10 Amazing Bands Who Lost Members At The Height Of Their Potential

8. Pink Floyd (Syd Barrett)

Syd Barrett didn€™t die while a member of Pink Floyd. He didn€™t even immediately leave the music industry when the band he formed unceremoniously ejected him from their ranks. After putting out a couple of intriguing solo albums however, Barrett faded from public life entirely. During this time he once visited his former bandmates in the studio, looking like a shell of his former self and inexplicably brushing his teeth - the remaining members still recall the incident with great sadness. He died in 2006 at the age of 60, but as far as Pink Floyd was concerned, he was lost long before then. At the height of their underground popularity, when they were busy leading the psychedelic pop scene into uncharted frontiers, Pink Floyd all but lost frontman Syd due to his rapidly deteriorating mental condition. He became infamous for wandering aimlessly on stage, sometimes not playing the guitar at all and other times playing only tuneless noise. His illness is believed by many to have been brought on by overuse of psychedelic drugs. There€™s no telling how different the world we live in now would be had Syd stayed with the band, as they ended up being among the most gargantuan musical acts of all-time. The void left by Syd made room for Roger Waters to climb into a full leadership role over the course of a couple albums, but despite the massive success, hardly anything in the stern Waters-led years reflects the charm, whimsy and irresistible catchiness of Syd Barrett€™s Pink Floyd.