David Gilmour has always held Syd Barrett in a special, almost untouchable light — praising his songwriting, lyrical imagination, and raw artistry. But according to Gilmour, the only contemporary rock star he truly believes could match Barrett’s influence and essence is Ray Davies of The Kinks.
Gilmour described Barrett’s early work with Pink Floyd as “quintessentially English,” a characterization he says also fits Davies. Barrett’s songs, with their mixture of surreal imagery, emotional fragility, and vivid storytelling, to Gilmour, found a natural parallel in Davies’ songwriting about England: the people, the everyday life, humor, melancholy, identity. Barrett, Gilmour said, “really could write songs and if he had stayed right, could have beaten Ray Davies at his own game.”
The admiration is mutual in tone. Barrett shaped early Floyd in a very personal way — it was Barrett’s voice, image, and lyrical vision that set the direction, until his mental health declined and Gilmour was brought in. Gilmour remembers Barrett’s talent as “very clever, very intelligent, an artist in every way … a frightening talent when it came to words, and lyrics. They just used to pour out.”
Why This Comparison Matters
Gilmour’s comparison underscores how he saw Barrett not just as a psychedelic oddity or a tragic figure, but as someone whose songwriting could stand beside “official” greats like Ray Davies. To say Barrett could have “beat Ray Davies at his own game” is high praise — Davies wasn’t just a great songwriter, he was one who captured the English spirit in a way that shaped pop culture in Britain.
This also illuminates Gilmour’s own musical grounding: his respect for lyrical craftsmanship, for narrative, for identity rooted in place. These were qualities he admired deeply in Barrett, and qualities he saw reflected in Davies too.
