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Oranges and Apples directed by Benjamin and Stefan Ramirez Perez

Oranges and Apples (6 mins 41 secs), a song about Syd Barrett by the Trashcan Sinatras, released Monday 13 October 2008

Download the complete song at iTunes or Amazon (from October 13th, 2008). The song is from the upcoming Trashcan Sinatras album, In The Music.

A percentage of every sale will be donated to The Syd Barrett Trust in support of arts in mental health.

John Douglas, from The Trashcan Sinatras on Syd Barrett and the inspiration for the song

In the months after Syd's passing, I became entranced and intrigued again by him and his wonderful unique work. A friend of mine, the great English songwriter Boo Hewerdine, lives in Cambridge and had told me of seeing Syd on occasion riding around town on his bike (in fact, on one occasion, Syd fell off his bike and Boo helped him get back up and on his way ). He seemed to enjoy a degree of anonymity, and the local tradesmen spoke highly of him and he seemed to be happy. This picture of Syd is at odds with the historically documented version. I was relieved and pleased to discover that Syd had found a degree of peace and 'normality' in his years there.

photo by Martin Gray

I was very touched by his personal effects from his house. A fund raising sale of some of his household items by auction was held, and the auction house had photographs and descriptions of each item available to view online. Syd had personally adapted pretty much everything in his house, from the stereo to the chest of drawers to his bikes and wheelbarrow... all had been re-painted, re-designed or, somehow, made more personal by Syd. His highly individual attitude to song-writing was, it seemed, a reflection of his attitude to life in general.

Through dwelling on these things in admiration, the song "Oranges and Apples" appeared.

Some months later I was fortunate to run into Allan Brown, a Sunday Times journalist living in Glasgow. Allan had bought a chest of drawers and one of Syd’s paint brushes at the auction and he gave me a tube of paint owned by Syd and allowed me to be photographed with the chest. We spoke for hours about Syd and my feelings about him were re-enforced. I will forever treasure the tube of paint!

John Douglas - August 2008

Evening sun in an English sky
Orange as the pigeons eye
No-one knew when you cycled by..

Oranges were made for you .... apples too, all made for you

Emily and the English Rose
Shining out the UFO
Hand in hand with your Eskimo

Oranges... they fell for you.. and the apples too.. all fell for you

Light shines through
Brightest of all was you
and i just don't know what i would do without your light

Green wheelbarrow, Bikes, red and blue
Orange drawers that winked at you
All the colours that fell from you

and all the things that you went through
and now everything is enhanced by you
and the oranges were made for you
and the apples too.. all made for you

(c) and (p) Trashcan Sinatras 2008

 

Band photo (NYC November 2007) by Tim Black

In the Music - Forthcoming Album

The song "Oranges and Apples" is from the forthcoming album "In The Music" by The Trashcan Sinatras, scheduled for release in Spring 2009. The band, formed in Irvine, Scotland, has released four internationally acclaimed albums over the past 18 years. From 1990's "Cake" debut, followed by 1993' "I've Seen Everything", 1996's "A Happy Pocket”, through to their much loved 2004 release "Weightlifting" ( All these albums are scheduled for worldwide re-release in early 2009). Constantly praised for their melodies and individual lyrical approach, the band has gained a fanatical worldwide following. As one of the first acts to see the potential of the internet, TCS have one of the most generous web sites, giving access to free videos, songs, live tracks, rarities, interviews, cover versions, etc.

Visit www.trashcansinatras.com .

For more information contact Lo-Five per robin@robinmorton.com or jim@lo-five.com 07870 590909