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Before they went mega huge with You Sexy Thing, Hot Chocolate were Hot Chocolate Band and their first single was this one on Apple Records.
And yes - their first single was a cover of John Lennon's idiosyncratic 1969 call for peace. It seems a weird choice and the reggae style seems strange as well. It doesn't move me and it goes without saying that it didn't trouble the charts at all at the time.
But John liked it (hence its appearance on Apple) so what the hell.
Hidden gem: Sadly - no. The B side is a pleasant enough piece but it's no gem folks.
My band (Vertical Hold) backed Hot Chocolate for 4 straight gigs in late 1982, when we were both in the top 5 with hit singles. Errol told me that he didn't even have their first (Apple) single because he'd given away all 3 of his free copies to relatives, so the next night, I brought him my spare copy (mint)...and he was thrilled....I have a couple of pics too, I think you've seen them both. He also told me that Apple released this without even asking permission and with no contract in place....amazing....Errol just send in the reel to reel tape hoping that Lennon would hear it & give him a letter or phone call...lol
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