See Emily Play

"See Emily Play" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single on 16 June 1967 on the Columbia label.

[8] Written by original frontman Syd Barrett, it was released as a non-album single but appeared as the opening track of Pink Floyd, the US edition of the band's debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967).

Although Pink Floyd seldom performed the song live, it has been recorded subsequently by at least seven diverse artists and regarded as a classic psychedelic pop single.

"See Emily Play" is also known as "Games for May", named after a free concert on 12 May 1967 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank, in which Pink Floyd performed.

Barrett, reputedly, was not happy with the final studio cut, and protested against its release, which Norman Smith speculated was based on his fear of commercialism.

[28] This was the first sign of Barrett exhibiting erratic behaviour, which caused problems for the group throughout the remainder of the year, and ultimately led to him leaving the band in early 1968.

[29] In late 2009, a badly damaged home video recording was recovered by the British Film Institute containing the first and third show the song was performed on, although only the first appearance was recoverable in part.

[30] It was given a public screening in London on 9 January 2010 at an event called "Missing Believed Wiped" devoted to recovered television shows.

[citation needed] The appearance was cancelled, explaining Barrett had suffered "nervous exhaustion" and the band decided to take a month-long break in the hope his health would recover.

The special featured promotional films for "See Emily Play", as well as for "Astronomy Domine", "The Scarecrow", "Apples and Oranges", "Paint Box", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and "Corporal Clegg".

[34] The song stayed in the band's set list for only a few months; the last documented live performance was on 25 November 1967 in Blackpool as part of a package tour supporting Jimi Hendrix.

[47] All About Eve played the song live at the Marquee Club on 18 September 1992[48] and recorded a demo, which was not released until 2006 as part of the Keepsakes compilation.

[citation needed] An EP including the song was released in Spain in 1967, on the La Voz De Su Amo label.