This little query updates a search string and replaces it with a replace string.
Find and replace query for mysql
UPDATE `table_name` SET `field_name` = replace(`field_name`, 'search_term' , 'replace_term' )
The mysql default configuration is such that only local applications can access the server.
After checking all the firewall configurations, this solution was the only one that worked.
Elegance in simplicity perhaps?