivered his reviews.

Among the nine singles Barrett discussed was a posthumous song. “Trying to Forget,” by country singer Jim Reeves, which he called a “Very way-out record” but admitted to tapping his foot to. Barrett showed little enthusiasm for songs by New York City rockers the Blues Magoos, and suggested one Tom Jones song would sound better played backward since it was “too emotional.” Barrett was also not a fan of “Nothing Today” by Barry Fantoni, which he dubbed “very negative.”

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[RELATED: The Crossdressing Thief Behind Pink Floyd’s Debut Single “Arnold Layne’]

“Love You Till Tuesday”

Barrett also reviewed “newcomer” David Bowie in Melody Maker and was a partial fan of one of his early singles, “Love You Till Tuesday.” Written by Bowie and released on his eponymous debut in 1967, the track was an early pop gem that nonetheless failed to impact the U.K. charts.

“Yeah, it’s a joke number,” said Barrett. “Jokes are good. Everybody likes jokes. The Pink Floyd likes jokes. It’s very casual. If you play it a second time, it might be even more of a joke. Jokes are great, I think that was a funny joke.”

Though Barrett’s comments were a bit snarky, he did offer some praise for the Bowie track. “I think people will like the bit about it being Monday when in fact it was Tuesday,” said Barret in his review of the song. “Very chirpy, but I don’t think my toes were tapping at all.”

Despite Barrett’s lukewarm review of “Love You Till Tuesday,” Bowie remained a lifelong fan of his and covered Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play” (written by Barrett) on 1973 covers album Pin Ups.
Bowie later teamed up with David Gilmour in 2006 for a performance of another one of Barrett’s early Pink Floyd songs, “Arnold Layne.”

“Syd was a major inspiration for me,” said Bowie after Barrett’s death in 2006. “He was so charismatic and such a startlingly original songwriter. Also, along with Anthony Newley, he was the first guy I’d heard to sing pop or rock with a British accent. His impact on my thinking was enormous. A major regret is that I never got to know him. A diamond indeed.”

Photo: Syd Barrett, 1967. (Chris Walter/WireImage)