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John's second solo single.
Recorded on September 30th 1969 with John and Yoko producing, this was a track that John wanted to record with the Beatles.
When Paul refused, John decided that it was time to drop the "Lennon/McCartney" composing credit, and therefore this was the
first single to be solely credited to John Lennon.
"Cold Turkey" was again credited to The Plastic Ono Band, which on this occasion comprised, John, Eric Clapton, Klaus
Voorman, Ringo Starr and Yoko.
The subject matter of the song and its sheer harshness guaranteed that media exposure was limited, and the record was not
a big hit. Hence the jokey play-off in John's letter to the Queen when he returned his M.B.E. on 25th November. The letter
read,
Your Majesty,
I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in this Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America
in Vietnam and against "Cold Turkey" slipping down the charts.
With love,
John Lennon of Bag.
Of course, John returning his MBE caused as much furore as when the Beatles were originally awarded the decoration in 1965.
The B-side, written solely by Yoko was also recorded with the same personnel.
I only show the front of the picture sleeve above, as the rear is the same (except, with the titles of the songs reversed)
The design of the label is exactly the same as recent Beatles releases on Apple.
This single was deleted 31st December 1986.
On 12th March 1984 as part of their "Golden 45's" series, E.M.I. released a double A-side of "Give Peace A Chance"/
"Cold Turkey" (Catalogue number G45 2). This series was a mixture of E.M.I. artists and the only other Beatle
contribution was a Ringo double A-side of "It don't Come Easy"/"Back Off Boogaloo" (G45 13).
This Lennon single has Apple labels, but not the "Recorded in Montreal" or "Play Loud" inscriptions. "Cold Turkey" is on
the sliced Apple side.
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