10cc
is an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. Initially comprising four musicians — Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme — who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the “10cc” name in 1972.
Two strong song-writing teams, a commercial team and an artistic team, injected sharp wit to lyrically-dextrous songs. The commercial team (Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman) were straight pop-song-writers, who created the band’s most accessible songs; the artistic team (Godley and Creme) were the experimental half of 10cc, featuring an Art School sensibility and cinematic writing. Each man was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer, and producer, and each could perform as the lead singer. [1]
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10CC TICKETS
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First collaborations, 1964 – 1971
Three of the founding members of 10cc were childhood friends in
Manchester. As boys, Godley and Creme knew each other; Gouldman and Godley attended the same secondary school; their musical passion led to playing at the local
Jewish Lads' Brigade.
Early bands, 1964 – 1969
Their first recorded collaboration was in 1964, when Graham Gouldman’s band
The Whirlwinds
recorded the Lol Creme composition, “Baby Not Like You”, as the B-side of their only single.
The Whirlwinds
then changed members and name, becoming
The Mockingbirds
(singer-guitarist Gouldman, drummer Kevin Godley [formerly of
The Sabres
with Creme].
The Mockingbirds
published five, inconsequential, singles, in 1965 and 1966, before dissolving.
[2]
In June 1967, Godley and Creme reunited and published the single “The Yellow Bellow Boom Room” (“Seeing Things Green”' b/w “Still Life” on UK CBS). In 1969, Gouldman took them to a Marmalade Records recording session. The boss
Giorgio Gomelsky was impressed with Godley’s falsetto voice, and offered them a recording contract. In September 1969,
Godley & Creme
recorded some basic tracks at
Strawberry Studios, with Stewart on guitar and Gouldman on bass.
[3] The song, “I’m Beside Myself With Jason Parker” b/w “Animal Song”, was published as a single, credited to Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon.
Gomelsky (an ex-manager of
The Yardbirds) planned to market
Godley & Creme
as a duo, in the vein of
Simon and Garfunkel.
[4] Plans for an album by Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon faltered, however, when Marmalade ran out of funds.
Solo tracks by Godley and Gouldman, however – both involved Stewart and Creme – were released in a 1969 Marmalade Records music sample album,
100 Proof
. Gouldman's track was “The Late Mr. Late”; a year later, Godley’s song “To Fly Away” reappeared as “Fly Away”, in the début
Hotlegs album,
Thinks: School Stinks
.
Gouldman, meanwhile, had made a name for himself as a hit songwriter, penning "Heart Full of Soul", "Evil Hearted You" and "
For Your Love" for
The Yardbirds, "Look Through Any Window" and "Bus Stop"' for
The Hollies and "No Milk Today", "East West" and "Listen People" for
Herman's Hermits.
The Mindbenders (1965-1968)
Meanwhile, the fourth future member of 10cc was also tasting significant pop music success: guitarist Eric Stewart was a member of
Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, a group that hit #1 with "The Game Of Love", and had scored a number of other mid-1960s hits. When Fontana left the band in October 1965, the group became known simply as
The Mindbenders, with Stewart their lead vocalist. The band scored a hit with "A Groovy Kind Of Love" (released December 1965) and made an appearance in the
1967 film
To Sir, With Love
with "It's Getting Harder All the Time" and "Off and Running."
In March 1968, Graham Gouldman joined Stewart in The Mindbenders, replacing bassist Bob Lang and playing on some tour dates. Gouldman wrote two of the band's final three singles, "Schoolgirl" (released November 1967) and "Uncle Joe the Ice Cream Man" (August 1968). Those singles did not chart and The Mindbenders broke up after a short tour of England in November.
[5]
The birth of Strawberry Studios; the bubblegum era (1968-1970)
In the dying days of The Mindbenders, Stewart began recording demos of new material at Inner City Studios, a Stockport studio then owned by Peter Tattersall, a former road manager for
Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. In July 1968 Stewart joined Tattersall as a partner in the studio, where he could further hone his skills as a recording engineer.
