"The Laughing Gnome" b/w "The Gospel According to Tony Day" was the second single released before "David Bowie", in April 1967, although neither track features on the album. "The Laughing Gnome" was a novelty record featuring high-pitched vocals. The varispeed technique used to create this effect would serve Bowie in more serious fashion on many future songs including "After All", "The Bewlay Brothers", "Fame" and "Scream Like a Baby". Deram re-released the single in the wake of Bowie's commercial breakthrough with "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars", and despite it being radically different from his material at the time, it made No. 6 in the UK charts.