Syd Barrett started the group, and played guitar and sang in the band. He left soon after, at the start of 1968, because of a mental illness that was made worse by heavy drug use. The other people in the band were Roger Waters (bass guitar and vocals), David Gilmour (lead guitar and vocals), Richard Wright (keyboard and vocals), and Nick Mason (drums). David Gilmour joined the band in 1968. Roger Waters quit the band in 1985. 