[6] In October 1968, the studio was relocated to bigger premises and renamed
Strawberry Studios, after
The Beatles' "
Strawberry Fields Forever".
[7]
In 1969 Gouldman, who had become much more in demand as a songwriter than as a performer, also began using Strawberry to record demos of songs he was writing for Marmalade. By the end of the year he, too, was a financial partner in the studios.
By 1969, all four members of the original 10cc line-up were working together regularly at Strawberry Studios. Around the same time, noted American
bubblegum pop writer-producers
Jerry Kasenetz and
Jeff Katz of
Super K Productions came to England and commissioned Gouldman to write and produce formula bubblegum songs. Many of these songs were recorded at Strawberry Studios, and were either augmented or performed entirely by varying combinations of the future 10cc lineup.
Among the recordings from this period was "Sausalito", a #86 US hit credited to
Ohio Express, and released in July 1969. In reality, the song featured Gouldman on lead vocal, and vocal and instrumental backing by the other three future 10cc members.
In December 1969 Kasenetz and Katz agreed to a proposal by Gouldman that he work solely at Strawberry, rather than moving constantly between Stockport, London and New York. Gouldman convinced the pair that these throwaway two-minute songs could all be written, performed and produced by him and his three colleagues, Stewart, Godley and Creme, at a fraction of the price of hiring outside session musicians. Kasenetz and Katz booked the studio for three months.
Kevin Godley recalled:
[8]
| “
| We did a lot of tracks in a very short time – it was really like a machine. Twenty tracks in about two weeks – a lot of crap really – really shit. We used to do the voices, everything – it saved 'em money. We even did the female backing vocals.
| ”
|
The three-month project resulted in a number of tracks that appeared under various band names owned by Kasenetz-Katz, including "There Ain't No Umbopo" by
Crazy Elephant, "When He Comes" by Fighter Squadron and "Come On Plane" by Silver Fleet (all three with lead vocals by Godley), and "Susan's Tuba" by
Freddie and the Dreamers (which was a monster hit in France and featured lead vocals by
Freddie Garrity, despite claims by some that it was Gouldman).
Lol Creme remembered: "Singles kept coming out under strange names that had really been recorded by us. I've no idea how many there were, or what happened to them all."
But Stewart described the Kasenetz-Katz deal as a breakthrough: "That allowed us to get the extra equipment to turn it into a real studio. To begin with they were interested in Graham's songwriting and when they heard that he was involved in a studio I think they thought the most economical thing for them to do would be to book his studio and then put him to work there – but they ended up recording Graham's songs and then some of Kevin and Lol's songs, and we were all working together."
Hotlegs, Doctor Father, The New Wave Band (1970-1971)
When the three-month production deal with Kasenetz-Katz ended, Gouldman returned to New York to work as a staff songwriter for
Super K Productions while the remaining three continued to dabble in the studio.
With Gouldman absent, Godley, Creme and Stewart continued recording singles. The first, "
Neanderthal Man", released under the name
Hotlegs, began life as a test of drum layering at the new Strawberry Studios mixing desk
, but when released as a single by
Fontana Records in July 1970, climbed to No.2 in the
UK charts and became a worldwide hit, selling more than two million copies. Around the same time, the trio released "Umbopo" under the name of
Doctor Father. The song, a slower, longer and more melancholic version of the track earlier released under the name of Crazy Elephant, failed to chart.
Reverting to the successful band name Hotlegs, in early 1971 Godley, Creme and Stewart recorded the album
Thinks: School Stinks
, which included "Neanderthal Man". They then recalled Gouldman for a short tour, supporting
The Moody Blues, before releasing a follow-up single "Lady Sadie" b/w "The Loser". Philips reworked their sole album, removed "Neantherthal Man" and added "Today" and issued it as
Song
. Stewart, Creme and Godley released another single in February 1971 under yet another pseudonym, The New Wave Band, this time with former
Herman's Hermits member
Derek "Lek" Leckenby on guitar. The song, a cover version of
Paul Simon's "
Cecilia", was one of the few tracks the band released that they had not written. It also failed to chart.
