UK single release: Hi, Hi, Hi by Wings

Wings’ third single, ‘Hi, Hi, Hi’/‘C Moon’, was released in the United Kingdom on 1 December 1972.

The single peaked at number five on the UK singles chart, becoming Wings’ biggest hit to date.

Its success was despite – or maybe partly due to – a ban by the BBC. Despite the song’s fairly unambiguous drug references, the corporation objected after receiving a lyric sheet from Northern Songs which erroneously transcribed the line “Get ready for my polygon” as “Get ready for my body gun”. As a result, radio stations gave more airplay to the single’s flipside, ‘C Moon’.

I just had some line, ‘Lie on the bed, get ready for my polygon.’ The daft thing about all of that was our publishing company, Northern Songs, owned by Lew Grade, got the lyrics wrong and sent them round to the radio station, and it said, ‘Get ready for my body gun,’ which is far more suggestive than anything I put. ‘Get ready for my polygon’ – watch out baby. I mean it was suggestive, but abstract suggestive, which I thought I’d get away with. Bloody company goes round and makes it much more specific by putting ‘body gun’ – better words, almost.