Syd Barrett documentary ‘Have You Got It Yet?’ in the works

The Syd Barrett documentary ‘Have You Got It Yet?’ is co-directed by Roddy Bogawa & Storm Thorgerson. Storm Thorgerson has known Barrett since the 1960s and went to high school with him and Roger Waters. Thorgerson passed away in 2013 at 69 years old. The documentary was completed by Roddy Bogawa, Rupert Truman and producer Julius Beltrame after the passing of Storm Thorgerson.

“Have You Got It Yet?” will feature interviews with Pink Floyd members Roger Waters, Nick Mason and David Gilmour. It also features interviews with Pink Floyd’s managers Peter Jenner and Andrew King as well as Barrett’s sister Rosemary Breen. It explored Barrett’s contribution to Pink Floyd, when he was kicked out of the band in 1968, his mental health issues, his solo career and his retirement.

Barrett passed away in 2006, he was a true musical genius, but he was also a troubled soul. The documentary shows, he was plagued by mental health issues and substance abuse problems. These problems eventually led to his departure from Pink Floyd. The band would go on to find massive success without him, but Barrett’s legacy still looms large.

Pink Floyd became one of the leading lights of Britain’s burgeoning psychedelic scene in the late 1960s. They were particularly well-known for their live performances, which often featured elaborate light shows. Barrett played a pivotal role in Pink Floyd’s sound and vision; he wrote most of their early songs and was the main creative force behind their first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

Pink Floyd Merchandise

However, by 1968, Barrett’s excessive use of LSD had begun to take its toll on his mental health. He started exhibiting increasingly erratic behavior both onstage and off. On one occasion, he showed up for a gig without his guitar; on another occasion, he played the same chord over and over again for an entire show. As a result of his deteriorating condition, Barrett left Pink Floyd in April 1968.

Pink Floyd continued making music without Barrett; they brought in David Gilmour to replace him as lead guitarist and singer. Gilmour helped them finish their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets; it was released later that year to positive reviews. Meanwhile, Barrett retreated from the public eye; he recorded two solo albums—The Madcap Laughs (1970) and Barrett (1970)—neither of which were as commercially successful as Pink Floyd. He drifted further into obscurity until his death from pancreatic cancer in 2006.

Bogawa says “It’s the tragic story of Brian Wilson and Kurt Cobain and many others in music and art whose explosive creative drives often rest on fragile exuberant energy that gets pressure cooked from their success. The film is not only a portrait of one of the most iconic cult figures in music through the lens and memories of his bandmates, lovers, friends, and musicians but also a look back at a group of friends growing up in the mid-sixties and their idealism, ambitions, hopes and dreams during such an amazing cultural moment.”

“Have You Got it Yet?” release date is not yet known.