The British band 10CC scored Top 10 hits in the early '70s with 'Donna', 'Silly Love', 'Feel The Love' and 'I'm Not In Love'. The band also achieved two number 1 hits: 'The Wall Street Shuffle' and 'Dreadlock Holiday'. Godley & Creme, two members of the band, left in 1976 to continue as a duo.
Hotlegs
Manchester, 1970. A group of Englishmen form a band called Hotlegs. The band consists of singer/guitarist Graham Gouldman (previously a member of the Mockingbirds and writer of many successful records for the Yardbirds, the Hollies, Herman's Hermits and Jeff Beck), singer/guitarist Eric Stewart (formerly of Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders, known for the hit ‘The Game of Love’), and singers and multi-instrumentalists Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. Godley knew Gouldman from the Mockingbirds. Creme knew Godley from many musical projects they had worked on together. Hotlegs went into the studio and immediately scored a hit in England with 'Neanderthal Man'.
Donna
Shortly after, the album Thinks: School Stinks was released and the gentlemen toured with the Moody Blues. Few would remember Hotlegs if the name had not changed to 10CC. Jonathan King signed the band to his UK label and the person who suggested the name 10CC was none other than Elvis Presley himself. The band went into the studio and recorded the single 'Donna', a sharp satire on late '50s doo-wop. The single reached number 2 in the charts in both England and the Netherlands.
Success
Next came 'Rubber Bullets' and 'The Dean And I'. Both songs became big hits in England and were from the eponymous debut album. In 1974, 10CC's second album Sheet Music was released. This album features the Top 10 hit 'Silly Love' and the number 1 'Wall Street Shuffle'. Despite success across Europe, 10CC failed to gain a foothold in America. The song 'I'm Not In Love' changed this. The song entered the US singles chart high and eventually reached second place. 'I'm Not In Love' is from the third album The Original Soundtrack from 1975, which also includes the song 'Life Is A Minestrone'. The following year saw the release of How Dare You! featuring the hit 'I’m Mandy, Fly Me'. 10CC was doing very well and nothing seemed to go wrong.
Split
Until band members Godley and Creme left the band in 1976. They wanted to focus on video production and continue developing the Gizmo, a special guitar device they had invented. Many feared this meant the end of 10CC, but Gouldman and Stewart continued together and released the album Deceptive Bends in 1977, featuring the songs 'The Things We Do For Love' and 'Good Morning Judge'. Although they received help from keyboard player Paul Burgess, 10CC still sought replacements for Godley and Creme. These came in the form of guitarist Rick Fenn, keyboard player Tony O’Malley and drummer Stuart Tosh.
Projects
The new line-up went into the studio and produced the album Bloody Tourist featuring the number 1 hit 'Dreadlock Holiday'. After that, the band went downhill. In 1980 they released the album Look Hear, in 1981 10 Out Of 10 and in 1983 Window In The Jungle. In 1983, 10CC had a hit with 'Feel The Love' but after that the fun was over. The band split up. Gouldman formed the duo Wax with Andrew Gold, Stewart produced for the band Sad Cafe and collaborated with Paul McCartney. Godley and Creme continued making albums until 1988. Their big hit was 'Englishman In New York' (1980), not to be confused with the other song of the same name.
The end
In 1992, the original line-up of 10CC – including Godley and Creme – reunited for a comeback. They made the album Meanwhile. Afterwards, Godley and Creme left the band for the second time and finally Gouldman and Stewart made the very last 10CC album Mirror Mirror. And that was ultimately the definitive end of 10CC.
Top 2000
In the 23rd edition of the Top 2000, 10CC appears with three entries:
Sunday Morning Classic
On 6 March 2022, 10CC was featured as our Sunday Morning Classic with the album Sheet Music.
Sheet Music is 10cc's second studio album (1974) and perhaps one of the best albums of the '70s. I've always enjoyed the cover of this record. Even the title is a pun; is it sheet music? Or is it sh*t music? Very clever! The balance between all four musicians is perfect here. Eric Stewart kicks off the album with the brilliant 'Wall Street Shuffle', one of the heavier tracks on the album.
The album marked a step towards progressive rock, while the first album still had its roots in the '60s. The album was recorded in their own Strawberry Studio in London. Although the band was losing its innocence in pop music, there was still plenty of room to experiment. Both Godley and Gouldman considered it one of their better albums, if not the best. The singles showed mixed results, just like their debut album. The Worst Band in the World did moderately well, The Wall Street Shuffle scored well everywhere and Silly Love was somewhere in between.
A must-have for fans of art rock and those who want to avoid lovey-dovey lyrics.
After the album, Paul Burgess joined Creme and Stewart; they played on the album Rolling Back by Annette and Victor Brox. Burgess would more or less permanently join the band after the split.
Source: NPO and various websites Photo: Beeld en Geluid (AVRO)
