Syd Barrett as a guitarist. What's his legacy?

And tell me the closing guitar sounds on "Space Oddity" could have existed without Syd.

 

My apologies to those who will think that what I'm about to say is blasphemy, but to me Syd's guitar style and sound remind me of what Lou Reed did with The Velvet Underground. I'm not saying they sound the same, but there's a simplicity in what they do that I find quite charming and which fits the songs perfectly.

 

In the late-nineties this clip left my teenage self mesmerised when it was repeated on the BBC. The mirrored Telecaster, the sounds, the entire darkness of the whole performance, and Syd performing, his arms swirling upwards... Could you imagine this clip in colour, capturing his psychedelic robes?
I just watched in awe and for months I wanted to be able to play guitar like that, make those sounds. I was just starting out and hadn't even figured out the basics, but Syd put that spark of experimentation in my mind that never left.

 

It's probably a mercy that it is not in color.