Neanderthal Man (song)
Encyclopedia
"Neanderthal Man" is a song by Hotlegs
, an English pop band that was later relaunched as 10cc
. The song, initially created only as a studio exercise to test drum sounds on new recording equipment, sold over two million copies and reached No.2 in the UK and No. 22 in the US. It reached No.1 in Italy and Germany and was a major hit in Australia, Canada, France and Japan.
in Stockport
, England, on new four-track Ampex
equipment bought by studio owners Eric Stewart
, Graham Gouldman
and Peter Tattersall. It featured a simple repeated chorus and a heavy drum rhythm that Gouldman's manager, Harvey Lisberg, has claimed became influential in pop music. He said: "I think a lot of people were very influenced by 'Neanderthal Man', which was something new in drum sounds, using four drums on a four-track machine. When Gary Glitter
came along with his records, I thought I could hear the same sort of sound deep down in there. I think there were a lot of other people who copied the sound, maybe unintentionally."
Stewart recalled that when the recording equipment had been set up, Kevin Godley
set up his drum kit, Lol Creme
got out his guitar and Stewart sat down at the control desk. "It was the first time we'd had a real control desk with a four-track machine and we were excited to try it all out," he said. "The whole thing was just an experiment because Kevin wanted to lay all sorts of different drum beats down that he hadn't recorded before, and there was this crazy sort of nursery rhyme that had just got into our heads.
"As we laid down the drum tracks, Lol was singing in the studio with Kevin keeping time – and after we'd laid four drum tracks down Lol's voice came through at a very high level, sounding like something none of us had ever heard before on a record. It really sounded very strange, so we carried on working on the number, adding little bits of piano to it."
, which had released all the singles by Stewart's former band The Mindbenders
on its Fontana
label, was in the Manchester
area on business and visited the studio. When he asked Stewart what they had been working on, Stewart played the "Neanderthal Man" tape they had just completed.
Stewart said Leahy immediately claimed, "It's fabulous! It's a hit record!" and offered a ₤500 advance. The advance was particularly timely for Stewart, who was considering selling his house and moving to something smaller to provide him with more funding for the studio.
He said there was one further hitch before the song was released: a loud metallic burst towards the end of the song blew a ₤1200 cutter head as the track was being mastered in the Phonogram
cutting suite. He explained: "We had a sound on that track that was something that had never been recorded before. We'd made the sound by taking a large 6 ft by 4 ft sheet of steel into the studio. It was actually a sheet we were going to fireproof one of the doors with – and then at the right moment we had hit it with a hammer. The hammer blow gave it such a shock frequency-wise that the equipment just couldn't take it. At the time this was an embarrassment to all of us, but that faded into insignificance when we found ourselves with such a massive hit on our hands."
's "The Wonder of You
".
"Neanderthal Man" was the only hit by Hotlegs. An album, Thinks: School Stinks
and a follow-up single, "Lady Sadie", differed markedly from the sound of "Neanderthal Man" and drummer Kevin Godley
later admitted the band failed to properly capitalise on their hit with interviews or other promotional work.
Hotlegs
Hotlegs was a short-lived English band best known for its hit single "Neanderthal Man" in 1970. The band consisted of Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme and – briefly – Graham Gouldman...
, an English pop band that was later relaunched as 10cc
10cc
10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians -- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme -- who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name...
. The song, initially created only as a studio exercise to test drum sounds on new recording equipment, sold over two million copies and reached No.2 in the UK and No. 22 in the US. It reached No.1 in Italy and Germany and was a major hit in Australia, Canada, France and Japan.
Recording
The song was the first to be recorded at Strawberry StudiosStrawberry Studios
-Formation:The facility was originally called Inner City Studios and located above a music store in the town centre. In early 1968 it was bought by Peter Tattersall, a former road manager for Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. Tattersall invited Eric Stewart – then lead guitarist and singer of...
in Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, England, on new four-track Ampex
Ampex
Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff. The name AMPEX is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence...
equipment bought by studio owners Eric Stewart
Eric Stewart
Eric Stewart is an English musician, songwriter and record producer most known for his tenure with The Mindbenders in the 1960s, and 10cc from 1972 to 1995....
