Having known each other as boys, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme eventually met Graham Gouldman having attended the same secondary school as Godley; their musical enthusiasm led to playing at the local Jewish Lads' Brigade. Because each member had been a part of a different band, the band wasn’t officially formed as 10CC until 1972. Having been joined by Eric Stewart, the band signed with UK Records in 1971 and released their self-titled debut album in 1972 through Strawberry Studios. Despite the release of another successful album entitled “Sheet Music” in 1973, the band split with their label and moved to Mercury Records in February 1975.
While with Mercury Records, the band recorded and released two albums, “The Original Soundtrack” (released in 1975) and “How Dare You!” (released in 1976); both of which were considered successful. However, due to friction between the creative minds, the band split in 1976 for the first time. When the “How Dare You!” was completed, Godley and Creme left 10cc to work on a project that eventually evolved into the triple LP set Consequences. Meanwhile, Stewart and Gouldman opted to continue as 10cc, working with drummer Paul Burgess, who had been their tour backup drummer. Together the three of them released “Deceptive Bends” in 1977, and then set out on tour.
Unfortunately, the band hit another set back when Stewart was badly injured in a car crash, and not releasing any new material until 1981 with “Ten Out of 10.” However, after 1983 the band started to grow apart, with both Stewart and Gouldman producing for other projects. With the exception of a four CD box set of greatest hits, it wasn’t until 1991 that the band truly reunited with all four original members coming together to record “…Meanwhile” which was subsequently released in 1992. The album did not spawn any major hits, but was relatively well received in Japan and in Europe and thus the band set out on a successful tour of the two countries.
After the tour, Stewart parted ways with the band permanently, and again the band did not play together until 1999 when Gouldman reconvened the band. Despite not releasing any new material, the band has continued to play live shows, and in 2012 the band celebrated their 40th anniversary.
I am an absolute sucker for power pop. The 70s, particularly the early 70s, was a decade that was flooded with this style of music. T.Rex, Big Star and The Raspberries were dominating the pop charts at that time; however, 10cc as talented as they were have -to an extent- been unjustly overlooked. They are group who approached their songwriting with sharp wit and acute self-awareness. They knew what type of music sold and weren't necessarily shy about exploiting budding trends. Having been studio musicians and writers of hit songs for band like the Yardbirds and Herman's Hermits they were knowledgeable on the process of creating pop masterpieces.
Considering 10ccs is comprised of studio musicians it goes with out question they are excellent live performers. Their shows are precisely coordinated and well mixed. The sound is tight. The drums are compressed and well maintained, the bass lays nicely in the mix, and the guitars are crystal clear. During the dreamesque interludes in their performance the keyboards, guitars, and vocals start to loose their definition and flow into unison with each other.
10ccs are very enjoyable to watch live because they not only play their soft rock hits such as "Not In Love" but they also delve straight into more progressive and interesting styles of music. The song "Dreadlock Holiday" is a reggae sort of jam teeming with wild percussion, swirling keyboard riffs, upstroke guitar chucks wetted with flange and a grooving dub bass line. The group might even show their prog rock side with songs like "Art for Art Sake" presumably a reference to the 19th century philosophy of aestheticism. In this song they really show off their technical skills indulging in dual guitar solos, keyboard improvisations and divergences into weird time signatures. 10ccs constantly prove to their audience that their concerts can be just as exciting as they are relaxing.
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