Geoff Mott And The Mottoes

Excerpt from Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett & the Dawn of Pink Floyd
by Mike Watkinson & Pete Anderson

(At 16 years of age, Syd joined his first band, Geoff Mott And The Mottoes.)

Geoff Mott was a gangly, bespectacled, carrot-haired youth who had been expelled from The County for general unruliness prior to setting up his own rock 'n' roll band. Mott's rebellious image and comparative experience (he was 19, several years senior to the rest of the crowd) made him a minor celebrity among the town's fledgling rockers . He was the obvious frontman. Clive Welham was the drummer and 18-year-old Roger Waters, son of Syd's teacher Mary, was roped in on bass. [...]

Geoff Mott And The Mottoes were, like dozens of Cambridge groups, formed purely for fun and without pretensions of stardom. The band's history consists of a solitary gig at a CND meeting in a local hall, the type of occasion, admits Mott, where they could not put a foot wrong.

With their flamboyant leader at his exuberant best, The Mottoes doggedly ran through a string of Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran numbers, spurred on by the generous applause of their captive audience.

"Syd wasn't a bad rhythm guitarist," says Mott. "It was nice to hear someone who could play as opposed to thumping around."

The Mottoes CND triumph was never to be repeated, although they talked enthusiastically about another gig. Mott had a full-time job and was already in a semi-pro band, while Waters was on the verge of moving up to London.