A Technicolor Dream is a documentary film chronicling the development of London, England's counter-culture underground of the 1960s, and the events which led up to the 14-hour "Technicolor Dream," a benefit concert for what was at the time England's largest underground newspaper — the International Times (or I.T.).
The concert has long since gone on to legendary status in the history of London's 1960s underground movement. More important to modern-day students of that era, however, is the involvement of Pink Floyd.
At the time, "the Floyd," as they were then often referred to, were the unofficial "house band" of London's underground. Although then Pink Floyd bandleader Syd Barrett's mental health was already on a fast road to deterioration as a result of one too many acid trips, they were also the main attraction at the legendary gig that was the 14-hour Technicolor Dream.
So, in many ways, this DVD is as much Pink Floyd's story (at least in their early formative years) as it is a chronology of that singular event — legendary as it was.
Through interviews with key players — including Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and Nick Mason, as well as key scenesters like Barry Miles and John "Hoppy" Hopkins — A Technicolor Dream recalls the formative years of London's fledgling underground.
The film follows events as the movement grew from a couple hundred like-minded "freaks", to a force which the British government itself would eventually view as a threat — in many ways mirroring what was happening in American cities like New York, L.A., and especially San Francisco at the same time.
As Barry Miles organized a massive London "beat summit" at the Royal Albert Hall featuring poets like Allen Ginsburg, and "Hoppy" Hopkins was publishing the earliest issues of the International Times, a group called the Pink Floyd, led by an iconoclastic genius named Syd Barrett — known for things like running steel ball bearings across the strings of his guitar — were also making a name for themselves in the underground.
Article comments
1 - Derek Currie
"Although then Pink Floyd bandleader Syd Barrett's mental health was already on a fast road to deterioration as a result of one too many acid trips..."
Oh dear. That old yarn. Sorry, but never has there been any actual medical evidence that LSD, aka acid, exacerbated Syd Barrett's mental illness. He was by no means an 'acid casualty', if such a thing has actually existed. Instead, it is apparent that during his decline he was taking psychedelic drugs, including LSD, which added to his already erratic behavior. This is typical of someone affected by psychosis and/or depression, where drugs, including alcohol, are used as a means of self-medication to help modify or relieve the innate symptoms. In other words, his drug taking only complicated an already existing problem. That is at least my interpretation of what is known about his situation.
Barrett's behavior after departing from the music business was typical of depression and anxiety whereby he became reclusive, and unable to communicate with others outside his immediate family. As far as I know there has never been a conclusive diagnosis of his mental illness. Even today such illnesses are difficult to identify and treat successfully. I can verify this from personal experience.
Please don't take my comments to promote psychedelic drug use. Of the few I have taken, by my choice or sadly not, never have I enjoyed the resulting alteration of my thoughts and senses. I much prefer my natural mind and imagination.