10cc In Concert – Paris Theatre – August 21, 1974 – BBC In Concert Series – BBC Radio 1 –
10cc this weekend. Recorded for the BBC In Concert series on August 21, 1974, a little over a year before their massive breakthrough with I’m Not In Love and around the time of their debut album Rubber Bullets. 10cc were seasoned veterans of other bands but were also purveyors of a string of bubblegum hits under a variety of pseudonyms including Ohio Express and Crazy Elephant for the production team of Kasenetz and Katz as well as being briefly known as Hotlegs and the underground classic album “Hotlegs: Thinks School Stinks”.
10cc came together officially as a band in 1972. But it wasn’t until 1975 when the band released The Original Soundtrack for Mercury Records which included I’m Not In Love that they became household names worldwide.
10cc formed in Stockport, England in 1972. It initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured two songwriting teams. Stewart and Gouldman were predominantly pop songwriters, who created most of the band’s accessible songs. By contrast, Godley and Creme were the predominantly experimental half of 10cc, featuring art and cinematically-inspired writing.
Every member of 10cc was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer and producer. 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, The Original Soundtrack (1975), How Dare You! (1976), Deceptive Bends (1977) and Bloody Tourists (1978). They 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. Godley and Creme quit the band in 1976 due to artistic disagreements and became a duo act. Stewart left the band in 1995. Since 1999, Gouldman has led a touring version of 10cc.
For a reminder or for an introduction if you aren’t familiar, here is that BBC concert from 1974.
