Iv only just noticed how so comparable they are, if you look at syd in his younger day with floyd, he looked like the younger brian, long black coat, long black hair, eye lacker, hell even the face, both wiere drug users, both musicians, both got skrewed on drugs, both were amazing song writers, both played guitar, both had mental breakdowns, anyone else notice this?
shareNot that I'd knew, but it could very well be, that Brian was modelled loosely after Syd. then again - there are so many tragedies in rock music, and most of them somehow have things in common with that. Marc Bolan was mentioned in the film, Alice Cooper's Glen Buxton, though blonde, had a lot of a Brian as well... I'm convinced every member of the band is based on several rock musicians in history. I mean, the Scream Freedom coat and makeup of Ray looked a lot like some Peter Gabriel dressup when he was with Genesis. Just for example. But this is an intriguing topic indeed. Hope others will join. What about Tony and Beano? And Keith?
***********************
http://www.billnighy.net - GET THE EXPERIENCE
tony kinda reminds me of dylan, beano, lol well arnt all drumers like that? and keith, hmmm whos miserable and a right moody sod...tony iomi!
shareTony has something of Genesis' Tony Banks, as well. Being the resting point in the band, clearing up situatons.
You mean Les, the bassman, don't You? Keith is the dead former frontman of the Fruits, Brian's brother. I think Keith is the reincarnation of every dead rock star. Probably has been a human being, but is totally glorified after his death, so his successor can't do anything but lose.
***********************
http://www.billnighy.net - GET THE EXPERIENCE
A few years ago one of the guys who reviews movies for the New York Daily News wrote an article about movies about musicians, and "Still Crazy" was one of the movies he discussed. He stated that Brian was based on a composite of Jimmy Page and Syd Barret. I remember this because I had heard several people speculate on who the various characters were supposed to be, but this person worded it in such a way that he seemed to know that that was what the writers meant. I wondered at that time, had the writers ever actually gone on record about basing the characters on real musicians? Of course, this was long before I had this wonderful message board to discuss this movie with other people, so I would certainly be interested to hear what anyone else has heard on this subject?
shareI can't imagine that Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais didn't have any rock msuicians at all in mind when writing the script. I think the characters are loosely based on several persons each, but the energy added by the actors made them some totally new characters. Always wanted to find out more about it. I read, that the both of them wrote a cmoplete band history before starting the script. Wouldn't it be ace to read this history?
***********************
http://www.billnighy.net - GET THE EXPERIENCE
Yeah, totally would. I still think they should do a sequel!
shareI'm backing Your request! At least to get mor of those wonderful Fruits songs. Nono of my friends want to get into my car, because the sme five songs are running again and again and again.
***********************
http://www.billnighy.net - GET THE EXPERIENCE
[deleted]
Or about selling condoms at the Balearics? ;o)
***********************
http://www.billnighy.net - GET THE EXPERIENCE
a composite of Jimmy Page and Syd Barret
[deleted]
Yes, there's something of Syd in the character (it's Barrett, by the way), but I think you can look closer to home for another brain-fried Brian: Brian Wilson. Especially as (with the exception of the disastrous effort with Stars in 1972) Syd Barrett never returned to the stage, whereas Wilson did.
shareActually, the character was indeed based in part on Syd Barrett...in fact, a great deal of it was, with a little hodgepodge of Page and a few others thrown in for good measure. How do I know this? Got it straight from the horse's mouth, Bruce Robinson himself. I was working at a rare and out of print bookshop in Hollywood and due to the fact we had such a vast collection we had lots of industry folk as customers...whenever somebody wanted to do research for a part, paw thru some reference material for costumes or for set decorations, they would come to us. Hell, if they just wanted to check out our art book collection they'd come in!
Anyway, "Still Crazy" happened to be one of my husband's favourite films at that moment ( it still is in fact )...he'd been working as a sound tech for nearly 30 years and had traveled round the world at least 5 times over in the course of his career...when he saw this film he immediately fell in love with it 'cos alot of what was depicted, the arguing, the silliness and the long hours of slagging from place to place he knew first hand. He absolutely keeled over for laughing every time he saw it and as said watched it at least once every couple of weeks.
