Syd Barrett left behind a small but powerful body of work during his all-too-brief career as a recording artist, including Pink Floyd's first singles ("Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play"), the majority of their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, a last lingering track on their sophomore effort, A Saucerful of Secrets ("Jugband Blues"), two full-length studio albums (The Madcap Laughs and Barrett), and the fascinating collection of previously-unreleased solo tracks and alternate takes entitled Opel.

Syd and Floyd officially parted company in March 1968, with the band's management Blackhill Enterprises deciding to stick with Syd as a solo artist. EMI's new Harvest label committed to a Barrett solo project, and over the course of a year Syd recorded his debut The Madcap Laughs. Started briefly with Blackhill's Peter Jenner, recording commenced in April 1969 with EMI's Malcolm Jones, later involving David Gilmour and Roger Waters, who completed the album in October for release in January 1970. The Madcap Laughs was well received and sold reasonably, so EMI elected to record a follow-up straight away.