The album was preceded by the single "Sueperman's Big Sister", intentionally spelt wrong so to avoid any copyright issues with DC Comics. The 7" release included an exclusive track "You'll See Glimpses", while the 12" included the album's final track "Fucking Ada". The single, Stiff Records' 100th, employed the label for Stiff's very first (Nick Lowe's "Heart of the City") with the track names crossed out and the correct titles and artist (for "Sueperman's Big Sister") written in, as if by biro. "Laughter" was released the same month, November 1980, but the album was not well received by critics and its sales were mediocre. The "Soft As a Baby's Bottom" tour to support it, however, was a sell-out success. Stiff and Ian Dury parted ways afterwards and he signed a short-lived deal with Polydor Records without The Blockheads.