 The band 's first studio album , The Piper at the Gates of Dawn , was recorded intermittently between February and July 1967 in Studio 3 at Abbey Road Studios , and produced by former Beatles engineer Norman Smith . At the same time , the Beatles were recording " Lovely Rita " for their album , Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band , in Studio 2 . By the time the album was released on 4 August , " Arnold Layne " ( which was released months earlier , on 11 March ) had reached number 20 on the British singles charts ( despite being banned by Radio London ) and the follow @-@ up single , " See Emily Play " , had done even better , peaking at number 6 . The album was successful in the UK , hitting number 6 on the British album charts . Their first three singles ( including their third , " Apples and Oranges " ) , were written by Barrett , who also was the principal visionary / author of their critically acclaimed 1967 debut album . Of the eleven songs on Piper , Barrett wrote eight and co @-@ wrote another two . 
