"[3] The finished recording is a crossover which blends a classical orchestra (including a Baroque-style trumpet fanfare) with contemporary rock instruments - electric guitar and bass, drum kit and featuring heavy electronic phasing.
The work opens with a pipe organ solo, played by Martin himself at Central Hall, Westminster and cut into the studio recording.
[3] On hearing the work, Anna Instone, the head of the BBC Record Library, is reputed to have said "Good God, it sounds like William Walton gone mad!
[2]The original recording was released as a 45-rpm single the day before the Radio 1 launch, 29 September 1967, with the B-side another instrumental by Martin called "Elephants and Castles".
[12] Originally played on stage at the band's concerts, it was later recorded and released as a single (which achieved Number One in Italy[13]) and appeared on US pressings of the album Pawn Hearts.