Pink Floyd star David Gilmour is to release a tribute single to his former bandmate Syd Barrett.

The EP will feature live performances of two songs written by the reclusive guitarist, who died this year.

One of the tracks, Arnold Layne, features vocals from David Bowie, who appeared at one of Gilmour's Royal Albert Hall gigs over the summer.

Barrett was a founder member of Pink Floyd and an influential songwriter, penning the band's early hits.

The guitarist joined the group in 1965 but left three years later, after just one album.

I wonder if this will be a big success for Gilmour?

i dont know if he cares. he really seems to adore syd and want to memorialize him. it still wasn't that long ago he died.

there's some youtube of him doing some syd songs. they did a couple when i saw the pink floyd tribute band a year or so ago, i really love his, syd's stuff when he was on his game. even though that was a brief period.

I hope it will bring more attention to Syd Barrett.  I recommend "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," (the only Pink Floyd studio LP featuring the original line-up w/ Syd), and the compilation "Relics," which features Syd's best songs, IMO.  Barrett's solo material, such as "The Madcap Laughs" and "Opel" albums are interesting, but not very cohesive.  That's the tragedy of Syd Barrett.  There was this brilliant flash of a great young songwriter and then the onset of a lifelong mental illness that made it impossible to continue his career.  He made just a few post-Floyd excursions and his health problems hampered even those.  A lot of fans kept hoping Barrett would rally for a comeback pretty much until his death, though by the '80s it was painfully obvious Mr. Barrett was done.

I'm definitely glad Gilmour is coming out with the Barrett tribute EP.  I look forward to hearing it.  As far as I know, Gilmour was diligent about getting Syd his share of the royalties, but there was not much else he could do for the man.

i've always found gilmour's affection for barrett to be very touching. which is funny cuz he took barrett's place, in the rock band world quite a betrayal -- although barrett lost his mind so it was understandable in that instance.

piper is such a great album. that and saucerful of secrets go well together (back in the days of vinyl they were sold together in a 2 LP set called "a nice pair," har har, i dunno if they stilll sell it that way on CD etc.), piper as barrett's zenith and secrets as the other band members imitating barrett's modus operandi -- psychedelic songs about childish games and daydreams. (see saw, which i think was written by rick wright, is quite a nice syd barrett lift. so, later on on "atom heart mother," is dave gilmour's "fat old sun" -- both very nice pink floyd songs that are more obscure but to me very syd-reminiscent.)

i still say the beatles, led zeppelin, pink floyd and yes are probably the four best bands ever.

i've always found gilmour's affection for barrett to be very touching. which is funny cuz he took barrett's place, in the rock band world quite a betrayal -- although barrett lost his mind so it was understandable in that instance.

piper is such a great album. that and saucerful of secrets go well together (back in the days of vinyl they were sold together in a 2 LP set called "a nice pair," har har, i dunno if they stilll sell it that way on CD etc.), piper as barrett's zenith and secrets as the other band members imitating barrett's modus operandi -- psychedelic songs about childish games and daydreams. (see saw, which i think was written by rick wright, is quite a nice syd barrett lift. so, later on on "atom heart mother," is dave gilmour's "fat old sun" -- both very nice pink floyd songs that are more obscure but to me very syd-reminiscent.)

i still say the beatles, led zeppelin, pink floyd and yes are probably the four best bands ever.

Well, it's not like Pete Best!  It's a little different when the replaced member is incapacitated.  Nobody wanted Barrett out of the band.  Who would want to get rid of someone who could write songs like "See Emily Play"?  In just his short span in Floyd, Barrett set the standard of psychedelic rock.  Barrett just fell apart.  Some people still blame the acid.  Too much LSD can precipitate temporary psychosis, but not forty years' worth!

David Gilmour knows he owes much of his success to what Syd Barrett started, plus Syd was Gilmour's friend even before he was forced out of the band.  Thus the lifelong loyalty makes sense, but it's not a given.  A lot of rock musicians in the same spot as Gilmour would have turned their backs and forgotten about Barrett.

"Atom Heart Mother" is one of my favorites. 
"...and if I go insane, please don't stick your wires in my brain."

I still say the should have retired the name Pink Floyd after Roger Waters left (even though I loved the song "Learning to Fly"), but remember "Money"?  The name Pink Floyd is worth too much of it to part with!

yeah, david gilmour was always my favorite member but when they split up neither "pink floyd" nor roger water' solo work was anything near as good. waters was so downbeat, so much of gilmour's stuff could verge into schmaltziness, they needed each other to set each other off. when explains why they fought all the time.

yeah, david gilmour was always my favorite member but when they split up neither "pink floyd" nor roger water' solo work was anything near as good. waters was so downbeat, so much of gilmour's stuff could verge into schmaltziness, they needed each other to set each other off. when explains why they fought all the time.

Roger Waters: my daddy died in the war, buy my record!
:P

Roger Waters: my daddy died in the war, buy my record!
:P
pretty much, particularly later, round about the wall, he really seemed to get lost in that.

animals was an amazing album, and then after that it seemed like the whole band started getting sucked up into roger waters' emotional imbalance. man's a genius, but i somehow suspect behind the scenes dave let up on pimpslappin' him and he started running wild with his whole depressive vision.