Written and sung by bandleader Ray Davies, the song was recorded in early 1968 during the sessions for The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968).

Ray Davies composed "Berkeley Mews" in reference to a street of the same name in London, located near Pye Records's offices at Marble Arch.

[3] The music is influenced by that of the 1940s,[4] and historian Carey Fleiner writes the song evokes the decade's "hard life and grim economy".

[14] "Berkeley Mews" had little in common with the themes of The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, and Ray opted to not release it on that album.

[2] The album was issued to journalists, radio program directors and disc jockeys as part of the "God Save the Kinks" promotional campaign, which sought to reestablish the band's status in the US after their four-year performance ban.

[13] In the US, Reprise replaced "Berkeley Mews" with a different B-side; the label did not issue the song in the US until 25 March 1972 on the compilation album The Kink Kronikles.