A-side and B-side pirate radio stations operating off the British coast in the 1960s would buy the publishing rights to the B-sides of records they expected to be hits, and then plug the A-sides in the hope of driving up sales and increasing their share of the royalties. Occasionally, the B-side of a single would become the more popular song. This sometimes occurred because a DJ preferred the B-side to its A-side and played it instead. Some examples include "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor (originally the B-side of "Substitute"), "I'll Be Around" by the Spinners (originally the B-side of "How Could I
How the Web Was Woven to record his debut solo album. In addition to piano, Russell played organ and guitar on the track. The song was Lomax's final single on Apple Records.<ref name="Eder/Lomax bio">Bruce Eder, "Jackie Lomax", AllMusic (retrieved 7 May 2017).</ref> The B-side of the UK release – a cover of Leiber and Stoller's "Thumbin' a Ride" – was produced by Paul McCartney, making "How the Web Was Woven" the only single to have its A-side produced by one member of the Beatles and the B-side by another.<ref name="Davis/liner notes">Liner notes by Andy Davis, "Is This What You Want?" CD booklet (Apple/EMI, 2010; produced