Written by frontman Crispian Mills and Kula Shaker, the song was released as the third single (and fourth overall) from their 1996 debut studio album, K, on 26 August 1996.

Produced by John Leckie, "Hey Dude" became the band's joint-highest-charting song in the United Kingdom (alongside "Hush"), peaking at number two in September 1996.

[3] The first CD contains "Troubled Mind", "Grateful When You're Dead", and "Into the Deep" as B-sides while the second disc includes "Tattva", "Drop in the Sea", and "Crispian Reading from the Mahabharata" as additional tracks.

[4][5] The 7-inch and cassette singles consist of "Hey Dude" and "Troubled Mind", and a European format replacing that latter track with "Grateful When You're Dead" was also issued.

[9] On the week beginning 1 September 1996, "Hey Dude" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number two, its peak position, with sales of 65,000.