www.musicweek.com TRIBUTE 40YEARSOF 10CC 10 A PERFECT LEFT & BELOW
Then and now: Graham
Gouldman’s career spans
almost 50 years I
The I’m Not In Love hitmakers are four decades old this month. Founding member Graham Gouldman – still touring in 2012 under the 10cc name – looks back at one of the most prolific, endearing careers in UK rock history…
27.04.12 MusicWeek 27
INTERVIEW BY TIM INGHAM
t was the era of Bowie, T-Rex, Queen and Elton John; of glitter, gimmicks, glamour and glorious gaudiness. 10cc had little interest in all that. They didn’t squeeze
into platforms or experiment within their mothers’ make-up drawers. They didn’t even really show off, snarl or sulk. They were simply too busy writing classic songs – songs that a nation took little time falling in love with. Before they adopted their famous name, the band’s
original line-up of Graham Gouldman, Lol Creme, Eric Stewart and Kevin Godley were already composing together at a rate of knots. The quartet penned and performed as a songwriting
machine in the early Seventies at Strawberry Studios in Stockport – tellingly named after the Beatles hit Strawberry Fields Forever. They created a conveyor belt of harmony-drenched pop
ditties for other artists, but their melodic potential wasn’t fully realised until they took the decision to release their own records in 1972. A host of classic cuts spilled forth on their eponymous
debut LP, from the charming doo-wop parody Donna to the Beach Boys-do-Jailhouse-Rock joys of Rubber Bullets. It took pop impresario Jonathan King little time to snap the
band up on his UK Records label - and christen them with their fabled moniker. Over 11 studio albums – the last, Mirror Mirror,
released in 1995 – 10cc enjoyed three No.1 smashes (Dreadlock Holiday, I’m Not In Love and Rubber Bullets), whilst their Top Ten hits ran into double figures. Just like their heroes The Beatles, each member of the band could shine on any given release; audiences never knew which of 10cc’s multi-talented foursome would take lead vocals, or bust out a solo mid-song. The band’s lack of pretense has only served to
accentuate the timelessness of their records. It’s a point further proven by the fact that in 2012 - four decades after they formed - the group can still count itself as a popular touring phenomenon. Led by original member Gouldman, 2012’s 10cc
(pictured above) will tour the UK next month, kicking off at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on April 30. Their final date, at London’s Royal Albert Hall on May
10, will be a particularly special one: Gouldman and his bandmates will be joined by Kevin Godley, who famously left the band alongside Lol Creme in 1976 during 10cc’s heyday – tempted away by the experimental lure of the Gizmo, a guitar device the pair invented. On the following page, Gouldman looks back on 40 years of happiness, hurt – and a heck of a lot of hits…
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68