About this lot

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with date code for 21st October 1969, strung with six strings, six further strings accompanyingProvenance: Given by Roger to his brother Alan and thence by descent within the familyThe proceeds from the sale of this lot will be shared equally and donated to MIND and Arthur Rank Hospice Charity. Footnote: One of the most internationally significant cultural touchstones of the 20th century, Roger ‘Syd’ Barrett, both man and legend, is revered not only as an individual, but as a totemic figure, capturing the nihilism, hedonism and excess of the 1960s.After his departure from Pink Floyd in 1968, Barrett briefly embarked on a solo career, releasing two albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, in 1970, but spent most of his time cocooned in the basement of his childhood home in Cambridge, where he boarded up the windows and ensconced himself within a jungle of paintings, records and musical equipment. The present lot is believed to date from around this time and is thought to have been referenced by Barrett in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, dated December 23rd 1971. Speaking to Mick Rock, from his garden at 183 Hills Road, Cambridge, Barrett, then aged just 25, is reported to have produced the guitar, which is noted by Rock to be a Yamaha, before beginning to strum a new version of Love You, from his album Madcap. Barret continues, "I worked this out yesterday. I think it's much better. It's my new 12-string guitar. I'm just getting used to it. I polished it yesterday”. Shortly after his interview with Mick Rock, Barrett retreated almost entirely from both the music industry and the public eye, and instead dedicated his time and energy to painting.The guitar is sold together with a copy of the 1971 edition of Rolling Stone Magazine.Condition report: IN good overall condition, strung with only 5 strings, a few light surface marks and scratches.

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