Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett has died, a spokeswoman for the band said today.
Barrett (60) founded the band in 1965 and was one of its biggest songwriting talents in its early days.
But his behaviour became erratic, and he split with the band in 1968. He has since lived reclusively in Cambridge, England.
A spokeswoman for Pink Floyd said: "He died very peacefully a couple of days ago. There will be a private family funeral."
The writer of the bulk of Pink Floyd's early music, Barrett had been credited with helping to shape its progressive sound. His increasingly erratic behaviour in the late 1960s has been linked to his experimentation with psychedelic drugs.
Pink Floyd's 1975 track "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", from the album "Wish You Were Here", is widely believed to be a tribute to Barrett.
He was born in Cambridge, England, as Roger Keith Barrett, and acquired the nickname "Syd" when he was 15 years old.
He missed out on Pink Floyd's most successful years in the 1970s, which included the albums "Dark Side of the Moon", "Wish You Were Here" and "The Wall".
The band has sold an estimated 200 million albums worldwide, although internal rifts have kept public performances featuring its main members to a minimum since the 1980s.