"Handbags and Gladrags" is a song written in 1967 by Mike d'Abo, who was then the lead singer of Manfred Mann. D'Abo describes the song as "saying to a teenage girl that the way to happiness is not through being trendy. There are deeper values." The first released version of the song was by Chris Farlowe in 1967, and later interpretations by Rod Stewart (1969) and Stereophonics (2000) were also commercially successful. An arrangement by Big George was the theme for The Office starting in 2001. The demo tape of the original version of the song was discovered in 2004 in a closet belonging to bassist Mo Foster. It was amongst a collection of studio recordings d'Abo had recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The collection was eventually released in 2004, on the Angel Air label, under the title Hidden Gems & Treasured Friends. Chris Farlowe version In November 1967, singer Chris Farlowe was the first to release a version of the song, produced by Mike d'Abo. It became a #33 hit in the United Kingdom for Immediate Records. This arrangement of the song included Dave Greenslade's piano blues-scale riff. The song was included as track 13 (of 14) on Farlowe's 1969 compilation album The Last Goodbye. Rod Stewart version In 1969, Rod Stewart recorded a version for the album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down. This version of the song was arranged by Mike d'Abo, who also played piano on the recording. The song failed to garner significant sales or airplay in the United States, but when it was re-released as a single in 1972, it charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 42 in March. In 1993, Stewart recorded a live version of the song during his session for MTV Unplugged. This version was included on the album Unplugged...and Seated. Although it was never a hit single for Stewart in the UK, in recognition of its renewed popularity following its use for television series The Office and Stereophonics returning it to the charts, he performed "Handbags and Gladrags" (backed by Phil Collins on drums) as his only song at the Party at the Palace in 2002. The original record arrangement includes a "plaintive oboe phrasing". In 1989, Rod Stewart's version of the song was used in the Season One episode of the TV series Midnight Caller entitled "No Exit". Chase version In 1971,