Reviewing for Disc and Music Echo, Penny Valentine wrote: "Having taken us on a round tour of Israel, Russia and goodness knows where else the gentlemen are now thundering across the prairies with this sort of Marty Robbins/Elmer Bernstein piece, Alpert trumpets, whiplash and all!" She also described the song as "very spirited, a lot better than they've done for a long time".[4]
In 1968, Japanese band the Jaguars released a cover of the song as a single, which peaked at number 20 on the Oricon Singles Chart.[30][31]
In 1968, Spanish band Los Mustang released a Spanish-language version, titled "La leyenda de Xanadú", which peaked at number 18 on the Spanish Singles Chart.[26]
In 1992, the song was covered by English band the Fall for the NME various artists compilation album Ruby Trax.[32]
References in popular culture
In Red Dwarf episode "Timeslides" (Season 3, Episode 5), an alternative dimension sees Dave Lister rich and living in a mansion named Xanadu; "not as a reference to the film Citizen Kane, but rather as a tribute to the hit single by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich".[33]
^ abcdRice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 114–5. ISBN0-85112-250-7.
^"Scene"(PDF). Disc and Music Echo: 2. 9 November 1968. Retrieved 19 April 2022.