What if...?

[y-cymro]

What if ...

Syd Barrett never had that bad acid trip.

There would have been no "Wish You Were Here"

No "Dark Side Of The Moon"

No "The Wall"

Would Floyd have become one of the greatest bands ever?

Would Nick Mason ever have been able to afford his helicopter?

[Cheeris]

No.

[Cheeris]

Yes.

[Cheeris]

Wait, yes.

No.

[vehelpfulguy]

I think Syd Barrett took more than one bad acid trip.

How about hundreds of bad acid trips.

But I have to say that Syd gave the group a focus to write about (the whole of Dark Side of the Moon is about Syd).

So I think without Syd's problems they would have had medium success but not the huge success they eventually had.

[andy-hughes]

That's true, but you could extend that argument to any situation in any band - or indeed in any walk of life -

What if Keith wasn't carrying that Muddy waters album on Dartford station, what if Mick had got a lift into town that day?

What if Mick Fleetwood hadn't heard Buckingham and Nicks recording their album?

What if Stewart Copeland hadn't left Curved Air ...

the list just goes on and on and on.

Bands are as much a victim of circumstance as the rest of us, which is a good, and a bad thing.

[y-cymro]

There aren't many bands I know of where the main creative force leaves and the band go on to become one of the biggest bands ever. (I'm no expert though).

I know you can go back and back and back with what if's..

What if Roger Waters' mum and dad hadn't said one evening "Let's not go out tonight, let's go play hide the sausage instead" and so on and so on.

Have any other bands gone on to huge success after losing the main man? I'm sure there must be some examples, but none that I'm familiar with.

Would be nice if someone could enlighten me

[andy-hughes]

Floyd have managed it twice - with Barrett and Waters.

The Stones did it with Brian Jones.

I'll think of a few more and get back to you.

[know-ledge]

well i for one am glad he took acid then

i love judith chalmers she made it what it was!

[Davethedog]

Andy im not looking for an argument but how do you make Jones the main man?

[mattie]

Peter Gabriel and Genesis

[andy-hughes]

Fair point Davethe dog.

I think on reflection I was erring towards Jones' own belief that he was 'leader' of the Stones.

While he was undoubteldly their finest musician, the power of the band lies in the writing of Jagger / Richards, and the musical combination of the rerst of the band together.

A fair point well made - I think I will delete Jones as an example in this instance.

[y-cymro]

I should have thought of the Genesis one myself!

Similar situation - I doubt Floyd or Genesis would have become commercial successes with their original line-ups.