Friday, 2 January 2026

A Quick Look at 10cc

 


10cc were a popular and successful singles and albums rock-pop act in the Seventies. The four members were skilled professional musicians and song-writers, who grew up in Manchester, and had been members of bands since the early 60's, often together. Godley was in a band called  The Sabres, while Gouldman formed The Whirlwinds, which released a single in 1964, the B-side of which was a Creme composition, "Baby Not Like You". The Whirlwinds then changed name to The Mockingbirds, with Gouldman on bass, and Godley joining as drummer.


 Stewart had played with The Mindbenders; becoming lead guitarist and singer in time for their biggest hit "A Groovy Kind of Love" in 1966. 


The four musicians pooled their skills in the band, which was initially called Hotlegs. Between the four of them they wrote some clever and attractive singles, while the albums allowed them to stretch a little and play around with prog-rock concepts and ideas. In 1976 they split, with Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart keeping the 10cc name, while Kevin Godley and Lol Creme formed Godley & Creme as well as getting into video production. After the split, 10cc had one of their biggest hits with "Dreadlock Holiday" (1978), but then went into a long slow decline before issuing their final album in 1995. The band's peak was 1973 to 1978. They were a decent and clever band who now feel a little dated


Wikipedia: 

10cc are an English rock band formed in Stockport, southeast of Manchester, in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had written and recorded together since 1968. The four members contributed to songwriting, working together in various permutations. Godley and Creme’s songwriting has been said to be inspired by art and cinema. The four members were multi-instrumentalists, singers, writers and producers. Most of the band's records were recorded at their own Strawberry Studios (North) in Stockport and Strawberry Studios (South) in Dorking, with most of those engineered by Stewart.

From 1972 to 1978, 10cc had five consecutive UK top-ten albums: Sheet Music (1974), The Original Soundtrack (1975), How Dare You! (1976), Deceptive Bends (1977), and Bloody Tourists (1978). 10cc also had twelve singles reach the UK Top 40, three of which were the chart-toppers "Rubber Bullets" (1973), "I'm Not in Love" (1975), and "Dreadlock Holiday" (1978). "I'm Not in Love" was their breakthrough worldwide hit, and is known for its innovative backing track.

In 1976, Godley and Creme quit the band to concentrate on developing an electronic music device, "The Gizmo", and being in video production and music as Godley & Creme. Stewart left the band in 1995. Since 1999, Gouldman has led a touring version of 10cc.

Albums


Hotlegs consisted of three future 10cc members, with the fourth, Gouldman, joining them for the track "Today". Godley, Creme, and Stewart had created and recorded "Neanderthal Man" while testing out new recording equipment at Stewart and Gouldman's studio, Strawberry Studios. Godley and Creme were regulars at the studio, frequently working with Stewart and Gouldman on bubblegum songs. The song was released as a single and became a success, hitting No 1 in various countries, and No 2 in the UK. This album was recorded and released as a follow up to try and build on the success of the single, but while the rest of the songs were interesting, and in line with what 10cc would later do on their albums, there were no other commercial pop tracks, and there was a nine month delay between  "Neanderthal Man" (June 1970) and the album (March 1971),  so it wasn't successful.  It's a solid and interesting soft prog album, but nothing really stands out, and even "Neanderthal Man" sounds a little dated. 


  1. "Neanderthal Man" (Kevin Godley, Lol Creme, Eric Stewart) – 4:19
  2. "How Many Times" (Godley, Creme, Stewart) – 3:57
  3. "Desperate Dan" (Godley, Creme, Stewart) – 2:12
  4. "Take Me Back" (Godley, Creme) – 5:01
  5. "Um Wah, Um Woh" (Godley, Creme, Stewart) – 5:30
  6. "Suite F.A." (Godley, Creme) – 12:53
    • 1st Movement – On My Way
    • 2nd Movement – Indecision
    • 3rd Movement – The Return
  7. "Fly Away" (Godley, Creme) – 2:43
  8. "Run Baby Run" (Godley, Creme, Stewart) – 2:50
  9. "All God's Children" (Godley, Creme, Stewart) – 3:55

Additional personnel

AllMusic: 
Score: 3.5

   
10cc (1973)

Reflecting the contemporary musical taste for glam rock, which tended to evoke late 50s music such as Doo Wop, the album is witty and fun, with its tongue firmly in its cheek, and three tracks were top ten hits as singles. Godley and Creme were involved in writing 8 of the album's ten tracks, and all three of the top 10 singles.  The album is witty, bright, cheeky, and great fun. 


Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Johnny, Don't Do It"
3:36
2."Sand in My Face"
  • Creme 
  • Gouldman 
  • Godley
3:36
3."Donna"
  • Creme 
  • Godley
2:53
4."The Dean and I"
  • Creme 
  • Godley
3:03
5."Headline Hustler"
3:31
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Speed Kills"
  • Stewart 
  • Creme 
  • Gouldman 
  • Godley
3:47
7."Rubber Bullets"
  • Creme 
  • Gouldman 
  • Godley
5:15
8."The Hospital Song"
  • Creme 
  • Godley
2:41
9."Ships Don't Disappear in the Night (Do They?)"
  • Stewart 
  • Gouldman
3:04
10."Fresh Air for My Mama"
  • Stewart 
  • Creme 
  • Godley
3:04



Score: 5.5
  
Sheet Music (1974)

A more comfortable and assured album than the 10cc debut. Though less fun, it was more successful - possibly because the hits continued, and the band were now becoming known. 


Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."The Wall Street Shuffle"
Stewart3:54
2."The Worst Band in the World"
Creme2:49
3."Hotel"
Godley4:54
4."Old Wild Men"
  • Creme 
  • Godley
Stewart and Godley3:21
5."Clockwork Creep"
  • Creme 
  • Godley
Creme, Godley, Stewart and Gouldman2:46
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Silly Love"
  • Stewart 
  • Creme
Creme and Stewart with Godley4:01
7."Somewhere in Hollywood"
  • Creme 
  • Godley
Godley with Creme6:39
8."Baron Samedi"
  • Stewart 
  • Gouldman
Stewart with Godley3:46
9."The Sacro-Iliac"
  • Gouldman 
  • Godley
Gouldman and Godley with Creme2:33
10."Oh Effendi"
  • Stewart 
  • Godley
Godley and Stewart2:49

Score: 4.5

  
The Original Soundtrack (1975)

This is the band at their peak. 


Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Une nuit a Paris"
  1. "One Night in Paris"
  2. "The Same Night in Paris"
  3. "Later That Same Night in Paris"
All8:40
2."I'm Not in Love"
Stewart6:08
3."Blackmail"
  • Stewart 
  • Gouldman
All4:28

Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
4."The Second Sitting for the Last Supper"
  • Stewart 
  • Creme 
  • Gouldman 
  • Godley
Stewart4:25
5."Brand New Day"
  • Creme 
  • Godley
Godley and Stewart4:04
6."Flying Junk"
  • Stewart 
  • Gouldman
Stewart4:10
7."Life Is a Minestrone"
  • Stewart 
  • Creme
Creme4:42
8."The Film of My Love"
  • Creme 
  • Godley
Gouldman5:07


AllMusic:
Score: 

   
How Dare You! (1976)




Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."How Dare You"
instrumental4:14
2."Lazy Ways"
Stewart4:20
3."I Wanna Rule the World"
Creme3:57
4."I'm Mandy Fly Me"
  • Stewart 
  • Gouldman 
  • Godley
Stewart5:24
5."Iceberg"
  • Gouldman 
  • Godley
Gouldman and Godley3:43
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Art for Art's Sake"
  • Stewart 
  • Gouldman
Stewart, Gouldman, Creme5:59
7."Rock 'n' Roll Lullaby"
  • Gouldman 
  • Stewart
Godley and Stewart3:58
8."Head Room"
  • Godley 
  • Creme
Creme and Stewart4:21
9."Don't Hang Up"
  • Godley 
  • Creme
Godley6:16


AllMusic:
Score: 


Deceptive Bends (1977)

Band is reduced to Stewart and Gouldman as Godley and Creme form their own project, Godley & Creme, which had more success with video making than with music.  Paul Burgess, the band's touring drummer, joined 10cc as a full time member. 
The first two tracks were successful singles, and the album sold well. But this is a weaker band, and the bulk of the album feels like filler. 


All tracks written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman.

Side one

No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."Good Morning Judge"Stewart2:55
2."The Things We Do for Love"Stewart3:27
3."Marriage Bureau Rendezvous"Gouldman4:04
4."People in Love"Stewart3:48
5."Modern Man Blues"Gouldman and Stewart5:35

Side two

No.TitleLead vocalsLength
6."Honeymoon with B Troop"Gouldman and Stewart2:46
7."I Bought a Flat Guitar Tutor"Stewart1:48
8."You've Got a Cold"Stewart3:36
9."Feel the Benefit
I: "Reminisce and Speculate"
II: "A Latin Break"
III: "Feel the Benefit""		Stewart and Gouldman11:32



AllMusic:
Score: 2.5 

   
Bloody Tourists (1978)

"Dreadlock Holiday" was a big hit. The rest of the album is dross. 


Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Dreadlock Holiday"Stewart, GouldmanGouldman with Stewart4:28
2."For You and I"Stewart, GouldmanStewart5:20
3."Take These Chains"Stewart, GouldmanStewart2:36
4."Shock on the Tube (Don't Want Love)"StewartStewart3:38
5."Last Night"Gouldman, Rick FennGouldman3:10
6."The Anonymous Alcoholic"Stewart, GouldmanStewart and Gouldman5:38
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
7."Reds in My Bed"Stewart, Stuart ToshTosh with Stewart4:08
8."Life Line"GouldmanGouldman3:26
9."Tokyo"StewartStewart4:29
10."Old Mister Time"Stewart, Duncan MackayStewart4:27
11."From Rochdale to Ocho Rios"GouldmanGouldman3:41
12."Everything You Wanted to Know About!!!"StewartStewart4:25




AllMusic:
Score: 2

The band were mainly a singles band. The albums were a couple of singles and the rest filler or doodles.  So this compilation of the band's most successful singles during their peak, is pretty much all anyone needs. 


  1. "Rubber Bullets" (Godley, Creme, Gouldman) - 4:43
  2. "Donna" (Godley, Creme) - 2:56
  3. "Silly Love" (Stewart, Creme) - 3:15
  4. "The Dean and I" (Godley, Creme) - 2:52
  5. "Life Is a Minestrone" (Creme, Stewart) - 4:27
  6. "The Wall Street Shuffle" (Stewart, Gouldman) - 3:52
  7. "Art for Art's Sake" (Stewart, Gouldman) - 4:21
  8. "I'm Mandy Fly Me" (Stewart, Gouldman, Godley) - 5:21
  9. "Good Morning Judge" (Stewart, Gouldman) - 2:54
  10. "The Things We Do for Love" (Stewart, Gouldman) - 3:22
  11. "Dreadlock Holiday" (Stewart, Gouldman) - 5:01
  12. "I'm Not in Love" (Stewart, Gouldman) - 6:06

AllMusic:
Score: 
  
Look Hear? (1980)

There's familiar 10cc elements about this album, but most of the fun and confidence has gone. The lead single, "One-Two-Five" was released with a promotional video, though only charted in Norway. The album did reach international charts, but at the lower end, apart from Norway where it reached No. 3. Stewart and Gouldman later admitted that their hearts were not in the album, as they had been distracted by Stewart's long recovery from a car accident, and Gouldman's divorce. Ultimately the album is listenable but boring.  


Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."One-Two-Five"Eric Stewart, Graham GouldmanStewart and Gouldman5:21
2."Welcome to the World"Duncan Mackay, Rick FennStewart and Gouldman3:43
3."How'm I Ever Gonna Say Goodbye"Gouldman, FennGouldman and Fenn3:38
4."Don't Send We Back"FennFenn3:20
5."I Took You Home"StewartStewart5:18
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."It Doesn't Matter at All"Stewart, GouldmanStewart4:01
7."Dressed to Kill"Stewart, GouldmanGouldman3:26
8."Lovers Anonymous"Stewart, GouldmanStewart5:06
9."I Hate to Eat Alone"GouldmanGouldman2:57
10."Strange Lover"Stewart, GouldmanStewart3:44
11."L.A. Inflatable"Stewart, GouldmanStewart4:32




  
Ten Out of 10 (1981)

This is a perkier and bolder album than the previous release, though is still below what 10cc did during their peak. Some sources say that the album is Stewart and Gouldman as a duo, using the other musicians as session players, but there is no evidence of that on the album sleeve. And I'm not sure that it matters anyway, as 10cc is clearly Stewart and Gouldman's band regardless of the legal or technical standing of the other musicians. 
The band's American label were concerned that the album wouldn't sell in the US, so they asked the band to write some songs with an American song-writer, Andrew Gold, and issued a different version of the album in the US. The version released on CD in 2006 (and so the one on Spotify) is the original UK/International release with bonus tracks which include most of the tracks written with Gold and released on the US version. 
It's a pleasant album, but there are no standout tracks, and both the album and singles underperformed globally. 


Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Don't Ask"Graham GouldmanGouldman4:02
2."Overdraft in Overdrive"Eric Stewart, GouldmanGouldman3:24
3."Don't Turn Me Away"StewartStewart5:03
4."Memories"Stewart, GouldmanStewart4:31
5."Notell Hotel"Stewart, GouldmanStewart4:56
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Les Nouveaux Riches"StewartStewart5:11
7."Action Man in Motown Suit"Stewart, GouldmanGouldman and Stewart4:45
8."Listen with Your Eyes"Stewart, GouldmanStewart3:10
9."Lying Here with You"GouldmanStewart3:22
10."Survivor"Gouldman, StewartGouldman5:46

Bonus tracks on the 2006 CD reissue

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
11."The Power of Love"Stewart, Gouldman, GoldStewart and Gouldman4:11
12."Memories (U.S. mix)"Stewart, GouldmanStewart4:28
13."We've Heard It All Before"Stewart, Gouldman, GoldGouldman and Stewart3:37
14."Tomorrow's World Today"GouldmanGouldman3:10
15."Run Away"Stewart, Gouldman, GoldStewart4:02
16."Les Nouveaux Riches (Single Mix)"StewartStewart4:47
17."You're Coming Home Again"StewartStewart4:29



   
Windows in the Jungle (1983)
The band wanted to do a concept album on the theme of love and life in the city, but felt pressured to write a hit single, so were unsatisfied with the result which, despite common late 10cc elements such as prog and reggae, was well below the standards of the band's peak. The album was not a critical and commercial  success. The band split from their record company, and didn't release another album for nine years. 

All songs written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman.

  1. "24 Hours" – 8:09
  2. "Feel the Love (Oomachasaooma)" – 5:10
  3. "Yes, I Am" – 6:03
  4. "Americana Panorama" – 3:45
  5. "City Lights" – 3:34
  6. "Food for Thought" – 3:34
  7. "Working Girls" – 4:26
  8. "Taxi! Taxi!" – 7:39
Reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
9."24 Hours (Radio Edit)"4:23
10."Dreadlock Holiday (Live, London / 1982)"4:58
11."I'm Not in Love (Live, London / 1982)"6:35
12."Feel the Love (Oomachasaooma) (Radio Edit)"3:46
13."She Gives Me Pain" (Instrumental)2:14
14."Food for Thought (Radio Edit)"3:21
15."The Secret Life of Henry"6:05

with
   
...Meanwhile (1992)

  
After the success of the Greatest Hits album, Polydor did a survey to see if the public would like another 10cc album before asking the band to make one. It's a well made, and attractive album, but as with pretty everything the band have done since Godley & Creme left, it is missing the essence of what made the band that little bit special during their peak in the Seventies. The album didn't do well, so Polydor terminated the contract. 

All tracks are written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Woman in Love"6:11
2."Wonderland"4:53
3."Fill Her Up"4:08
4."Something Special"3:23
5."Welcome to Paradise"6:14
6."The Stars Didn't Show"4:51
7."Green Eyed Monster"4:44
8."Charity Begins at Home"4:55
9."Shine a Light in the Dark"5:42
10."Don't Break the Promises" (Stewart, Paul McCartney, Gouldman)6:22

  
Mirror Mirror (1995)

Recorded for and released on a Japanese label as the band retained some popularity in Japan. The album opens and closes with different versions of the band's best song, "I'm Not In Love", and Stewart and Gouldman are assisted in the songwriter by Paul McCartney, Andrew Gold, and Tim Rice. It only charted in Japan, and didn't receive much critical attention. Recognising that they no longer had it, the band sensibly gave up after this.   


No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."I'm Not in Love (Rework of Art Mix)"Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman10cc5:51
2."Peace in Our Time"Gouldman, Steve PigottGraham Gouldman, Adrian Lee, Rod Gammons4:03
3."Code of Silence"StewartEric Stewart, Lee5:39
4."Take This Woman"Stewart, GouldmanGouldman, Lee3:51
5."Yvonne's the One"Paul McCartney, StewartStewart, Lee4:26
6."The Monkey and the Onion"Gouldman, Tim RiceGouldman, Lee3:17
7."Margo Wants the Mustard"StewartStewart, Lee3:54
8."Ready to Go Home"Andrew Gold, GouldmanGouldman, Lee4:37
9."Everything Is Not Enough"StewartStewart, Lee4:28
10."Blue Bird"GouldmanGouldman, Lee4:04
11."Age of Consent"StewartStewart, Lee5:24
12."Grow Old with Me"GouldmanGouldman, Lee3:22
13."Why Did I Break Your Heart?"Stewart, GouldmanStewart, Lee5:18
14."Now You're Gone"GouldmanGouldman, Lee3:01
15."I'm Not in Love (Acoustic Session '95)"Stewart, Gouldman10cc, Gammons3:30



Wikipedia
AllMusic: 6 (the review is much harsher than the score)
Score: 1.5 


Discography

10cc (1973)
Sheet Music (1974)
The Original Soundtrack (1975)
How Dare You! (1976)
Deceptive Bends (1977)
Bloody Tourists (1978)
Look Hear? (1980)
Ten Out of 10 (1981)
Windows in the Jungle (1983)
...Meanwhile (1992)
Mirror Mirror (1995)




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