The origin of this song is related in the 2009 revised and updated biography Mick Ronson - The Spider With The Platinum Hair. According to Campbell Divine, Ronson said, "We'd had this friend named Billy Porter and he told a lot of jokes, so the song was originally a joke song. Then, I was getting to Lou Reed and the lyrics became things Lou had told me about getting mugged in New York, plus the joke parts I'd already written."
The song was released as a single on the RCA label in 1975 backed by "Seven Days"; in Australia and Yugoslavia the B-side was "Hazy Days," and in 1982 a further UK release was backed by "Slaughter On 10th Avenue."
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