There is a little argument Syd Barrett, the founder and first chief songwriter of Pink Floyd, was a tragic figure and a victim of rock and roll excess. Of course, to so many, he was also a creative genius whose due can never be overpaid. Countless tributes and books have carried his name. A documentary put together in 2001 called The Pink Floyd & Syd Barrett Story was set up around a Behind The Music format with BBC wit and style. It has all the necessary footage and interviews with all the principal characters and associates. There are some holes and if offers little about Barrett’s later years. Have You Got It Yet?, a more recent documentary directed by close confidant and Floyd album cover designer Storm Thorgerson and award-winning filmmaker Roddy Bogawa, cover everything and then some.
Now available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, Have You Got It Yet? offers a unique and thorough overview of Syd Barrett — from his childhood and development as an artist, through his years with Pink Floyd, his short-lived solo career, and the later years right up to his unfortunate passing July 7, 2006 in Cambridge. Well placed insights from band members David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Roger Waters’ along with Pink Floyd’s early managers Peter Jenner and Andrew King; luminaries like the Who’s Pete Townshend and Blur’s Graham Coxon; and most revealing, a few words from Barrett’s sister, Rosemary Breen, who cared for her brother for the last years of his life.
In addition to the full-length film Have You Got It Yet?, which appeared in cinemas worldwide in 2023, the DVD and Blu-ray set includes two live performances of “Arnold Layne” — the first featuring David Gilmour with David Bowie and Rick Wright (the clip is part of Gilmour’s Remember That Night Live At The Royal Albert Hall, 2007 set); and the second is from 2007’s The Madcap’s Last Laugh — a tribute concert for Syd Barrett with Gilmour, Mason, and Wright for their final appearance together as Pink Floyd. This one definitely checks off all the boxes for those who follow the history of Pink Floyd and British rock of the 1960s and 70s.
~ Shawn Perry
