Yoko Ono scores No.1 dance hit

A Yoko Ono dance song that John Lennon was carrying when he was murdered 23-years ago has become a number one hit in the US.

The remixed version of Walking on Thin Ice topped the Billboard dance chart.

Beatle Lennon played guitar on the track and was clutching a copy of its master tape as he was gunned down outside his New York apartment in 1980.

“John said to me back then, ’You know this is going to be your first Number One,”’ Ono told the New York Daily News. “He just didn’t say when.”

The song was originally released just after the final Lennon-Ono album, 1980s Double Fantasy, and was popular in underground clubs at the time, but did not make the charts.

Ono, 70, said she had little recollection of its popularity the first time around.

“When John passed away I was mostly in bed, feeling almost dizzy. Some people had mentioned to me that some clubs were playing that song. But at the time I didn’t know what was going on.”

For years she turned down offers to remix the song, saying it would be too painful.

“It brought back such memories. I just didn’t want to touch it.”

She finally gave the go-ahead to a collaboration of top dance producers, including Danny Tenaglia, Rui da Silva, Felix da Housecat and the Pet Shop Boys.

When she heard the revived track she was delighted with the result.

“This was a healthy thing for me, to finally let it out of my hands.”

It has gone on to become the first major solo hit for Ono, outselling tracks by Christina Aguilera, Anastacia and Justin Timberlake.

“I have to be the first 70-year-old to go Number 1,” she said. “I should call the Guinness Book of World Records.”