Hotlegs was a short-lived English band
best known for its sole hit single "Neanderthal Man" in 1970.
The band consisted of Eric Stewart, Kevin
Godley and Lol Creme. In 1972 the band was
joined by Graham Gouldman and
changed its name to 10cc.
Stewart had earlier enjoyed success as a member of the 1960s pop band The
Mindbenders and had delivered the vocals for that band's
best-known track, "A Groovy Kind of Love". The Mindbenders disbanded in
1969
and Stewart teamed with fellow Mindbender and aspiring songwriter
Gouldman to become part-owners of a Stockport recording
studio which in 1969 was renamed Strawberry
Studios (after the Beatles hit "Strawberry Fields
Forever"). The pair, along with Godley and Creme, longtime friends of
Gouldman, gained work writing and performing bubblegum
songs under a variety of band names for US producers writer-producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz of Super
K Productions.
German cover of "Neanderthal Man"
"Neanderthal Man" was created by the trio of Stewart, Godley
and Creme as they dabbled with recording equipment at Strawberry
Studios, perfecting drum layering. The song consisted primarily of the
chant "I'm a Neanderthal man/You're a Neanderthal girl/Let's make
Neanderthal love/In this Neanderthal world", backed by Stewart's and
Creme's acoustic guitars and a lumbering
drum rhythm
provided by Godley. The song was released as a single
under the moniker Hotlegs (a name chosen in honour of a secretary at
the studio[1])and reached No.2 in the UK
Singles Chart in July 1970 and No. 22 in the US, ultimately selling two
million copies worldwide.
The band recorded a follow-up album, Thinks:
School Stinks, for Philips before
branding themselves as Doctor Father in August 1970
for a new version of "Umbopo" on Pye Records.
Italian cover of "Neanderthal Man"
The song was one they had originally recorded for Kasenetz and
Katz for release under the name Crazy Elephant. Doctor Father's version
failed to attract airplay or sales. Reverting to Hotlegs, the trio cut
two more singles, "How Many Times" (1970) and "Lady Sadie" (September
1971), both of which failed to chart.
Thinks: School Stinks was repackaged for US
release as Songs by the Philips label
and again in Britain in 1975 as You
Didn't Like It Because You Didn't Think Of It
with two additional songs. The title song of the British repackaged
album had originally been the B-side of "Neanderthal Man"; part of it had
also been reworked to become "Fresh Air For My Mama" on the
1973 debut album by 10cc.
In 1972 Hotlegs was relaunched as 10cc.
- Further information: 10cc
Discography
- Thinks: School Stinks
– 1970
- You
Didn't Like It Because You Didn't Think Of It –
1975
