In 1966, Stevens was discovered by Mike Hurst, formerly of the Springfields, who after their split in 1963, decided to become a record producer.
Whilst working for American producer Jim Economides, Hurst was introduced to Stevens who was trying to find a record label who would sign him.
The company eventually went bust and some time later, Stevens went to Hurst's house asking if he was still interested after being rejected by every record label in London.
Stevens played him a new song, "I Love My Dog", which Hurst thought was "so unusual and really weird" and agreed to record it, with the song eventually being released as Stevens' debut single and to launch Decca Records' flagship label Deram.
[3] Stevens' lyrics begin "In the midnight moonlight I'll / Be walking a long and lonely mile", whereas in the Tremeloes' version, this has been changed to "In the midnight, moonlight hour / he's walking that long and lonely mile".