, Graham Gouldman
Graham Gouldman
Graham Keith Gouldman is an English songwriter and musician who is a long-time member of British band 10cc.-Early life and 1960s pop career: 1946–1968:Gouldman was born in Broughton, Salford, England...
and Peter Tattersall. It featured a simple repeated chorus and a heavy drum rhythm that Gouldman's manager, Harvey Lisberg, has claimed became influential in pop music. He said: "I think a lot of people were very influenced by 'Neanderthal Man', which was something new in drum sounds, using four drums on a four-track machine. When Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s...
came along with his records, I thought I could hear the same sort of sound deep down in there. I think there were a lot of other people who copied the sound, maybe unintentionally."
Stewart recalled that when the recording equipment had been set up, Kevin Godley
Kevin Godley
Kevin Godley is a British musician and music video director.He was born in a family of Jewish descent, and went to North Cestrian Grammar School in Altrincham....
set up his drum kit, Lol Creme
Lol Crème
Lol Creme is an English musician and music video director, best known for his work in 10cc. He sings, plays guitar and keyboards.-Biography:...
got out his guitar and Stewart sat down at the control desk. "It was the first time we'd had a real control desk with a four-track machine and we were excited to try it all out," he said. "The whole thing was just an experiment because Kevin wanted to lay all sorts of different drum beats down that he hadn't recorded before, and there was this crazy sort of nursery rhyme that had just got into our heads.
"As we laid down the drum tracks, Lol was singing in the studio with Kevin keeping time – and after we'd laid four drum tracks down Lol's voice came through at a very high level, sounding like something none of us had ever heard before on a record. It really sounded very strange, so we carried on working on the number, adding little bits of piano to it."
A break
By good fortune, Dick Leahy of Philips RecordsPhilips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
, which had released all the singles by Stewart's former band The Mindbenders
The Mindbenders
The Mindbenders was a 1960s beat group from Manchester, England. They were part of the mid 1960s British Invasion with their chart-toppers "Game of Love" and "A Groovy Kind of Love"....
on its Fontana
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
label, was in the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
area on business and visited the studio. When he asked Stewart what they had been working on, Stewart played the "Neanderthal Man" tape they had just completed.
Stewart said Leahy immediately claimed, "It's fabulous! It's a hit record!" and offered a ₤500 advance. The advance was particularly timely for Stewart, who was considering selling his house and moving to something smaller to provide him with more funding for the studio.
Monicker
He said the first task was to create a name for the band: "We had no name for the group, of course. But we had a girl at the studio… Kathy Gill, I think her name was, who had very, very nice legs and she used to wear these incredible hot pants. Green, leather hot pants. So we called the group Hotlegs."Problems
Stewart said Philips was not entirely content with the song, however: "The next thing that happened after we'd done the deal was that we got a phone call from them. 'We like the record,' they said, 'but we can't hear the words!' We had about three phone calls about that, and each time I explained that they weren't supposed to hear the words. Eventually they agreed to release it just as we wanted it."He said there was one further hitch before the song was released: a loud metallic burst towards the end of the song blew a ₤1200 cutter head as the track was being mastered in the Phonogram
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records was started in 1962 as a joint venture between Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with Polydor Records into PolyGram....
cutting suite. He explained: "We had a sound on that track that was something that had never been recorded before. We'd made the sound by taking a large 6 ft by 4 ft sheet of steel into the studio. It was actually a sheet we were going to fireproof one of the doors with – and then at the right moment we had hit it with a hammer. The hammer blow gave it such a shock frequency-wise that the equipment just couldn't take it. At the time this was an embarrassment to all of us, but that faded into insignificance when we found ourselves with such a massive hit on our hands."
Release
The song reached No.2 in the UK on August 15, 1970 and remained there for two weeks, kept off the top spot by Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
's "The Wonder of You
The Wonder of You
"The Wonder of You" is a song written by Baker Knight. In 1959, Ray Peterson released it as a single. The song became a Top 40 hit for him on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #25. That same year it was recorded by Ronnie Hilton in the United Kingdom, his version reaching #22 on the UK Singles...
".
"Neanderthal Man" was the only hit by Hotlegs. An album, Thinks: School Stinks
Thinks: School Stinks
Thinks: School Stinks is the first album released by British pop band Hotlegs. The album, featuring the band's hit single "Neanderthal Man", was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport near Manchester and engineered by the studio's co-owners, Eric Stewart and Peter Tattersall...
and a follow-up single, "Lady Sadie", differed markedly from the sound of "Neanderthal Man" and drummer Kevin Godley
Kevin Godley
Kevin Godley is a British musician and music video director.He was born in a family of Jewish descent, and went to North Cestrian Grammar School in Altrincham....
later admitted the band failed to properly capitalise on their hit with interviews or other promotional work.