 "The Battle of Epping Forest" was inspired by a news story that Gabriel had read several years previously about the territorial battles by two rival gangs in the East End of London. He placed an advertisement in The Times in attempt to find more about the story, but was unable to find any further information, so he created his own fictional characters, including "Liquid Len", "Harold Demure" and "The Bethnal Green Butcher". The lyrics have since been praised for their humour and wit, but they did not gel well with the music, which the band subsequently felt was complicated for the sake of being so.
