One of the last-known live recordings of Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett is going on the auction block later this month. The sale could lead to a commercial release of the material.
The reel of ½-inch tape contains a concert performed Jan. 27, 1972, at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge, England. The show included Barrett sitting-in for three numbers with the Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band: “Number Nine,” “Gotta Be a Reason,” “Let’s Roll,” and “Sweet Little Angel.”
The recording, which might be the master recording, also includes performances by Hawkwind and Pink Fairies.
The show was recorded by Spaceward Studios founder Gary Lucas, who’s provided a statement of provenance for the item. Lucas says, “The recording of the concert was organized at the last minute and the equipment was poor as all that was available was a rather poor mixer. So we just stuck a stereo mic pair across the stage for drums/backline and mixed in some PA mix for front.
“The whole affair was a shambles with a fight breaking out around the stage at one point destroying at least one of the mics.”
Nonetheless, auction house Bonhams describes the audio quality of the tape as “reasonable” and says “preliminary inquiries as to the possibility of the recording being released have been made.”
The auction will be held June 23. The recording is expected to fetch upwards of $5,000.
