Welcome To AlbumLinerNotes.com
"The #1 Archive of Liner Notes in the World!"
Your Subtitle text
The Very Best of 10cc
Mercury 314 536 007-2
Buy this album via iTunes - Click below
1. Donna 2:54
Written by Kevin Godley, Lol Crème
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England May 1972
From the album 10cc (1973)
2. Rubber Bullets 5:17
Written by Kevin Godley, Lol Crème, Graham Gouldman
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England December 1972
From the album 10cc (1973)
3. The Dean and I 3:03
Written by Kevin Godley, Lol Crème
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England May 1973
From the album 10cc (1973)
4. The Wall Street Shuffle 3:52
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England January 1974
From the album SHEET MUSIC (1974)
5. Silly Love 3:57
Written by Eric Stewart, Lol Crème
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England May 1974
From the album SHEET MUSIC (1974)
6. Life Is A Minestrone 4:40
Written by Eric Stewart, Lol Crème
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England January 1975
From the album ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (1975)
7. I’m Not In Love 6:05
Written by Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England December 1974
From the album ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (1975)
8. Art For Art's Sake 5:52
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England July 1975
From the album HOW DARE YOU! (1976)
9. I’m Mandy Fly Me 5:20
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England October 1975
From the album HOW DARE YOU! (1976)
10. The Things We Do For Love 3:31
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Recorded at Strawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England
November 1976
From the album DECEPTIVE BENDS (1977)
11. Good Morning Judge 2:53
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Recorded at Strawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England
October 1976
From the album DECEPTIVE BENDS (1977)
12. People In Love 3:45
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Recorded at Strawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England
November 1976
From the album DECEPTIVE BENDS (1977)
13. Dreadlock Holiday 4:59
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Recorded at Strawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England
February 1978
From the album BLOODY TOURISTS (1978)
14. For You And I 4:59
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Recorded at Strawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England
February 1978
From the album BLOODY TOURISTS (1978)
15. Cry 3:55
Performed by Godley & Crème
Written by Kevin Godley, Lol Crème
Produced by Trevor Horn, Kevin Godley, Lol Crème
From the album THE HISTORY MIX (VOLUME 1) (1985)
All songs published by Man-Ken Music Ltd. (BMI)
_______________________________________________________________
Eric Stewart - Vocals, guitars, keyboards
Lol Creme - Vocals, guitars, keyboards
Graham Gouldman - Vocals, bass guitar, guitars
Kevin Godley - Vocals, drums, percussion
__________________________________________________
Compilation Produced by Bas Hartong and Bill Levenson
Digitally Remastered by Chris Herles at PolyGram Studios
Essay by Chris White
Project Coordination by Terri Tierney
Project Assistance by Eileen Cleary and Catherine Ladis
Special thanks to PolyGram TV and Mercury Records [UK]
____________________________________________________
With such distinctive, memorable and innovative hit records as Rubber Bullets, The Wall Street Shuffle, Life If A Minestrone, I’m Not In Love, The Things We Do For Love and Dreadlock Holiday to their credit, Manchester’s 10cc were the most consistently successful British pop band of the 1970s. Indeed, the band who mutated from Hotlegs secured no less than 11 UK Top 10 hit singles between 1972 and 1978, including three number ones, and consolidated this success with seven UK Top 10 albums.
However, when 10cc reached number 2 with their debut single Donna in September 1972, it was certainly not a case of ‘overnight success’ for Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Crème. They had already been paying their professional ‘dues and demands’ for several years prior to their collective success. Graham Gouldman had attended the same Manchester school as Kevin Godley and Lol Crème, and the three had worked in various local pop groups. In 1964 Gouldman started songwriting, rapidly establishing himself with such hits as Heart Full Of Soul, For Your Love and Evil Hearted You [The Yardbirds], Bus Stop and Look Through Any Window [The Hollies], No Milk Today [Herman’s Hermits], and Pamela Pamela [Wayne Fontana]. His fellow Mancunian Eric Stewart had been a member of Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders, playing on hits like The Game Of Love [number 1 in the US], and singing lead vocal on The Mindbenders’ own 1966 hit A Groovy Kind Of Love [number 2 in both the UK and US].