[9]
The band also continued outside production work at Strawberry, working with
Dave Berry,
Wayne Fontana,
Peter Cowap and
Herman's Hermits, and doing original compositions for various UK football (soccer) teams. In 1971 they produced and played on
Space Hymns
, an album by New Age musician
Ramases; in 1972 and 1973 they co-produced and played on two
Neil Sedaka albums,
Solitaire
and
The Tra-La Days Are Over
.
The experience of working on
Solitaire
, which became a success for Sedaka, was enough to prompt the band to seek recognition on their own merits. Gouldman – who by 1972 was back at Strawberry Studios – said:
Stewart said the decision was made over a meal in a Chinese restaurant: "We asked ourselves whether we shouldn't pool our creative talents and try to do something with the songs that each of us was working on at the time."
Once again a four-piece, the group recorded a Stewart/Gouldman song, "Waterfall", in early 1972. Stewart offered the acetate to
Apple Records. He waited months before receiving a note from the label saying the song was not commercial enough to release as a single.
The original lineup, 1972-76
Undeterred by Apple's rejection, the group decided to plug another song which had been written as a possible B-side to "Waterfall", a Godley/Creme composition entitled "
Donna". The song was a
Frank Zappa-influenced '50s
doo-wop parody, a sharp mix of commercial pop and irony with a chorus sung in falsetto. Stewart said: "We knew it had something. We only knew of one person who was mad enough to release it, and that was
Jonathan King." Stewart called King, a flamboyant entrepreneur, producer and recording artist, who drove to Strawberry, listened to the track and "fell about laughing", declaring: "It's fabulous, it's a hit."
King signed the band to his
UK Records label in July 1972 and dubbed them 10cc. By his own account, King chose the name after having a dream in which he was standing in front of the
Hammersmith Odeon in London where the boarding read "10cc The Best Band in the World". A widely-repeated claim, disputed by King
[11] and Godley,
[12] but confirmed in a 1988 interview by Creme,
[13] is that the band name represented a volume of
semen that was more than the average amount
ejaculated by men, thus emphasising their potency or prowess.
"Donna", released as the first 10cc single, was chosen by
BBC Radio 1 disc jockey Tony Blackburn as his Record of the Week, helping to launch it into the Top 30. The song peaked at No.2 in the UK in September 1972.
Although their second single, a similarly '50s-influenced song called "Johnny Don't Do It", was not a major chart success, "
Rubber Bullets", a catchy satirical take on the "Jailhouse Rock" concept, became a hit internationally and gave 10cc their first British No.1 single in May 1973. They consolidated their success a few months later with "
The Dean and I", which peaked at No.10 in August. They released two singles, "Headline Hustler" (in the US) and the self-mocking "The Worst Band In The World" (in the UK) and launched a UK tour on 26 August 1973 before returning to Strawberry Studios in November to record the remainder of their second LP,
Sheet Music
(1973), which included "The Worst Band In The World" along with other hits "
The Wall Street Shuffle" (No.10, 1974) and "Silly Love" (No.24, 1974).
"Sheet Music" became the band's breakthrough album, remaining on the UK charts for six months and paving the way for a US tour in February 1974.
In February 1975 the band announced they had signed with
Mercury Records for US$1 million. The catalyst for the deal was one song – "
I'm Not in Love". Stewart recalled:
[14]
| “
| At that point in time we were still on Jonathan King's label, but struggling. We were absolutely skint, the lot of us, we were really struggling seriously, and Philips Phonogram wanted to do a deal with us. They wanted to buy Jonathan King's contract. I rang them. I said come and have a listen to what we've done, come and have a listen to this track. And they came up and they freaked, and they said "This is a masterpiece. How much money, what do you want? What sort of a contract do you want? We'll do anything, we'll sign it". On the strength of that one song, we did a five-year deal with them for five albums and they paid us a serious amount of money.
| ”
|
The Original Soundtrack
, which was already complete, was released just weeks later. It was both a critical and commercial success and featured distinctive cover art created by the
Hipgnosis team and drawn by musician and artist Humphrey Ocean, RA
[15]. It is also notable for its opening track, Godley & Creme's "
Une Nuit A Paris (One Night In Paris)", an eight-minute, multi-part "mini-operetta" that is thought to have been an influence on "Bohemian Rhapsody" by
Queen. Its melody can also be heard in the overture to Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical "Phantom of the Opera".
