He is accompanied on the LP by pianist and arranger David Bedford as well as his erstwhile Soft Machine colleagues Robert Wyatt and Mike Ratledge, and his eventual replacement Hugh Hopper, who had previously worked with him in the semi-pro band Wilde Flowers.

Ayers repaired to a small London flat where he composed and arranged a whole LP which was then presented to Malcolm Jones' fledgling Harvest label, where it was produced by Peter Jenner for the then exorbitant sum of £4000 (equivalent to £83,200 in 2023[5]).

Joy of a Toy featured many of Ayers' most enduring songs from "The Lady Rachel" to "Girl on a Swing", the latter still regularly covered by artists to this day such as Candie Payne and The Ladybug Transistor.

It was on Joy that Ayers developed his sonorous vocal delivery, an avant-garde song construction and an affection for unusual instrumentation, that would have a deep influence far into the 1970s and up to the end of his career.

[6] It was during this time that Barrett recorded a guitar part for the track "Religious Experience",[7] (later titled "Singing a Song in the Morning"); this version was not released until the 2003 reissue of Joy.