Lol Crème and Kevin Godley, who had both studied graphics, had pursued on-off musical careers before recording a one-off single for ex-Yardbirds’ manager Georgio Gomelsky’s Marmalade label. I’m Beside Myself, (released under the pseudonym Frabjoy And Runcible in 1969) was particularly auspicious for the fact that it marked the first occasion that the four future members of 10cc worked together. Godley and Crème recorded the single at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, and Gouldman and Stewart – who were partners in the studios – played on the session. In 1970 Gouldman, Stewart, Godley and Crème re-grouped to record the African-styled Neanderthal Man, releasing it under the name Hotlegs. The single soared to number 3 in the British charts and also made the American Top 40, eventually selling over two millions copies worldwide. They also worked on various other musical projects, including relaunching Neil Sedaka’s then-flagging singing career (playing on his Solitaire and the Tra-La Days Are Over albums, recorded at Strawberry).
The following year proved to be a turning point: Gouldman, Stewart, Godley and Crème sent a demo of Donna (a Fifties-style pop pastiche) to pop pundit Jonathan King who singed them to his label UK Records, and re-named them 10cc. Donna, written by Godley and Crème, was an immediate smash hit in the UK. In June 1973 10cc’s third single Rubber Bullets, a Godley-Crème-Gouldman song which courted controversy because of the nature of the subject, soared to the top of the British charts and also gave them a breakthrough US hit. Their follow-up, The Dean And I, taken from 10cc’s debut album 10cc, was a UK Top 40 hit later the same year. The band’s second album, Sheet Music, released in June 1974, fared even better than its predecessor, scaling the UK Top 10, while the accompanying single The Wall Street Shuffle finally nestled at number 10 Before the year was over 10cc had secured a fifth UK hit single, Silly Love.
Early in the following year 10cc signed to Mercury Records, and The Original Soundtrack, their first album under the new deal, clambered to number 4 in the UK and enjoyed a seven-month chart residency. The album also proved to be 10cc’s biggest-selling U.S. album, reaching number 15 in the Billboard chart. Life Is A Minestrone, the first single under the new deal, climbed rapidly to number 7 in the U.K. Three months later 10cc triumphantly topped the domestic charts with another The Original Soundtrack cut, the spine-tingling I’m Not In Love. Now recognized as a pop classic – frequently topping all-time-favorite-record polls – I’m Not In Love also reached number 2 in the US. 10cc’s second Mercury album, How Dare You!, was another huge success (number 5 in the Music Week album chart), while the singles Art For Art’s Sake and I’m Mandy Fly Me both made the U.K. Top 10.
In October 1976 Godley and Crème decided to leave the 10cc line-up to pursue their own musical ambitions, which included developing the revolutionary ‘Gizmo’ instrument, recording the albums 1977’s triple-album Consequences, 1978’s L, 1979’s Freeze Frame, 1981’s Ismish, 1983’s Birds of Prey, 1985’s The History Mix, and 1988’s Goodbye Blue Sky, and achieving two UK Top 10 hit singles, Under Your Thumb and Wedding Bells, and one US Top 10 hit, Cry. They also went on to become award-winning pop video directors.
Gouldman and Stewart carried on as 10cc and any fears that the departure of Godley and Crème may have had an adverse effect on their future success were rapidly dismissed following the release of the single The Things We Do For Love in January 1977, which reached number 5 in both the UK and US charts, and the release of the album Deceptive Bends in May 1977. The album attained their highest chart position for an album to date, climbing to number 3 in the UK and number 31 in the US Billboard album chart. There was also the bonus of a further hit single, Good Morning Judge (UK number 5). In September 1978 10cc celebrated their third U.K. number 1 hit, with the reggae-styled Dreadlock Holiday, taken from the Bloody Tourists album (U.K. number 3). It proved to be their last major hit but, by now, 10cc had stacked up more hit singles and albums than any other British pop band of the Seventies.
After releasing three more albums – 1980’s Look Hear, 1981’s Ten Out Of 10 and 1983’s Windows In The Jungle, 10cc officially broke up in 1983. By this time both Stewart and Gouldman were heavily involved in various other musical projects. Stewart produced the Manchester band Sad Café, composed music for the films and worked with Paul McCartney, while Gouldman’s activities also included composing music for films as well as forming a new musical alliance, Wax, in which he teamed with American singer-songwriter Andrew Gold and achieved the UK Top 20 hit, 1987’s Bridge To Your Heart. In the early nineties Stewart and Gouldman regrouped 10cc resulting in 1992’s Meanwhile (which featured all four original members), 1993’s live 10cc Alive, and 1995’s Mirror Mirror.
This newly remastered collection of 10cc hits is the definitive 10cc collection, bringing together all of their classic hits from the 70’s. For brilliantly-crafted pop music, complete with wry humor, wit and satire, Manchester’s first real ‘supergroup’ have had few rivals.
