New Syd Barrett book to be published
Will include new interview with Pink Floyd co-founder

Short Books of London, England, will publish"Madcap: The half-life of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd's lost genius" by Tim Willis of London in October.

The book will include a new interview with Barrett, who has been reclusive for 30 years. "Syd's family would prefer he was left alone," Willis says in an exclusive email interview with "Floydian Slip." "After a lot of heart-searching, I decided to simply knock on his door. ... It's short, but sweet," he says of the interview.

Willis has worked as a writer/editor for 20 years, including time spent as a section editor of The Sunday Times. There he employed writer Polly Samson, now married to Floyd's David Gilmour. "As a friend of David Gilmour and the Floyd circle, I knew I could get the story right, solve some of the mysteries and publish a whole lot of new material," Willis explains.

Totaling 128 pages, the title is one new offering for 2002 from Short Books, which specializes in novella-length non-fiction. The fledgling firm was established in May 2001 by former journalists Rebecca Nicolson and Aurea Carpenter.

Orders can be placed through the publisher's distributor, Macmillans: +44 1256 302699. When ordering the book, reference the ISBN number: 1-904095-24-0.

(Thanks to Eric Burns for the heads up. Got a tip to share? Email us.)

(Posted: April 1, 2002)

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Updated: Oct. 29, 2002

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