Although it bore an unlikely title (picked up from a radio talk show), the jaunty single "Life Is A Minestrone" (1975) was another UK Top 10 placing, peaking at No.7. Their biggest success came with the dreamy "
I'm Not in Love", which gave the band their second UK No.1 in May 1975. The song also provided them with their first US chart success when the song reached No.2.
A collaborative effort built around a title by Stewart, "I'm Not in Love" is notable for its innovative production, especially its richly overdubbed choral backing.
10cc would also do some production work for
Justin Hayward during this time on his single "Blue Guitar" for his "Blue Jays" project with
John Lodge.
Their fourth LP,
How Dare You!
(1976), featuring another Hipgnosis cover, furnished two more UK Top Ten hits – the witty "Art For Art's Sake" (No.5 in December 1975) and "I'm Mandy, Fly Me" (No.7, April 1976). But by this time the once close personal and working relationships between the four members had begun to fray, and it was the last album with the original lineup.
10cc's success prompted the 1976 re-release of the Hotlegs album under the new title
You Didn't Like It Because You Didn't Think Of It
with two additional tracks. The title track was the epic B-side of "Neanderthal Man", a section of which had been reworked as "Fresh Air For My Mama" on the
10cc album.
The split, 1976
Soon after the release of
How Dare You
, Godley and Creme left 10cc to work on a project that eventually evolved into the triple LP set
Consequences
(1976), a sprawling concept album that featured contributions from satirist
Peter Cook and jazz legend
Sarah Vaughan.
The first of a series of albums by Godley & Creme,
Consequences
began as a demonstration record for the "
Gizmotron", an electric guitar effect they had invented. The device, which fitted over the bridge of an electric guitar, contained six small motor-driven wheels attached to small keys (four wheels for electric basses); when the key was depressed, the Gizmotron wheels bowed the guitar strings, producing notes and
chords with endless
sustain. First used during the recording of the
Sheet Music
track "Old Wild Men", the device was designed to further cut their recording costs: by using it on an electric guitar with studio effects, they could effectively simulate strings and other sounds, enabling them to dispense with expensive orchestral overdubs.
In a 2007 interview with the ProGGnosis - Progressive Rock & Fusion website,
[16] Godley explained: "We left because we no longer liked what Gouldman and Stewart were writing. We left because 10cc was becoming safe and predictable and we felt trapped."
But speaking to
Uncut
magazine 10 years earlier,
[17], he expressed regret about the band breaking up as they embarked on the
Consequences
project:
| “
| Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.
| ”
|
In a BBC Radio Wales interview
Stewart gave his side of the split:
| “
| Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.
| ”
|
Godley & Creme went on to achieve cult success as a songwriting and recording duo, scoring several hits and releasing a string of innovative LPs and singles. Having honed their skills on the equally innovative clips that they made to promote their own singles, they returned to their visual arts roots and became better-known as directors of
music videos in the 1980s, creating acclaimed videos for chart-topping acts including
George Harrison ("When We Was
Fab"),
The Police ("Every Breath You Take"),
Duran Duran ("Girls On Film"),
Frankie Goes to Hollywood ("Two Tribes"),
Peter Gabriel's duet with
Kate Bush "Don't Give Up", and
Herbie Hancock ("Rockit"). They also directed a video for Stewart and Gouldman's "Feel the Love". The video for their 1985 single "
Cry" is especially notable as one of the first mainstream uses of image
morphing technology.
