"John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" was released in both the UK and US on 11 December 1970, the same day as Ono's matching album. Lennon considered issuing "Love" as a single in the US but settled on "Mother". The song was edited down to under four minutes through the removal of the opening funeral bells and an early fadeout. Backed by Ono's track "Why", the single was released there on 28 December. In Japan, the album's title was , which translates as "John's Soul". Several US radio stations banned "Working Class Hero" because of the song's repeated use of the word "fucking".