Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the third studio album by English space rock band Spiritualized, released by Dedicated Records on 16 June 1997. The album features guest appearances from the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and Dr. John. The album itself was written shortly after the break-up of Spiritualized's Jason Pierce and Kate Radley, the band's keyboard player. Radley had secretly married Richard Ashcroft of The Verve in 1995. Original pressings had an alternative version of the title track, incorporating the lyrics and melody of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love." The Presley estate initially objected to this, and a remixed version of the track was included on the commercial release, with new lyrics. However, Spiritualized continue to use both sets of lyrics in live performances. By 2009, they were allowed to use the version of the song with the Presley lyrics on the reissued edition of the album, with the proviso that the song is now titled "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (I Can't Help Falling in Love)." Album closer "Cop Shoot Cop..." references lyrics from the John Prine song "Sam Stone", incorporating variations on a key line from that song's chorus. The title of the album is taken from the philosophical novel Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.