For further information see: Godley & Creme
After The Split, 1977-1983
After the departure of Godley and Creme, Stewart and Gouldman opted to continue as 10cc, bringing in to the studio drummer
Paul Burgess, who had up to that point been their tour backup drummer. Their first album as a three piece band was called Deceptive Bends (1977), named after a sign on the Mickelham bends on the A24 between Leatherhead and Dorking in Surrey. The album, recorded at the newly-completed Strawberry South Studio in Dorking, Surrey, reached No. 3 in Britain and No. 31 in the US and also yielded three hit singles, "The Things We Do For Love" (UK No. 6, US No. 5), "Good Morning Judge" (UK No. 5, US No. 69) and "People In Love" (US No. 40). Stewart later said he and Gouldman felt vindicated by its success: "I was out to prove also that we could write a hit album without Kevin and Lol ... we did!" [18]
In 1977 10cc embarked on an international tour with guitarist Rick Fenn, keyboardist Tony O'Malley and an additional drummer Stuart Tosh (ex-Pilot) and recorded a live album, "
Live And Let Live" (1977), which mixed the hits with material from the previous three LPs.
Fenn, Tosh, Burgess and keyboardist Duncan Mackay were now full members of the band and performed on 1978's Bloody Tourists, which provided the band with their third UK No. 1 single, the reggae-styled "Dreadlock Holiday". Unfortunately it was to be their last hit, the second single "Reds In My Bed" with lead vocals by Stuart Tosh failed to reach the charts.
The band suffered a major setback in 1979 when Stewart was seriously injured in a car crash. He told the BBC:
[18]
| “
| It flattened me completely. I damaged my left ear, I damaged my eye very badly. I couldn't go near music. I couldn't go near anything loud and I love music and motor-racing. I had to stay away from both things for a long time, for about six months. And the momentum of this big machine that we'd had rolling slowed and slowed and slowed. And on the music scene, the punk thing had come in a big way. The Sex Pistols, The Clash, lots of things like that. So by the time I was fit again to play, I think we'd just missed the bus. It'd gone. And whatever we did after that, we got a few tickles here and there and we could continue touring forever on the strength of the past hits, but it didn't feel right again, we just didn't have that public with us.
| ”
|
Gouldman, too, considered the aftermath of Stewart's accident to be a turning point. In a 1995 BBC interview
[19] he said:
| “
| Really, after '78 things went downhill for us. I don't know what it was. We'd been doing it for so long, maybe we should have had a break then, rather than in '83 when we did have a break, or brought new blood in or done something. And even as the things were getting bad, we thought, 'Ah, it's gonna be alright, don't worry about it, it'll be great'.
| ”
|
Whilst Eric recovered, Graham recorded the title track to the film "Sunburn" which became a minor U.K. hit in 1979. He also recorded the soundtrack to the animated film "
Animalympics" in 1980, utilizing the other 10cc musicians.
During this down-time the record label in the U.K. released a compilation album "
Greatest Hits 1972-1978" which became a big hit over Christmas 1979. "
I'm Not In Love" was re-released as a double A-Side with "For you and I" to coincide, but missed the charts.
Eric also recorded a solo album, the soundtrack to the film "Girls", which was released in 1980.
Finally, the band got back together and produced a new 10cc album entitled
Look Hear?
, featuring the single "One-Two-Five". The single, mocking the average beat of disco songs, somewhat a little late, failed to reach the charts on either side of the Atlantic and the album suffered accordingly - reaching a lowly No.35 in the U.K. Worse was to come, however...
Gouldman and Stewart subsequently jettisoned most of the band before returning to the studios in early 1981. Their initial sessions produced the single "Les Nouveau Riches", a strange hybrid of "Dreadlock holiday" and "One-Two-Five", it failed to give the band a much needed hit. Around this time Eric was also involved with producing the band
Sad Cafe and working with
Paul McCartney, whilst Graham produced the
Ramones album "Pleasant dreams".
The band returned to the studio and completed their next album "
Ten Out of 10" which was released in the U.K. in November 1981. The dour single "Don't turn me away" released to promote the album failed to chart, as did the album. Eric and Graham had favoured the track "Lying here with you" as first single but were apparently ignored.
