PeterWeatherby said
Ah – maybe this is where we're missing each other. I'm thinking of the Sept 11 session, where they debuted PPM just a week after having to record HDYDI. I think that's the context for Martin's quote in Anthology, where he's specifically pitting HDYDI against PPM.
I don't believe the evidence supports that. PPM was never in the running for their first single, though it was considered as the b-side briefly as the b-side before GM rejected the idea as he thought it was a great song that hadn't got quite right.
The truth is that GM binned HDYDI around 10 days before hearing ...