Blue Effect was founded at the end of 1968 by bassist Jiří Kozel, singer Vladimír Mišík (The Matadors, Etc...), and drummer Vlado Čech, who were joined by guitarists Radim Hladík and Miloš Svoboda.

At the 2nd Czechoslovak Beat Festival, which took place in December 1968 at Palác Lucerna, the band was named Discovery of the Year.

With the advent of Normalization came the repression of rock music, and in 1970, Blue Effect released their first full-length album, Meditace.

The album was released internationally in 1971 under the name Kingdom of Life, with English lyrics sung by Lešek Semelka, who had joined on keyboards and later became the band's vocalist.

Around this time, Blue Effect began to lean more towards instrumental jazz rock, for a number of reasons: the growing popularity of this genre, greater tolerance on the part of censors toward "music of oppressed American minorities", such as jazz, as well as the rigorous demands placed on rock bands to ensure "clean" lyrics.

After about six months of unstable lineups, Hladík hired Brno singer and keyboardist Oldřich Veselý and renowned Bratislava bassist Fedor Frešo, who had previously performed in the groups Prúdy, The Soulmen, and Collegium Musicum.

Frešo's presence in the band made it possible to work in the Slovak milieu, which placed fewer limitations on rock musicians.

In 2004, the band was revived by Radim Hladík, who surrounded himself with younger musicians, such as singer and guitarist Jan Křížek, and began to perform regularly.