Hi all,
My name is John Douglas and I am writing to inform you all of a Syd Barrett inspired song,'Oranges and Apples', by my band, The Trashcan Sinatras, being released in conjunction with the Syd Barrett Tribute Events at The City Wakes Festival in Cambridge. The proceeds go to the Syd Barrett Trust, an affiliated charity associated with Escape Artists, one of the charities directors is Rosemary Breen, Syd's sister.
Here is my tale of the inspiration for the song, "In the months after Syd's passing, I became entranced and intrigued again by him and his wonderful unique work. A friend of mine, the great English songwriter Boo Hewerdine, lives in Cambridge and had told me of seeing Syd on occasion riding around town on his bike (in fact, on one occasion, Syd fell off his bike and Boo helped him get back up and on his way ). He seemed to enjoy a degree of anonymity, and the local tradesmen spoke highly of him and he seemed to be happy. This picture of Syd is at odds with the historically documented version. I was relieved and pleased to discover that Syd had found a degree of peace and 'normality' in his years there.
I was very touched by his personal effects from his house. A fund raising sale of some of his household items by auction was held, and the auction house had photographs and descriptions of each item available to view online. Syd had personally adapted pretty much everything in his house, from the stereo to the chest of drawers to his bikes and wheelbarrow... all had been re-painted, re-designed or, somehow, made more personal by Syd. His highly individual attitude to song-writing was, it seemed, a reflection of his attitude to life in general.

Through dwelling on these things in admiration, the song "Oranges and Apples" appeared.

Here is a link to The City Wakes website with information about the charity and the festival and a two minute excerpt of the song and it's release details. http://www.thecitywakes.org.uk/cool_stuff/trashcan_sinatras.htm
Rick Wright rest in peace.