[1][2][3] It was written by Malcolm McLaren, Matthew Ashman, Leigh Gorman and Dave Barbarossa.

[5] After recording Dirk Wears White Sox as members of Adam and the Ants, Ashman, Gorman and Barbarossa were convinced by former Sex Pistols manager McLaren to leave Adam Ant to form Bow Wow Wow under his management.

[6] Liverpool session musician, music director, and talent scout Dave Fishel heard Annabella Lwin singing along to the radio at the dry cleaners in West Hampstead where she worked and convinced McLaren to audition her for the band.

EMI refused to promote the cassingle due to lyrics ("Off the radio I get constant flow/Hit it, pause it, record and play/Turn it, rewind and rub it away") that promoted home taping[7] during an era when music piracy was a hot-button issue.

[10][11] The song was ranked among the top 10 "Tracks of the Year" for 1980 by NME, as was their cassette-only debut mini-album Your Cassette Pet.