[1] The Poke began as a fanzine with a circulation of 50,000[citation needed] that was sold in music shops across the United Kingdom and at the annual Edinburgh Festival.

Later becoming an internet-only publication, the website gained some popularity when it was featured as an "Internet pick of the week" by The Guardian, which described it as "a British version of The Onion crossed with Private Eye".

[5] The Poke created an Auto-Tuned version of the Leveson Inquiry featuring the sampled testimonies of Rupert Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson.

Following a request by the website, Clegg allowed the song to be released as a single, with proceeds donated to the Sheffield Children's Hospital.

[7] The track was released on 21 September, and entered the weekly UK Singles Chart at number 136 two days later.