In a bid to inject an American flavour to the album, Warners invited singer-songwriter
Andrew Gold to contribute, leading to an offer to join the band; an offer Gold declined because of other commitments. Gouldman later admitted greater involvement by Gold might have lifted the band's early 1980s output from its mediocrity. "We should either have tried to change direction, which we didn’t, or got someone else in the band, which we almost did. The albums weren’t really bad, there was always the integrity, and the production values, but in retrospect, I find them rather dour, rather lacklustre."
[20]
The American version of the album differed from the U.K. version, including the three songs co-written with Andrew Gold. Despite the change the album still failed to perform in the U.S.
The band embarked on their 10th Anniversary tour in spring 1982 , and released "The Power of Love" - one of the Andrew Gold co-writes - as a single. Unfortunately, the single failed to register in the charts. The other collaborations were also released as singles in the U.K. "Run Away" in June 1982, reaching No.50 in the U.K. and "We've Heard it all Before" in October 1982, but didn't make the charts.
Stewart also released a 1982 solo album "Frooty Rooties" with participation from Gouldman on one track.
It was suggested to Eric and Graham by their record label that they write an expanded piece, citing
Dire Straits as an example. The result was the single "24 Hours", released to coincide with their Spring 1983 tour. Despite the tour and a fresh sound, the single stalled at No.78 in the U.K. During this tour they also premiered a couple of other new tracks that would form the basis of their next album.
"Feel the Love" was released as a single in July 1983, and
Godley & Creme, by now accomplished and highly successful video directors, produced the video. Despite all this and a mimed performance on BBC's "Pebble Mill" programme, the single could reach no higher than No.83. The album "Windows in the Jungle" was eventually released in October 1983, almost as an afterthought, and managed a week at No.70. The accompanying Autumn tour followed the theme of the earlier tour by visiting UK towns. Apparently during one show Eric was virtually attacked on stage. After the failures of their previous three albums and ever decreasing returns from their tours, it was time to call it a day.
Separate projects, 1984-1992
After a second tour at the end of 1983, the band went into recess.
Stewart continued his association with
Paul McCartney. He had already appeared on "
Tug of War" in 1982 and "
Pipes of Peace" in 1983. During 1984 he appeared in the video for the US single "So Bad" which also featured
Ringo Starr and the feature film/soundtrack for "
Give My Regards To Broad Street". He then co-wrote much of the
Press to Play
album (1986). He also produced the album
Eyes of a Woman
(1985) by
Agnetha Fältskog of
ABBA.
Gouldman, meanwhile, teamed with
Andrew Gold to form the duo Common Knowledge, which, after two unsuccessful singles changed their name to
Wax. The duo's albums included
Magnetic Heaven
(1986),
American English
(1987) and
A Hundred Thousand In Fresh Notes.
(1989). Gouldman also assembled and produced the charity single "
You'll Never Walk Alone" by
The Crowd in aid of the
Bradford City stadium fire. Released in 1985, the single reached No.1 in the UK charts.
A compilation album "
Changing Faces - The Very Best of 10cc and Godley & Creme" was released in 1987 and gave the band their biggest hit album since 1978.
10cc reunited, 1992-1995
In 1992 the original four members reunited to record
…Meanwhile
, an album produced by
Gary Katz of
Steely Dan fame. Katz was suggested by the record label Polydor who wanted 10cc to enjoy success in America, and because of his links to Steely Dan - similar sounding 70's band. However, the album was not a "reunion" in the strict sense of the word. All the album's songs were written by Stewart and Gouldman (with the exception of one track which was co-written by Stewart and
Paul McCartney in the late 80's with additional writing from Gouldman). Creme and Godley agreed to guest on the album to fulfil their obligation to Polydor—both had owed Polydor one album when they split in the late '80s. Godley and Creme sang background vocals on several tracks on the album. Godley also sang the lead on one song, "The Stars Didn't Show". The record label did everything it could to make it appear that it was a genuine reunion album to generate publicity...to little effect.
