The iconic purple and orange floorboards featured on the cover of Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett‘s 1970 album “The Madcap Laughs” are coming to a St. Leonards, Hastings pub.
The boards were sold at auction in July. The seller had purchased the London flat where Barrett had painted them more than 50 years earlier ahead of a photo shoot by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis and photographer Mick Rock.
Estimated to go for £10,000 (US $12,662), the winning bid was £28,500 (US $36,101). It was submitted by what Sussex World describes as “a consortium of Syd fans who pooled their own resources.”
Now the owners are loaning them to The Piper pub in East Sussex — named for Floyd’s debut album “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” — where they’ll be put on display.
A spokesperson for the pub quoted by Sussex World says, “A few bits appear to be missing, presumably damaged, but with the boards we do have, one idea is to lay some of them on top of our current stage, so artists will be able to perform on them.
“We are currently exploring how feasible this is as we still want to ensure they are protected in some way. Failing that, we will keep them together and place them somewhere else within the venue. We won’t be doing anything until we have assessed what is best for them.”
The boards are in somewhat dodgy condition. Some were apparently sawn in half to allow transportation after being removed from the London flat.
The location is fitting: Barrett’s last gig with Pink Floyd took place at nearby Hastings Pier in January 1968.