I was working at the store one weekday evening when a rather elegantly disheveled English gentleman walked in and wanted to peruse our art and photo sections. He came up and asked for help and it did'nt even take a second for me to recognise Bruce Robinson. Hair a little shorter and a much lighter demeanor than the fictional Brian, but other than that it was the guy...needless to say I got a kick out of it. I spent a good part of the evening showing him our books...now as said, we got lots of extremely familiar faces in our store and it never phased me much ( Deniro puts his trousers on the same as the rest of us humans! ) and have always been able to do my job without acting like some schlub from Pawhacket Arkansas or whatever, but this time I actually broke professionalism and told him what a fan my husband and myself were of "Still Crazy". He grinned at that one, and I told him a bit about my other half, how he'd left his small village in Scotland at 17 and found himself working for the Who after just two weeks in London..30 years and about a thousand tours later, the film had brought back some very fond memories for my guy and I told Bruce just how delighted my husband would be when I told him that he'd been in the shop.
Bruce enjoyed the story and quizzed me a little bit, then after sorting thru some of the books he'd pulled out, I plonked 'em in a box for him and then he left. Told the husband about it; he was just as thrilled as I knew he'd be and well..I thought that was the end of the story, but after that first visit, Bruce went on to become one of our semi-regulars, coming by once every couple of months or so...lucky me, I was able to ask him a bit more about the film. He'd told me that he did the part as a favour to a friend and gave his fee to charity, and that yes, the character was, for the most part based on Syd Barrett. Quick wit, nice guy and as I'm sure you all know immensly talented ( Killing Fields, Withnail and I, anyone??)...quite easygoing.
Nice story. Thanks for contributing. No gainsaying the horse's mouth, but I still think there's a bit of Wilson in there - though admittedly the crew were a predominantly British bunch, so Syd's experience WOULD have been closer to their hearts. Anyway, there were no such touching comebacks for our Syd. All his efforts in that department were pretty cataclysmically awful.
It's also good to hear that a hardened pro like your husband so enjoyed the film. It means the makers got quite a bit right. It's always annoyed me that this little movie has suffered from cretinous "Spinal Tap" comparisons: apples and oranges in my view.
I think there's probably some Syd in there but essentially it reads to me like a compendium of every rock band I've ever known, been in or been around. And it still makes me laugh like a drain every time I see it because the writers caught that vibe of knackered rockers completely. It has just aired on BBC 1 so I came here to check out a few things about the cast.
Incidentally, Wordcraft, it wasn't just 'predominantly' British, it was a British pricture; the open air night rock concert was shot on the back lot at Pinewood Studios and it had a UK main cast. Apart from the Dutch bits. And we have heard about American music in our quaint English ways.
I doubt if they can do a re-make without spoiling the gag. Why would you want to remake it? A sequal? Hmmm. No thanks.
But unlike the film, we never got to see Syd rejoin Floyd on stage, that would have been something if it had happened at Live 8, but Sid was far too ill at that time (he would die a few months later).
shareHaving already been a fan of Syd Barrett for years when I saw the film, he was who I first thought of, from the first flashback. Him living in a mental home cinched it! (I don't see Brian Wilson at all, and I'm American, so it's not that I'm just focusing on British musicians.) And I'm green with envy for anyone who got to meet Bruce Robinson once, let alone several times! I pretty much bow at the mention of his name because of Withnail & I, my all-time favorite movie. He is amazing....
And Syd woulen't have joined his former bandmates at Live 8 even if he'd been in a (physically) healthy state. By all accounts he had no interest in ever doing music again. He did watch Live 8 on tv (according to his sister)- his opinion was that it was too noisy! Syd had reverted back to being Roger Keith Barrett, even telling people who tracked him down at his home, "Syd can't talk to you now"....Very true.
(I don't know why this posted before some of the posts I was commenting on! I put it at the end, but it didn't land there....)