 Free from his EMI contract on 9 May 1972 , Barrett signed a document that ended his association with Pink Floyd , and any financial interest in future recordings . Barrett attended an informal jazz and poetry performance by Pete Brown and former Cream bassist Jack Bruce in October 1973 . Brown arrived at the show late , and saw that Bruce was already onstage , along with " a guitarist I vaguely recognised " , playing the Horace Silver tune " Doodlin ' " . Later in the show , Brown read out a poem , which he dedicated to Syd , because , " he 's here in Cambridge , and he 's one of the best songwriters in the country " when , to his surprise , the guitar player from earlier in the show stood up and said , " No I 'm not " . By the end of 1973 , Barrett had returned to live in London , staying at various hotels and , in December of that year , settling in at Chelsea Cloisters . He had little contact with others , apart from his regular visits to his management 's offices to collect his royalties , and the occasional visit from his sister Rosemary . 
