Happy Home charted in '98?

[Frantic]

I was just browsin through the Tupac Wikipedia page and noticed it lists happy home as a single having charted in the UK in 1998, peaking at 17th: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur_discography#Other_charted_songs

This kind of confused me since the song didn't actually come out until UTEOT was released in 2001. Interestingly the official charts website shows it as wel for November 1998l: http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/2pac/

Just wondering if anyone knows anything more about how it came to hit the charts prior to official release?

 

[Pittsey]

I have a 3 track single from 98 that was released in the UK. It also has Lets Be friends and Mr President on it.

 

[Preach]

It's a bootleg single. No idea how it got put out or why no one stopped it, but that's what it is.

 

[Casey]

I have a 3 track single from 98 that was released in the UK. It also has Lets Be friends and Mr President on it.

Yep. Back in 1998 a bootleg label pressed a lot of CD singles of it and managed to get them officially distributed in music stores around Europe. I remember seeing the "Happy Home" single in HMV, Virgin Megastore, etc.

They sold enough copies for it to chart.

This is what it looks like.

This wasn't the only release of this kind. The following bootleg CD singles were also available in major record stores in the late 90's and early 00's.

"They're Trying To Kill Me" is a remix of "Cause I Had 2".

Not everyone had internet, people who did had dial-up, so these were among the first Tupac unreleased songs that a lot of people had heard over here in the UK and across Europe.

I recall buying all of these singles in HMV.