The original band included Vincent Crane (Hammond organ and piano), Drachen Theaker (drums), and Nick Greenwood (bass).

[5] In the late 1960s, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown's popularity was such that the group shared bills with the Who, Jimi Hendrix, the Mothers of Invention, the Doors, the Small Faces, and Joe Cocker, among others.

[10] He was also notable for the extreme make-up he wore onstage, which would later be reflected in the stage acts of Alice Cooper,[11] Peter Gabriel,[12] George Clinton,[13] and Bruce Dickinson[14] among others.

Produced by The Who's manager Kit Lambert, with Pete Townshend credited as associate producer, on Track Records, the label begun by Lambert and Chris Stamp, it spun off an equally surprising hit single, "Fire", and contained a version of "I Put a Spell on You" written by Screaming Jay Hawkins, a similarly bizarre showman.

[2] The song has since seen its opening line "I am the God of Hellfire" sampled in numerous other places, most notably in The Prodigy's 1992 rave anthem "Fire", and more recently in Death Grips' "Lord of the Game", from 2011.

[22] Mike Knoop, writing for Classic Rock magazine, said that Brown's singing style recalls "Eric Burdon, Bob Calvert, Ian Gillan, Tim Curry, Brian Connolly, and a smidgen of King Diamond all coming out of one person.