It deserves to be the biggest novelty single of all time. But it didn't even make Top of the Pops. Shame.
'Team Lotus Sings' (oh the irony) was recorded to celebrate Emerson Fittipaldi's 1972 world title. A rousing choir of mechanics belt out The Champions (in tune would have been nice). The flipside is a groovy little rocker called Workin' al' nighter, charting the sorry plight of the overworked racing mechanic.
One of the fine voices belongs to team manager Peter Warr. "We had a buyer called Mike Watson, known universally as 'Luke'," he says. "He was a way-out character who was into music. Football teams were doing songs, so he came up with the idea that we should do one. Luke wrote the songs, organised a studio session; then we went down, had a few beers and a laugh." Sounds like they drank more than a few...
A notable absentee was Colin Chapman. "I don't think he knew about it until the record appeared," says Warr. "But anything that made a few extra quid and went into the kitty was welcome!"