Buy this album via iTunes - Click below
1. Donna 2:54
Written by Kevin Godley, Lol Crème
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England May 1972
From the album 10cc (1973)
2. Rubber Bullets 5:17
Written by Kevin Godley, Lol Crème, Graham Gouldman
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England December 1972
From the album 10cc (1973)
3. The Dean and I 3:03
Written by Kevin Godley, Lol Crème
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England May 1973
From the album 10cc (1973)
4. The Wall Street Shuffle 3:52
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England January 1974
From the album SHEET MUSIC (1974)
5. Silly Love 3:57
Written by Eric Stewart, Lol Crème
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England May 1974
From the album SHEET MUSIC (1974)
6. Life Is A Minestrone 4:40
Written by Eric Stewart, Lol Crème
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England January 1975
From the album ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (1975)
7. I’m Not In Love 6:05
Written by Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England December 1974
From the album ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (1975)
8. Art For Art's Sake 5:52
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England July 1975
From the album HOW DARE YOU! (1976)
9. I’m Mandy Fly Me 5:20
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley
Produced by 10cc
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockholm, England October 1975
From the album HOW DARE YOU! (1976)
10. The Things We Do For Love 3:31
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Recorded at Strawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England
November 1976
From the album DECEPTIVE BENDS (1977)
11. Good Morning Judge 2:53
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Recorded at Strawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England
October 1976
From the album DECEPTIVE BENDS (1977)
12. People In Love 3:45
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Recorded at Strawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England
November 1976
From the album DECEPTIVE BENDS (1977)
13. Dreadlock Holiday 4:59
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Recorded at Strawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England
February 1978
From the album BLOODY TOURISTS (1978)
14. For You And I 4:59
Written by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Produced by Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman
Recorded at Strawberry Studios South, Dorking, Surrey, England
February 1978
From the album BLOODY TOURISTS (1978)
15. Cry 3:55
Performed by Godley & Crème
Written by Kevin Godley, Lol Crème
Produced by Trevor Horn, Kevin Godley, Lol Crème
From the album THE HISTORY MIX (VOLUME 1) (1985)
All songs published by Man-Ken Music Ltd. (BMI)
_______________________________________________________________
Eric Stewart - Vocals, guitars, keyboards
Lol Creme - Vocals, guitars, keyboards
Graham Gouldman - Vocals, bass guitar, guitars
Kevin Godley - Vocals, drums, percussion
__________________________________________________
Compilation Produced by Bas Hartong and Bill Levenson
Digitally Remastered by Chris Herles at PolyGram Studios
Essay by Chris White
Project Coordination by Terri Tierney
Project Assistance by Eileen Cleary and Catherine Ladis
Special thanks to PolyGram TV and Mercury Records [UK]
____________________________________________________
With such distinctive, memorable and innovative hit records as Rubber Bullets, The Wall Street Shuffle, Life If A Minestrone, I’m Not In Love, The Things We Do For Love and Dreadlock Holiday to their credit, Manchester’s 10cc were the most consistently successful British pop band of the 1970s. Indeed, the band who mutated from Hotlegs secured no less than 11 UK Top 10 hit singles between 1972 and 1978, including three number ones, and consolidated this success with seven UK Top 10 albums.
However, when 10cc reached number 2 with their debut single Donna in September 1972, it was certainly not a case of ‘overnight success’ for Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Crème. They had already been paying their professional ‘dues and demands’ for several years prior to their collective success. Graham Gouldman had attended the same Manchester school as Kevin Godley and Lol Crème, and the three had worked in various local pop groups. In 1964 Gouldman started songwriting, rapidly establishing himself with such hits as Heart Full Of Soul, For Your Love and Evil Hearted You [The Yardbirds], Bus Stop and Look Through Any Window [The Hollies], No Milk Today [Herman’s Hermits], and Pamela Pamela [Wayne Fontana]. His fellow Mancunian Eric Stewart had been a member of Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders, playing on hits like The Game Of Love [number 1 in the US], and singing lead vocal on The Mindbenders’ own 1966 hit A Groovy Kind Of Love [number 2 in both the UK and US].
