The second single from Blur's seventh album Think Tank provoked some controversy with its cover art, which featured a satirical portrait of the British Royal Family by the English graffiti artist Banksy. The mural it shows was painted on a building in Stoke Newington, London but was later painted over with black paint, by council workers against the building owner's wishes.

The song peaked at #18 on the UK singles chart. In the US it became Blur's first single since "Song 2" to chart on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, reaching #22.

This was co-produced by Norman Cook, also known by his recording name of Fatboy Slim. The dance DJ recalled to Q magazine April 2012 how vocalist Damon Albarn came up with the song's intro: "Damon was like a Tasmanian Devil when he was working," he said. "He found this old farm vehicle that made a really good noise when you hit it with a lump of metal. That's the intro to Crazy Beat."