A seminal version of 10cc beating you over the head with an en-chanting beat.
Kronomyth 0.1: 10 b.c.
This is the pre-history of 10cc, a novelty number that sits somewehere in time between John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance” and The Kinks’ “Apeman.” The mix today sounds remarkably stifled, like a bad case of mono, with a barely audible chant of “I’m a Neanderthal man / You’re a Neanderthal girl / Let’s make Neanderthal love / In this Neanderthal world” behind strummed acoustic guitars and a thumping drum beat that throbs like a headache.
Not the most immortal piece of plastic on the planet, but even in this early incarnation Godley, Creme and Stewart had a knack for grabbing your attention with something different. That they would evolve into challenging pop auteurs is evident on the B side, “You Didn’t Like It…,” which mixes elements of Jimi Hendrix and Paul McCartney into a, qu’est-ce que le mot juste, mélange? (And, yes, I’m making fun of myself for using the word “mélange,” not showing off my horrible French.)
Original 7-inch single version
A1. Neanderthal Man (Kevin Godley/Lol Creme/Eric Stewart) (4:29)
B1. You Didn’t Like It, Because You Didn’t Think of It (Kevin Godley/Lol Creme/Eric Stewart) (4:29)
Starline 7-inch single reissue
A1. The Pipkins: Gimme Dat Ding (Albert Hammond/Mike Hazlewood) (2:10)
A1. Hotlegs: Neanderthal Man (Kevin Godley/Lol Creme/Eric Stewart) (4:29)
Old Gold 7-inch single reissue
A1. Hotlegs: Neanderthal Man (Kevin Godley/Lol Creme/Eric Stewart) (4:29)
B1. Herd: I Don’t Want Our Lovin’ To Die (Ken Howard/Alan Blaikley) (2:56)
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch single on June 19, 1970 in the UK, Germany and Norway (Fontana, 6007 019), in August 1970* in the US (Capitol, 2886) and in 1970 in Brazil (Philips, 6007 19), Mexico (Philips, 6205 004), South Africa (Fontana, TOS 728), Turkey (Philips, 6006 053) and Yugoslavia (Fontana/RTB, S 53594); reached #2 on the UK charts and #22 on the US charts. Regional versions feature unique picture sleeves. (*First appeared in 8/15/70 issue of Cash Box.)
- Re-released as back-to-back hits mono 7-inch single in 1972 in the US (Capitol Starline, 6210).
- Re-released as back-to-back hits 7-inch single in 1982 in the UK (Old Gold, OG 9245).
