Hotlegs
Neanderthal Man

The summer of 1970 was upon us and music enthusiasts of the time had gotten into the habit of tuning in at lunchtime to the second RAI program to listen to “Alto Gradimento,” a fun and musical broadcast hosted by the still young and intriguing Renzo Arbore and Gianni Boncompagni. Amid irony, skits, and various silliness from the two entertainers along with their collaborators, there unfolded each day a persistent but pleasant parade of the international pop hits of the time, probably steered by record companies but decidedly foreign-oriented and reasonably alternative. It's not like they played King Crimson and Doors (for that underground stuff there was a show later in the afternoon: “Per voi giovani”)... it stayed within the realm of pop, singles, the 45s as was required at the time, but there were quality and novelty.

Among the first incredibly pushed hits by that broadcast was this quirky pseudo-prehistoric mantra, evolved into a pop ditty from initial studio experiments on percussion performed by a drummer named Kevin Godley alongside his fresh friends and colleagues Lol Creme, Graham Gouldman, and Eric Stewart, and transformed by a visionary record manager into more than a decent international success, after hurriedly giving a name to the “group,” adorning it with a piano and especially a nonsense vocal to the rhythmic groove, putting a hairy ape on the cover as a nod to the title.

For a pop song, "Neanderthal Man" is really strange and unique. There are these percussion tracks recorded on four different tracks, an absolute novelty at the time, then at one point a steel sheet is struck causing an incredible volume peak. Lol Creme's voice is conversely kept very low while reciting this silly nursery rhyme of the Neanderthal man and Neanderthal woman who have this Neanderthal love in a Neanderthal world... Besides, the aforementioned quartet of partners and friends orchestrating all this will soon demonstrate high levels of skill, wit, and genius in the art-rock and pop domain when they drop the Hotlegs name, transforming it into the even more playful 10cc and unleashing throughout the seventies a remarkable series of albums spanning between Beatles and Zappa, with forays into glam, musicals, and progressive rock with an irresistible ability to blend melody and accessibility with experimentation and irony.

"Neanderthal Man" sold more than two million copies around the world; for a couple of weeks it was at the top of the charts in Italy (where it was also released with a different cover that left aside connections with ethology and prehistory, opting instead for a drawing of a nice pair of legs, of hot legs): listening to it now, one could hardly believe it. For fans of 10cc, one of the best English bands of the seventies and one of the best examples of intelligent and creative pop music, it’s nice to know that it all started for them here, with this lucky single.