Games for May was described as a "Space age relaxation for the climax of spring – electronic composition, colour and image projection, girls, and the Pink Floyd".[3] The concert featured some of the band's early singles as well as material from their yet-to-be-released debut album – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. During the performance, some of the band members created sound effects by chopping up wood on stage,[5] a man dressed up as an admiral gave out daffodils,[2] and the bubbles produced from a machine while the show was in progress stained all the furniture in the hall.[5] As a consequence, Pink Floyd were banned from ever playing there again.[5]
The Austrian-English composer Hans Keller Made multiple references to Games For May while interviewing Pink Floyd for the BBC Show The Look Of The Week. He claimed that the group was terribly loud and had no music experience.
It was the first concert in Britain to feature both a complex light show and a four channel quadraphonic surround sound speaker system.[2][5]
A sound mixing device called the "Azimuth Co-ordinator" was used to direct sounds to multiple speakers all around the room.[4] Live music was supplemented with sounds from pre-recorded tapes. Roger Waters created the opening dawn tape effects by using bird calls and other natural sounds (an effect he later used on "Cirrus Minor" and "Grantchester Meadows"). The bubbling sounds at the end of the show were created by Rick Wright while the ending piece was constructed by Barrett.[1] At this time, the song that would become "See Emily Play" was known as "Games for May."[1]
Setlist
The following songs were performed at the show (all songs written by Syd Barrett, unless otherwise noted)[1][2]