The first five of the album's nine tracks (on vinyl or cassette, the first side of the album) were produced by Steve Hillage and mostly feature the more single-driven pop approach preferred by the band's label, Virgin Records.

The album produced three singles ("Kiss Like Judas", "Midnight" and a drastic edit of "Old Man and the Angel") and saw the band embark on a tour of the UK, US and Japan.

[5] Though both "Kiss Like Judas" and "Old Man and the Angel" charted, they failed to achieve hit status, peaking at number 76 and number 72 respectively, and Once Around the World is the only one of the three album It Bites released during their original run which failed to crack the UK Top 40.

In 1988, it disappeared without a trace, lacking a suitable single to bolster it à la 'Calling All the Heroes'."

He praised the album's combination of catchy melodies and intellectually stimulating rhythmic subtleties.