More info:
[edit] P.P. Arnold version
African-American expatriate singer P.P. Arnold, popular in the United Kingdom, had the first hit with the song, reaching number 18 on the UK Singles Chart with her cover of it in May 1967, well ahead of when the song appeared on Stevens' album. The Arnold hit featured an up-tempo, soulful vocal set against harpsichord, horns, and strings.
Noted 1960s British filmmaker Peter Lorrimer Whitehead made a primordial music video clip for the song, featuring a non-singing Arnold cavorting on a British beach alongside The Small Faces.
Stevens is said to have never released his original recording as a single, because he felt Arnold's version was definitive.