One track, "Bells", dates from the sessions for Monty Python's Previous Record, while further material was adapted from Eric Idle's post-Python series Rutland Weekend Television.

Gilliam's absence was noted on the album's Basil Pao-designed cover, which featured a plain inner sleeve on which Eric Idle wrote "Can T.G.

The record label shown on the cover has a fake track-listing, with titles relating to the legal status of the contractual obligation.

As with the Drury Lane album, the cover appears in a scene in Gilliam's 2005 film Tideland, although it is only visible in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio version.

A 3 track 7" single (CB 374) comprising "I Like Chinese"/"I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio"/"Finland" was released in the UK on 3 October 1980 to tie-in with the album.

Michael Palin appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops to promote the album, helping to give the group their highest chart position, peaking at No.

[3] The 2006 special edition contains four bonus tracks consisting of contemporary promotional material and demo versions of two songs.

The lead track, "Sit on My Face" was sung to the tune of "Sing as We Go", a song made famous by Gracie Fields, and reportedly its inclusion led to legal threats against the Python team for copyright infringement over the melody.

[4] Nonetheless, the song was retained on the album and had already been lip-synched by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones as the opening of the second half of Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, shortly before the album's release (the song opens the heavily edited 1982 film version).

"Farewell to John Denver", which contained a few bars of The Rutles member Ollie Halsall impersonating John Denver singing a parody of "Annie's Song",[5] followed by the sound of the singer being strangled, was removed from subsequent pressings of the UK version on legal advice (reports differ as to whether it had to do with the licensing of "Annie's Song" or the depiction of the popular singer being murdered), and was replaced by an apology spoken by Terry Jones.