Shooting an apple off one's child's head of the story is in the legend of William Tell, supposedly happening to start off the Swiss revolution, written first in the 15th-century "White Book of Sarnen", then in Aegidius Tschudi's 16th-century "Chronicon Helveticum", and later the basis for Friedrich Schiller's 1804 play. Tell is arrested for failing to bow in respect to the hat that the newly appointed Austrian "Vogt", Albrecht Gessler, has placed on a pole, and Gessler commands him to shoot an apple off his son's head with a single bolt from his crossbow. After splitting the apple with the single shot (supposedly on November 18, 1307),
If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It Sunday Times", he said "I didn't have any aptitude for it at school, but I've become very interested in science over the past couple of years." He commented on the positive lyrics, adding "in the past, my lyrics have sometimes been bogged down by my own self-flagellation — can't see past my fingertips. This time, the opposite has happened. It's about realizing that we're just dots." To promote the single, the band made an appearance on Channel 4's show T4 on 7 February. The performance was aired between 9am and 2pm. The single was initially issued only in the UK