...Meanwhile
did not spawn any major hits, but was relatively well received in Japan and in Europe. It prominently featured session musicians
Jeff Porcaro, of Toto fame, on drums, Freddie Washington on bass,
Michael Landau on lead and rhythm guitar, and Bashiri Johnson on percussion. Also appearing on the album were
Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) on piano, David Paich (also of Toto fame) on keyboards, longtime 10cc collaborator
Andrew Gold on guitar and many other renowned session musicians and singers.
...Meanwhile
is believed to be Porcaro's last session work before he died of a heart attack prompted by a reaction to insecticide.
Dr John was recommended by producer Gary Katz and invited along to the sessions.
Gouldman, in a 1995 interview,
was philosophical about the album: "When we finally did come back to record again, it was based on market research that our record company had done, that said a new 10cc album would do really, really well. And, ah, history has proved that wrong." Yet according to Stewart, both he and Gouldman had approached the album positively. "We wrote in a three-month period, 22 songs. Every day we were coming up with new ideas, and they were getting better and better, as far as we were concerned. And they sounded like 10cc songs again."
The album was followed by a tour in 1993 with members Rick Fenn, Steve Piggot, Stuart Tosh and Gary Wallace returning to the frame. This tour was captured on the live album and dvd
Alive
.
In 1995 the band released
Mirror Mirror
, produced by Gouldman, Stewart and
Adrian Lee of
Mike and the Mechanics, and without participation from Godley or Creme. Despite initial objections by Gouldman,
[21]Mirror Mirror
included an acoustic version of "
I'm Not in Love" which became a #29 UK hit single, but overall the album did not fare very well. Gouldman has described
Mirror Mirror
as "almost like two halves of an album", largely a result of the fact that he and Stewart recorded in separate countries. "I don’t like to say we hoodwinked the people, but you could say it’s not quite what it appears to be, and anyone with any sense, who reads the credits, could see that," he told
Goldmine
magazine.
Their recording arrangement also provided further evidence of a fractured relationship between Stewart and Gouldman: aside from "I'm Not in Love", Stewart did not appear on any of the tracks Gouldman played or sang on, while Gouldman did not appear on any of Stewart's tracks. Two co-written tracks from the album "Why did I break your heart" and "Take this woman" were written and rejected during the
...Meanwhile sessions, rather than being especially written for the new album. "Ready to go home" was listed as the second single but was dropped just before its due release. After the album's release Stewart and Gouldman embarked on some limited gigs, performing at the Liverpool Empire before departing to Japan. A UK tour was lined up...but unfortunately never happened and Eric and Graham parted ways again.
Stewart has since commented:
[22] "10cc is well and truly finished as far as I am concerned.."
Recent work, 1999-2009
Since 1999 Gouldman has toured with a version of 10cc consisting of Rick Fenn,
Paul Burgess, Mick Wilson, Mike Stevens and/or Keith Hayman, with occasional guest appearances by Kevin Godley. The band has embarked on several national tours of the UK and various dates throughout the World playing 10cc hits, plus a section of Gouldman's hits written for others. Their first gig was at Ronnie Scotts jazz club in Birmingham in 1999.
In 2001 Gouldman released his third solo album,
And Another Thing...
. (the title was a subtle reference to his first solo outing,
The Graham Gouldman Thing
in 1968).
In 2002, an official box set of recordings and rarities was due to be released "30 years of 10cc", but was cancelled before its release.
Stewart released his third solo album,
Do Not Bend
, in 2003.
In January 2004 Godley and Gouldman reconvened to write more songs. Godley explained:
currently offers six downloadable tracks, "The Same Road", "Johnny Hurts", "Beautifulloser.com", "Hooligan Crane", "Son of Man" and "Barry's Shoes". The songs are the initial "offering" of a group of songs they have worked on over the past three years.
A 2006 10cc compilation from
Universal,
Greatest Hits ... And More
, attracted criticism both from fans who complained about one track, "Feel the Benefit", running at a slow speed and from Stewart, who was upset at not being told of its release.
