"Living in the Material World" was issued on 30 May 1973 in America (with Apple catalogue number SMAS 3410) and on 22 June in Britain (as Apple PAS 10006). It enjoyed immediate commercial success, entering the "Billboard" Top LPs & Tape chart at number 11 and hitting number 1 in its second week, on 23 June, demoting Wings' album in the process. "Material World" spent five weeks atop the US charts, having been awarded a gold disc by the RIAA selling more than 500,000 copies within two days of release. In the UK, the album peaked at number 2, held from the top position by the soundtrack to Starr's film "That'll Be the Day". Despite high sales initially, its follow-on success was limited by what Leng terms the "anomalous" decision to cancel the release of a second US single, "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long".