Syd Barrett

A man stealing clothes from washing lines was the unlikely hero of 'Arnold Layne', the first Pink Floyd single, and it came from the Cambridge-born guitarist who wrote most of their debut, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Barrett's songs were whimsical, stream-of-consciousness psychedelia, while his guitar drifted freely through dissonance, distortion, echo and feedback.

Amid heavy drug use and speculation about his mental health, he left in 1968, though his humour survived: at one last rehearsal he brought in 'Have You Got It Yet?', changing its arrangement as the others tried to learn it. Two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, followed in 1970, made with help from Pink Floyd and the Soft Machine.

By 1974 he had retired from public life, painting and gardening until his death in 2006. His former bandmates saluted him on 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'.