Lol Crème and Kevin Godley, who had both studied graphics, had pursued on-off musical careers before recording a one-off single for ex-Yardbirds’ manager Georgio Gomelsky’s Marmalade label. I’m Beside Myself, (released under the pseudonym Frabjoy And Runcible in 1969) was particularly auspicious for the fact that it marked the first occasion that the four future members of 10cc worked together. Godley and Crème recorded the single at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, and Gouldman and Stewart – who were partners in the studios – played on the session. In 1970 Gouldman, Stewart, Godley and Crème re-grouped to record the African-styled Neanderthal Man, releasing it under the name Hotlegs. The single soared to number 3 in the British charts and also made the American Top 40, eventually selling over two millions copies worldwide. They also worked on various other musical projects, including relaunching Neil Sedaka’s then-flagging singing career (playing on his Solitaire and the Tra-La Days Are Over albums, recorded at Strawberry).
The following year proved to be a turning point: Gouldman, Stewart, Godley and Crème sent a demo of Donna (a Fifties-style pop pastiche) to pop pundit Jonathan King who singed them to his label UK Records, and re-named them 10cc. Donna, written by Godley and Crème, was an immediate smash hit in the UK. In June 1973 10cc’s third single Rubber Bullets, a Godley-Crème-Gouldman song which courted controversy because of the nature of the subject, soared to the top of the British charts and also gave them a breakthrough US hit. Their follow-up, The Dean And I, taken from 10cc’s debut album 10cc, was a UK Top 40 hit later the same year. The band’s second album, Sheet Music, released in June 1974, fared even better than its predecessor, scaling the UK Top 10, while the accompanying single The Wall Street Shuffle finally nestled at number 10 Before the year was over 10cc had secured a fifth UK hit single, Silly Love.
Early in the following year 10cc signed to Mercury Records, and The Original Soundtrack, their first album under the new deal, clambered to number 4 in the UK and enjoyed a seven-month chart residency. The album also proved to be 10cc’s biggest-selling U.S. album, reaching number 15 in the Billboard chart. Life Is A Minestrone, the first single under the new deal, climbed rapidly to number 7 in the U.K. Three months later 10cc triumphantly topped the domestic charts with another The Original Soundtrack cut, the spine-tingling I’m Not In Love. Now recognized as a pop classic – frequently topping all-time-favorite-record polls – I’m Not In Love also reached number 2 in the US. 10cc’s second Mercury album, How Dare You!, was another huge success (number 5 in the Music Week album chart), while the singles Art For Art’s Sake and I’m Mandy Fly Me both made the U.K. Top 10.
In October 1976 Godley and Crème decided to leave the 10cc line-up to pursue their own musical ambitions, which included developing the revolutionary ‘Gizmo’ instrument, recording the albums 1977’s triple-album Consequences, 1978’s L, 1979’s Freeze Frame, 1981’s Ismish, 1983’s Birds of Prey, 1985’s The History Mix, and 1988’s Goodbye Blue Sky, and achieving two UK Top 10 hit singles, Under Your Thumb and Wedding Bells, and one US Top 10 hit, Cry. They also went on to become award-winning pop video directors.
Gouldman and Stewart carried on as 10cc and any fears that the departure of Godley and Crème may have had an adverse effect on their future success were rapidly dismissed following the release of the single The Things We Do For Love in January 1977, which reached number 5 in both the UK and US charts, and the release of the album Deceptive Bends in May 1977. The album attained their highest chart position for an album to date, climbing to number 3 in the UK and number 31 in the US Billboard album chart. There was also the bonus of a further hit single, Good Morning Judge (UK number 5). In September 1978 10cc celebrated their third U.K. number 1 hit, with the reggae-styled Dreadlock Holiday, taken from the Bloody Tourists album (U.K. number 3). It proved to be their last major hit but, by now, 10cc had stacked up more hit singles and albums than any other British pop band of the Seventies.
After releasing three more albums – 1980’s Look Hear, 1981’s Ten Out Of 10 and 1983’s Windows In The Jungle, 10cc officially broke up in 1983. By this time both Stewart and Gouldman were heavily involved in various other musical projects. Stewart produced the Manchester band Sad Café, composed music for the films and worked with Paul McCartney, while Gouldman’s activities also included composing music for films as well as forming a new musical alliance, Wax, in which he teamed with American singer-songwriter Andrew Gold and achieved the UK Top 20 hit, 1987’s Bridge To Your Heart. In the early nineties Stewart and Gouldman regrouped 10cc resulting in 1992’s Meanwhile (which featured all four original members), 1993’s live 10cc Alive, and 1995’s Mirror Mirror.
This newly remastered collection of 10cc hits is the definitive 10cc collection, bringing together all of their classic hits from the 70’s. For brilliantly-crafted pop music, complete with wry humor, wit and satire, Manchester’s first real ‘supergroup’ have had few rivals.
Chris White 1997
____________________________________________________