The Guess Who’s Randy Bachman: “Radio didn’t realise ‘American Woman’ was anti-war until it was too late – it was No 1”

The Guess Who take us through the making of their classic song, “American Woman”, in the new issue of Uncut, dated November 2014 (Take 210) and out now.

The group explain how the No 1 song was written live on stage at a curling rank, how they may have narrowly missed being drafted to fight in Vietnam, and how they performed it to Prince Charles but were advised not to play it at The White House.

“They wouldn’t play anti-war music [on the radio] in the States,” says Randy Bachman. “Because of our momentum with ‘These Eyes’ and ‘Laughing’, they played it anyway.

“And then they said, ‘I think they’re protesting the war, they’re singing “we don’t need your war machines…”’, but by then it was too late, it was a No 1 record.”

The new issue of Uncut is out now.