The song originally appeared on their 1978 album
Chairs Missing. The song is based on Graham Lewis's fascination with the
Serpentine leaf miner insect and details the life cycle of the insect. EMI recognised that the song could potentially be a hit single, but were concerned that it was too short, measuring only 1 minute 45 seconds. Unusually, the record label asked the group to make a longer version for the single. They added an additional verse and chorus plus a piano solo played by producer
Mike Thorne, pushing the length to 2 minutes 51 seconds. EMI were confident that the song could become a hit and commercial breakthrough for Wire. The single soon entered the charts reaching number 51 and the BBC approached EMI and asked them to appear on the long-running music show
Top of the Pops if the single continued to rise. At the time
Top of the Pops was one of the few opportunities for acts to promote their work on national television, with over 15 million viewers. However, the
British Market Research Bureau who compiled the
UK Singles Chart claimed that there was an attempt to rig the chart by EMI personnel buying multiple copies of the single in chart return shops. Although EMI strenuously denied any attempts at rigging the chart, that week's sales were not included. Despite selling twice as many copies as the previous week, these sales weren't included and subsequently the single dropped down the chart and Wire's chance to appear on
Top of The Pops disappeared along with their chance to reach a wider audience. Wire's place was instead taken by
Donny and Marie Osmond who were in London for a concert. {{listen == Critical reception ==