Kearns 10cc & Godley & Creme

Every Album, Every Song
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-78952-209-9
Verlag: Sonicbond Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 128 Seiten

Reihe: On TRack

Hailing from Manchester, England, sophisticated pop purveyors 10cc hit the ground running with their 1972 debut single, 'Donna'. Their pedigree reached back to bassist Graham Gouldman's songwriting successes in the 1960s, while guitarist and recording engineer Eric Stewart, was already a bonafide pop star having sung the global hit, 'Groovy Kind of Love,' with The Mindbenders. When the pair teamed up with drummer/singer Kevin Godley and multi-instrumentalist/singer, Lol Creme, the combination produced four hit albums including and The group also enjoyed ten successful singles including the classic Their music was defined by eclectic, boundary-pushing pop that earned them comparisons to The Beatles while still occupying a unique position in music.

   Departing in 1976, Godley and Creme moved on to create genre-defying experimental records, including the groundbreaking , while Gouldman and Stewart continued their run of hit singles and albums with a new 10cc lineup. Their final album was 1995's , a highly respectable full stop on this influential band's colourful and innovative discography. This book examines every released recording by both Godley & Creme and 10cc, including the band's debut album under their early name, Hotlegs.

Peter Kearns is an independent recording artist and writer. Since the 1980s he has performed live as keyboardist or recorded with acts including New Zealand's Shona Laing, the UK's Judie Tzuke, and New Yorker John Tabacco, being half of the duo Tabacco & Kearns. He has released two solo albums. As a writer, he's contributed to - New Zealand's technology and music website for grownups and New Zealand Musician magazine. His first book was for Sonicbond Publishing. is his second book. He lives in Amberley, New Zealand.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kearns, Peter

Leseproben

Chapter 1

Thinks: School Stinks (1971) – Hotlegs

UK Release date: March 1971. US Release date: February 1971.

Personnel:

Lol Creme: Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards

Kevin Godley: Vocals, Drums

Eric Stewart: Vocals, Bass, Guitar

Baz Barker: Violin

Mike Bell: Saxophone

Ian Brookes: Trumpet

Cheadle Hulme High School Choir: Vocals

Rod Morton: Tambourine

Peter Tattersall: Piano

Mike Timoney: Organ

Recorded 1970-1971 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport,

UK Producer: Hotlegs

Engineers: Eric Stewart, Peter Tattersall

Arranger: Brian Day

Chart placings: UK: -, US: -.

The commission to produce singles for the Super-K roster got the musicians into the practical habit of using various band names for single releases.

Inspiration was everywhere, with the name Hotlegs coming from Strawberry secretary Pam Gilmore and her preference for hot pants.

The ‘Neanderthal Man’ single’s success was a surprise, so after its June 1970 release, the band kept recording. In August they released the entirely superior ‘Umbopo’ on Pye Records under the name Doctor Father, which sadly sank without a trace. The song was a reworking of ‘There Ain’t No Umbopo’, a 1969 Super-K production under the name Crazy Elephant.

In light of the international success of ‘Neanderthal Man’, Kevin, Lol and Eric embarked on a Hotlegs album proper. Graham couldn’t contribute, being back in New York continuing his work for Super K, though he did play bass on a version of ‘Today’ eventually released on the 1976 Hotlegs compilation, You Didn’t Like It Because You Didn’t Think Of It. ‘Today’ was also issued in a completely different version under the band name Festival on RCA Records in October 1972, interestingly after the first 10cc single ‘Donna’ a month earlier.

Thinks: School Stinks was a fascinating blend of bubblegum pop, homage and left-field experimentation, often happening simultaneously on a micro- level. Lyrics repeated cult-ish themes alongside the deeper notion of escape for self-discovery followed by return. All three wrote the songs with four by Godley and Creme only. Interviewed by Melody Maker during recording, Eric revealed the band were already planning a future concept album. Full of praise for Godley’s vocals, Eric expressed his desire to remain in the background while Kevin got the limelight, Eric’s sole lead vocal being the bluesy ‘Run Baby Run’.

As good as it was, the lack of traction for Thinks: School Stinks was partially due to its style being a world away from that of the hit ‘Neanderthal Man’ and wasn’t what people were expecting. Likely in reaction to this, Philips Records reissued the album in the UK in December 1971, replacing ‘Neanderthal Man’ with the previously unreleased ‘Today’. But the damage had been done on initial album release when a promotional opportunity was lost with some of the band going not on tour but on holiday to Antigua. A tour with the Moody Blues ensued but was cancelled part-way through due to one of their members falling ill. It was too little too late. A million-selling single notwithstanding, at this point Hotlegs were feeling the chill and no amount of exposure could get them arrested.

‘Neanderthal Man’ (Lol Creme, Kevin Godley, Eric Stewart)

Released as a single A-side, 19 June 1970 (UK), 3 August 1970 (US), b/w ‘You Didn’t Like It Because You Didn’t Think Of It’. UK: 2. US: 29. CA: 13. AU: 24. NZ: 15. DE: 1. IT: 1.

