The group was formed in the early 1960s by four musicians from Putney (South London) and released a little-known single in 1967 under the name The Drag Set. With a new name and a new musical direction towards psychedelic rock, The Open Mind soon became a fixture in the London psychedelic scene. A record deal with the international major label Philips was the reward for successful performances at legendary London clubs and joint concerts with rising talents such as Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Soft Machine, Joe Cocker and Arthur Brown. In early 1969, they recorded their self-titled debut album at Philips Studios in London. The line-up at the time of these recordings consisted of Mike Brancaccio (lead guitar, piano), Terry Martin (guitar, vocals), Timothy du Feu (bass) and Phil Fox (drums).

Their one and only LP was released in June 1969 with a surreal cover depicting the band members emerging from the head of an ancient Greek statue. A highly imaginative visualisation of their psychedelic rock, with elements ranging from British freakbeat and psychedelic pop to heavy psych, represents an early intersection between psychedelic and progressive rock. Their best-known track is the drug-inspired single Magic Potion, which was released later and did not appear on this album. The band split up in 1973. Meanwhile, this album album has proved to be an influential work within the psychedelic rock genre and has become an extremely sought-after and expensive collector’s item.