The release of "Relics" occurred because the band's record company, EMI, were concerned that they had gone into the studio to record what would become "Meddle" without any songs or ideas, effectively starting from scratch. This, combined with their ever-increasing touring schedule, made EMI realise that no new product would be released for some time, possibly not until well over a year after completing their previous album, "Atom Heart Mother". In order to issue some more "product" for fans, they decided to release a budget priced LP on their Starline label, combining early singles, B-sides, album tracks and one unreleased song, "Biding My Time". The compilation contains material from the first three albums, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn", "A Saucerful of Secrets" and "More".