Hotlegs’ sole hit single had a rather inauspicious birth compared to most, certainly in contrast to its surprise international success. It began life as a bit of meaningless fun as the band started singing for a laugh on a taxi ride one day. In early 1970, in a test of new recording equipment, Kevin laid a basic drum track. Needing something to go with it, out came the nonsense ‘Neanderthal Man’ singalong. Being merely a test of the new Ampex tape recorder and mixing desk, the vocals were quiet, leaking in via the kick drum microphone.

Dick Leahy from Philips Records dropped into the studio, heard the song, and made the famous exclamation, ‘It’s a smash!’. What followed was the accidental erasure of the tape by someone or other. This was an irritation, but not ones to give up, the band simply re-recorded the song.

Coming to grips with the new gear as they went, the new recording sounded better. They used the same technique – vocals bleeding through the kick drum mic, albeit quadrupled to make it sound bigger. In an experimental technique, they added a tone generator up-slide to create tension leading to a hammer striking a slab of steel, and ‘Neanderthal Man’ was born. Unfortunately at mastering, the hammer strike broke the cutting head as, in Kevin Godley’s words, ‘The equipment was, strangely, calibrated for music, not extreme roadworks.’ The faux pas was rectified, likely by an extreme frequency cut at the moment of hammer impact. Philips were never overly happy about the hammer strike or the quiet vocals but after the single began selling like hotcakes, any quibbles faded into the distance.

The band first became aware of the song’s popularity on a tent sleepover at a music festival where they woke one morning to hear a familiar noise. Godley has recalled opening the tent flap to be greeted with the sight and sound of a multitude of radios playing ‘Neanderthal Man’. It was a smash! It was also the first clear sign that the band, whatever their name was, were moving in the right direction. In the UK, the single was selling 3000 copies a day. After Hotlegs’ Top Of The Pops appearance, where they were surrounded by the female dance group, Pan’s People, it sold 35,000 a day. It peaked at number two in the UK, kept from the top spot by Elvis Presley’s ‘The Wonder of You’.

London had long been the centre of UK recording. No one could record anywhere else if they wanted success. Hotlegs broke that mold by proving it could be done elsewhere. Strawberry Studios then began to attract many local groups. ‘Neanderthal Man’ had broken the doors open. It sold two million copies worldwide.

‘How Many Times’ (Lol Creme, Kevin Godley, Eric Stewart)

Released as a single B-side, January 1971 (US), b/w ‘Run Baby Run’.

Track two, sung by Kevin Godley, was a comment on the need to be commercial while having an underlying desire to do something else. Brian Day’s subtle string arrangement graced the track with exotic moments like the Flat 5 note at 2m:33s and the stronger dissonance building to the final section. There the violins suddenly became country fiddles battling each other in an atmosphere recalling the closing of The Beatles’ ‘Don’t Pass Me By’.

With the album being thought of as suffering from sounding nothing like the single ‘Neanderthal Man’, ‘How Many Times’ with its similar feel and bass line towards the end, was the closest thing to it, albeit with one drum kit.

‘Desperate Dan’ (Lol Creme, Kevin Godley, Eric Stewart)

Released as a single A-side, February 1971 (DE), b/w ‘Run Baby Run’.

A basic rock and roll blues about the Dandy comic character, Desperate Dan, the world’s strongest man, who, with only one hand, could lift a cow. The song worked well for what it was but was lucky to be given such a prominent position. In its favour, it was unpretentious, as was 10cc’s entire 1970s output. Even at their most outrageous and experimental, the band always managed to avoid what some pundits considered to be the damning sin of pretence.

‘Take Me Back’ (Lol Creme, Kevin Godley)

Kevin Godley’s soaring vocal got the lion’s share of attention in this baroque daydream. As an aid to this, the organ was kept at a respectable size in contrast to the giant Hammond B3’s that were beginning to dominate rock of all stripes in 1971. This stopped the song from getting too big for its boots, as did the striking verse two ‘la la la’ backing vocals. Who’d think something so benign could have such an effect. At the three-minute mark, the move from mellow 12-string acoustic guitar bed to slightly slower drum-laden rock electric solo was welcome.

In the first hint of experimental mixing, the band slowly faded out after over a minute of soloing, leaving the acoustic guitar playing into a sung coda section, then seamlessly returning to the original slightly faster tempo. That was slick. These guys paid attention to detail.

The lyric is an extra layer for contemplation, the narrator either a philanderer or a free spirit playing Devil’s advocate by unexpectedly going AWOL. He seems to appreciate the fact that after all he’s done wrong, his ‘whereabouts are cared about’.

‘Take Me Back’ was the first real demonstration of Kevin Godley’s vocal ability to draw a listener in and keep them there – something that would recur at certain points further down the discography.

‘Um Wah Um...