Apeman was released in 1970 and was Ray Davies somewhat tongue in cheek (at least we assume so) swipe at the rapid changes in modern life. In the song he expressed dissatisfaction with the modern world and the problems man were creating, stating he wants to “sail away to a distant shore and make like an apeman”. Despite being a huge it, was dubbed controversial at the time due to the lyrics in one line which went “…the air pollution is a-foggin’ up my eyes…”, You can guess what it sounded like, and they were forced to overdub it for general release on TV and Radio.
The single was taken from their 8th studio album “Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One” which itself took a satirical swipe at the music industry.