Grantchester Meadows Tribute Day

On the 20th of August 2006 Joanna Curwood organised a Syd Barrett event in Grantchester Meadows in a field behind the Green Man Pub. Most information about this has disappeared in the mists of time but luckily that slightly fantastic Reverend salvaged the Astral Piper page describing the event.

Steve Bassett (aka "Madcapsyd") reported:

I arrived at Grantchester at around 2:30 and made my way to the meadows. The entrance was high up over the River Cam and a few hundred yards away I could see a crowd of people and the sound of See Emily Play was drifting through the air. A healthy turnout of around 100 people were gathered to pay tribute to Roger "Syd" Barrett. A few light showers did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd. I found Joanne and she seemed delighted by the turn out. (...)

There was some communal singing along with the performers and it was great to hear Syd's music being so appreciated by everyone. It was also very encouraging to see some of the children joining in, hopefully becoming the fanbase of future generations. Most of Syd's favourite's were performed including Arnold Layne, Dark Globe, Dominoes, Bike and a great 3 acoustic guitar Astronomy Domine. (...)

On the river there was a steady flow of punts and many "Sunday Strollers", obviously attracted by the music, came to see what was happening. Many of them stayed for the duration. Two members of 70's Cambridge punk band "The Users", Chris Free and Andrew O'Hanrahan, spared me some time to tell me how their lead singer had introduced them to Syd's music.

(Full article and pictures at: Grantchester Meadows Tribute Day.)
 

Maya Deren

For this celebration an anonymous ‘street art’ artist created a Syd Barrett painting on a wall at St Margarets Square and the street sign had been changed to ‘shine on’. Insiders pretty well knew it was made by Maya Deren, who was a well respected member on the Astral Piper & Late Night forums.

The original Barrett street painting was rapidly removed but copies appeared later on other street walls and on various exhibitions.

Pictures of these different Sydcarnations can be found on Maya's Flickr and a pretty complete gallery is present on our own Tumblr account, where this article was originally published.

Many thanks to: Steve Bassett (Madcapsyd), Joanna Curwood, Maya Deren, Harlequin, Jabanette, Dion Johnson, Joanne Milne (Charley).
♥ Libby ♥ Iggy ♥