The Madcap Laughs

The Madcap Laughs is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a chequered recording history, with work beginning in mid-1968, but the bulk of the sessions taking place between April and July 1969, for which five different producers were credited − including Barrett, Peter Jenner (1968 sessions), Malcolm Jones (early-to-mid-1969 sessions), and fellow Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters (mid-1969 sessions). Among the guest musicians are Willie Wilson from (Gilmour's old band) Jokers Wild and Robert Wyatt of the band Soft Machine. The Madcap Laughs, released in January 1970 on Harvest in the UK, and on Capitol Records in the US, enjoyed minimal commercial success on release, reaching number 40 on the UK's official albums chart, while failing to hit the US charts. It was re-released in 1974 as part of Syd Barrett (which contained The Madcap Laughs and Barrett). The album was remastered and reissued in 1993, along with Barrett's other albums, Barrett (1970) and Opel (1988), independently and as part of the Crazy Diamond box set. A newly remastered version was released in 2010.