 Although Barrett had not appeared or spoken in public since the mid @-@ 1970s , time did little to diminish interest in his life and work . Reporters and fans still travelled to Cambridge to seek him out , despite his attempts to live a quiet life and public appeals from his family for people to leave him alone . Many photos of Barrett being harassed by paparazzi when walking or cycling from the 1980s until his death in 2006 , have been published in various media . Apparently , Barrett did not like being reminded about his musical career and the other members of Pink Floyd had no direct contact with him . However , he did visit his sister 's house in November 2001 to watch the BBC Omnibus documentary made about him – reportedly he found some of it " a bit noisy " , enjoyed seeing Mike Leonard of Leonard 's Lodgers again , calling him his " teacher " , and enjoyed hearing " See Emily Play " again . 
