(Credits: Far Out / Press)
Sun 21 December 2025 20:45, UK
The success of Pink Floyd is a difficult one to wager with, given that the largest extent of their acclaim was borne out of the tragic mystique of Syd Barrett.
Of course, the major facets of the band’s legacy arrived much later on, in the 1970s, when their distinct brand of prog-rock seemed to storm every possible corner of the world. But in doing so, this almost does a disservice to the psychedelic 1960s Syd Barrett era, depicting the frontman as some sort of mystical unicorn whose struggles and strife were neatly cut out of the picture.
The main reason that Barrett tends to receive such a romantic stereotyping is naturally because of his stratospheric songwriting ability. Whimsical by its very kind but also acerbic and intelligent, it is perhaps this latter aspect which gets lost more within the web of storytelling and beguilement that casts audiences under its spell.
With the rest of Pink Floyd left to not just pick up the pieces but also reflect and dissect every second they could have missed from their elusive frontman, they realise more than anyone just how intricate and layered Barrett’s efforts could really be. There was nothing better to exemplify this than the case of the track ‘Astronomy Domine’ from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, something that Nick Mason never felt went fully understood.
To try to explain the full folklore behind ‘Astronomy Domine’ would almost be like attempting to explain the theory of relativity, because it’s just so multifaceted and complex. But in Mason’s eyes, this is where most people seem to give up before they’ve even begun, between its references to Shakespeare, science fiction comics, classical suites, and Morse code. It’s head-spinning, to say the least.
Yet for Mason, there were far more interesting things that he, as a drummer, could sink his teeth into than the audience may ever have appreciated. “This is such a great drum track in an interesting time signature. It’s a fantastic bit of ’60s philosophy mixed with a sort of psychedelic lyric,” he later said, explaining how its oddball charm had wormed its way into his heart.
This is why ‘Astronomy Domine’ has become one of his favourite tunes to play live. “This is enormous fun to play, lots of tom-toms, lots of double-bass-drum pounding,” he told Uncut. “I love the vocal harmonies, like a Gregorian choir. People think of it as a freakout, but it’s deceptively complicated with lots of very unusual chord changes.”
It’s hardly that Pink Floyd were some kind of prodigal symphonic masters, but if you were to assimilate a rock band as closely to the warbling classical canon as possible, then you may well find them there. That’s the true gift of a song like ‘Astronomy Domine’ – there are just so many layers to unwrap.
Barrett’s story can often be mired through a lens of tragedy and pain. This is not wholly unjustified, but it almost forgets the legacy of a man who was an Einstein of the recording studio, a master of the perfect mix. He may not have coped with all the rest of everything that came with this level of genius, but he certainly did leave some gemstones behind.
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