Battle of Bosworth Field lead character, has been built up in the battles of Shakespeare's earlier play, "Henry VI, Part 3", as a "formidable swordsman and a courageous military leader"—in contrast to the dastardly means by which he becomes king in "Richard III". Although the Battle of Bosworth has only five sentences to direct it, three scenes and more than four hundred lines precede the action, developing the background and motivations for the characters in anticipation of the battle. Shakespeare's account of the battle was mostly based on chroniclers Edward Hall's and Raphael Holinshed's dramatic versions of history, which were sourced from Vergil's chronicle.
Richard III (song) and the band liked the reference to the king Richard III and the Shakespeare play "Richard III" in which the king is depicted as a dark and evil character, as it matched the menacing tone of the song. Neither the king nor the play is mentioned in the song. Both the 2nd CD (of the CD release format) and the 7" vinyl format have the "Richard III" cover design but with the colours altered instead. A Peel session of the song was released on the CD single for "Mary". The B-side "Sometimes I Make You Sad" is an atypical song