He was Pink Floyd's astral voyager who went too far, the star-child of psychedelia who never returned from his journey to inner space.

Nearly 30 years after his brief creative shining, the cult of Syd Barrett continues to fascinate new generations. Cliff Jones investigates the truth behind the myth of the original Crazy Diamond.

In a private ward at the Adenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, where a Barrett Room is named in honour of his late father, the respected pathologist, Syd Barrett lies resting. He is now almost totally blind, following complications arising from diabetes. The prognosis isn't good if he does not routinely take the prescribed insulin, and Barrett seems either incapable or unwilling to do so by himself. Since the death of his mother Winifred in 1991, Syd has often lapsed into diabetic coma, apparently unconcerned about his helth. However, he is watched over by a tight network of understanding relatives and neighbours.

When he's healthy, Syd lives a peaceful, comfortable life in one of a secluded row of semi-detached houses on the outskirts of Cambridge. His earnigns from his recordings are substantial and he wants for very little, though he chooses a modest existence. Nevertheless, he is still in an emotionally precatious state; talk of his illustrious past can trigger bouts of depression, sometimes stretching to weeks. For this reason, none of his former colleagues in Pink Floyd have direct contact with him anymore.

And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?(maybe refering to the space race)