[24]
In 2008, a DVD was compiled of several recent 10CC featuring Gouldman concerts entitled "Clever Clogs". The DVD also features several tracks sung by Godley.
[25]
Stewart released his fourth solo album,
Viva La Difference
, in January 2009.
In early 2009 a version of 10cc began touring the UK as well as launching their official web-site 10ccworld.com. Another 10cc compilation from
Universal Music Group/UMTV ,
Very Best of 10cc
, was released and reached No.39 in the album chart. The band announced it would tour the UK again in late 2010.
Cover versions
- In 1991, Will to Power released a cover version of "I'm Not in Love" which peaked at #7 on the Billboard
Hot 100 chart.
- In 1993, The Pretenders performed a cover version of "I'm Not in Love" for the movie "Indecent Proposal" starring Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson.
- In 1994, Red Red Meat covered "I'm Not in Love" on "Star Power", a collection of 70s covers by various indie artists, released by Pravda Records.
- In 1999, the Fun Lovin' Criminals covered "I'm Not in Love" on their album Mimosa
, a collection of rarities, b-sides, remixes, and covers.
- In 2001, Tori Amos covered "I'm Not in Love" on the album Strange Little Girls
, a collection of covers songs written and originally performed by men, reinterpreted by Amos from a female's point of view.
- In 2006, hip hop producer J Dilla sampled 10cc's songs "Johnny Don't Do It" and "The Worst Band in the World" on his songs "Waves" and "Workinonit" on his Donuts
album.
- "I'm Not In Love" was featured in the videogame "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories" on the radio station "98.3, the Emotion"
- In 2008, "Cry" by Godley & Creme was used for the 'Grand Theft Auto:4' PC release trailer. The song was also played in in the soundtrack in the 1985 Miami Vice episode 'Little Miss Dangerous' with Ted Nugent.
- In 2007, "Rubber Bullets" was used as the title theme song to the pilot of Adult Swim's cartoon series "Superjail". The song was later replaced by Comin' Home by the band Cheeseburger.
Discography
- 1973: 10cc
- 1974: Sheet Music
- 1975: The Original Soundtrack
- 1976: How Dare You!
- 1977: Deceptive Bends
- 1977: Live and Let Live
- 1978: Bloody Tourists
- 1979: Greatest Hits 1972-1978
- 1980: Look Hear?
- 1981: Ten Out of 10
- 1983: Windows in the Jungle
- 1987: Changing Faces - The Very Best of 10cc and Godley & Creme
- 1992: …Meanwhile
- 1995: Mirror Mirror
References
- Interview with Graham Gouldman
- Complete Mockingbirds discography at 10cc fan club website
- "10cc : A Pure Injection Of Pop," chapter 4, by Dave Thompson, "Goldmine" magazine, 11 April 1997
- Liner notes to ''Strawberry Bubblegum'' CD, written by David Wells, June 2003
- The 10cc Story
- Eric Stewart comment on his website
- Eric Stewart comment on his website
- "Zigzag" magazine, January 1975
- "Manchester Beat" website
- Graham Gouldman interview, "Record Collector", 1984
- Snopes.com, "10cc"
- Interview with Kevin Godley, Rock N Roll Universe online interview, April 2007
- Godley & Creme interviewed in "Pulse" magazine, April 1988
- Eric Stewart interview, Radio Wales, "I Write the Songs"
- Humphrey Ocean biography at Royal Academy website
- ProgGnosis website interview with Kevin Godley, 23 June 2007
- Kevin Godley interview, "Uncut", 1997
- Stewart's BBC Radio Wales interview
- Graham Gouldman interviewed by Justin Hayward, BBC2, 1995
- "10cc : A Pure Injection Of Pop," chapter 10, by Dave Thompson, "Goldmine" magazine, 11 April 1997
- "10cc: A Pure Injection Of Pop" by Dave Thompson, Goldmine magazine, 11 April 1997.
- Reply to question by Eric Stewart at his website
- Kevin Godley comment at GG06 website
- Comments on Eric Stewart website, 2 August 2006
- The Official 10cc Fan Club/Latest News