"Originally

, the idea wasn't to kick Syd out of the band," explains drummer Nick Mason. "We wanted to arrange something similar to what the Beach Boys were doing with Brian Wilson at the time, where we'd go out and play live, and Syd would stay home and write." But that plan was short-lived, and soon Barrett was out of the band.

"Initially, they hired me to play Syd's parts and sing his songs," elaborates Gilmour. "Nobody else wanted to sing them, so I got elected. While all this was happening, we were also trying to make Saucer Full Of Secrets. When I joined I remember thinking that they were actually a bit of a shambles, and that I could knock them into shape, because I considered myself to be a superior musician. I loved the first album, but the early gigs were pretty interminable."