"Evita" was a success from its opening night, with Derek Jewell of "The Sunday Times" praising Webber's score, as well as Essex's portrayal of Che as a "brooding, enigmatic" character. Meanwhile, Essex had released a cover version of the Lorraine Ellison song, "Stay with Me, which reached number 45 on the UK Singles Chart, thus CBS Records cancelled their contract with him. Essex's manager started looking for a new record deal for him, and signed one with Phonogram Records, who suggested that he release one of the songs from the "Evita" album as his single. They decided to release "Oh What a Circus", with another of Che's songs, "High Flying, Adored" as its B-side. The song was released on August 19, 1978, under the Mercury subsidiary of Phonogram in the United Kingdom.