Wizzard was formed in mid-1972 after Roy Wood left the Electric Light Orchestra during the ELO 2 sessions, and went to the Birmingham group Mongrel to propose forming a new band together. Roy brought along Hugh McDowell (who would return to ELO in 1973), Bill Hunt, and Trevor Smith; the formation also included Rick Price, who had left ELO during the debut sessions.

In Wizzard, Roy moved away from the string-filled and sometimes baroque-inspired music of ELO, and leaned into making jazz-rock. An overall reduction in ELO’s style of rough, sawing cellos gave way for heavier use of saxophones, as well as a different writing style.